All About Spelling....

[sthompson]

I am very interested in the AAS program. I do have a few questions for those in the know.

 

Is it consumable? I have 3 kids ds5, dd4, and ds2. I would love to save money by having them all use the program. Would it be possible if I say taught ds5 level 1 and when he moved to level 2 start dd4 on level 1? Are there any cross-over items that would give reasons for purchasing extra items, kits, levels?

 

Can I teach both ds5 and dd4 at the same level with one set of tiles? If of course dd4 is interested. She has her moments. Or would it be better for each to have their own?

 

Any info is greatly appreciated!!

 

 

Stephanie

[Alison in KY]

This is non-consumable, but I think they do suggest that each child get their own set of cards. Give them a call for guidance on that, but it's what I've done. You'll only need to purchase one TM and one set of tiles. I use the magnets on the back of the tiles and have a small whiteboard that we've attached to the wall....the white board needs to be big enough to fit all of the tiles and still leave plenty of room for writing words...mine might be 2 X 3 or bigger.

[radiobrain]

I don't think you would need any extra materials. But it really depends on how you want to use it.

 

I went through levels 1 & 2 with one set of materials, while doing both children at the same time. My kids did not like the word cards, and therefore it didn't matter that we had one set, much less two.

 

The idea is that the kids "own" their words, but some kids just don't care that much, and you can just keep a list of words they have trouble with on a separate sheet of paper. I thought the tiles were great, but my kids said they hated them the most. Hmm. Either I have some pretty oddball kids (which I do) or it isn't totally necessary. I say as AAS gets really expensive, really quickly... you might want to see what your comfort level is not having materials for all the kids. You can adapt it if you want to.

 

I am sure this isn't too helpful, I am just of the opinion that you need only one set of materials, one set of tiles, no matter how many kids you have.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

I only have one set of cards for all my boys to use. This has worked out fine, as I"ve got a couple years between each boy. My oldest in is level 5 and my middle is in level 2.

 

Oh, and I love the magnetic tiles....we've got ours on a $1 large cookie sheet.

[mom2att]

I have 2 children using AAS. Older ds is about to finish level 2, younger ds is nearing the end of level 1. I did purchase a second set of cards for younger ds for level 1, but have decided it was unnecessary and won't do so for subsequent levels--he can just use the same cards as his brother. We don't use the word cards, just the sound, phonogram, and key cards. They share the tiles, which we keep on a cookie sheet. I do have a second cookie sheet, and will transfer one set of the tiles onto that when younger ds does spelling. He doesn't need as many tiles as older ds does, and it's harder for him to find what he's looking for when faced with so many.

 

That said, if it were me I wouldn't start a 4-year-old on AAS, and only a 5-year-old who was eager and willing. It's not that the program is difficult, especially in level 1. But I've found that there's a leap between the very basic phonetic concepts and the more abstract ones (like vowel teams and the vowel consonant e rule), and sometimes young ones need a little more time to absorb all of it. But YMMV--this was not an issue for my oldest at all, but has definitely been the case with my younger two.

[Veritaserum]

I'm on my third kid using AAS. It is non-consumable, which I like (we have two little ones who will use it as well). I have one set of tiles, which is currently being used with three children (1 level 3 and 2 level 1). :)

[MerryAtHope]

Hi Stephanie,

 

The material packets are mostly non-consumable. I would say that as long as your students are at least 2 levels apart, you probably won't need 2 packets. You might be able to make it work at only one level apart--just depends on your kids and how much review they need. You may also be able to teach your 5 & 4 yo's together, and in that case you also could use just one packet.

 

The first step of each level reviews the cards from all of the previous levels, so you would need to "borrow" cards from a younger sibling to do that step.

 

The exception to passing on the packs might be if you have a child who needs lots and lots of review (such as a dyslexic child) who might need to keep all of the key, phonogram, and sound cards available for ongoing review.

 

Most of the items in the materials packet are non-consumable. This is the phonogram, sound, key, and word cards. The cards are used to customize the review for each child or group of children you are teaching. You review as much or as little as they need. There are usually also some other non-consumable charts.

 

Consumables--Each packet also comes with a progress chart and a completion certificate. The author has put links for these two items in the group section for each level on The Chatterbee so that people can download extras for additional children. Level 3 has a Silent E book and Level 5 has a Make it Plural book, you can get extras of those for $2.50 each.

 

I'd probably start with one materials packet and see how it goes. You can always order another one later if you decide you want or need one. One set of tiles should work fine.

 

Here’s an article about readiness that might help you. If you start with your 4 yo, just keep it light & fun.

 

HTH! Merry :-)

[siloam]

I am very interested in the AAS program. I do have a few questions for those in the know.

 

Is it consumable? I have 3 kids ds5, dd4, and ds2. I would love to save money by having them all use the program. Would it be possible if I say taught ds5 level 1 and when he moved to level 2 start dd4 on level 1? Are there any cross-over items that would give reasons for purchasing extra items, kits, levels?

 

Can I teach both ds5 and dd4 at the same level with one set of tiles? If of course dd4 is interested. She has her moments. Or would it be better for each to have their own?

 

Any info is greatly appreciated!!

 

 

Stephanie

 

Stephanie,

 

I have 3 different levels going on right now. For the levels that I have two children in at once I need to sets of the cards, but if I can get one child through the level before another starts it then I only need the one set.

 

With the phonogram cards I did want a set for each child, but that was a personal preference. I wanted to be able to set aside the cards they couldn't remember and review them daily. Each child seems to have different cards they struggled with, so it was just easier to manage to have different sets.

 

Heather

[robsiew]

I have two kids in one level. We don't use the word cards so it's not really an issue. I just keep a list of words they miss and use it as a bookmark. The other cards are easy enough to use between 2 kids. My suggestion would be to start with one set, see how it goes... you can always order another if you really feel you need it.