All About Spelling Question

[Mandi in Ohio]

We are new to Classical Ed and I'm in the middle of ordering all our curriculum for next year. Last Spring I purchased All About Spelling for our 7 1/2 year old (starting 2nd) and our 5 1/2 year old (starting kindergarten).

 

So with that said is AAS going to be enough for my 2nd grader's phonics and spelling? We are doing Abeka Grammar but do I need to order the phonics curriculum too?

 

For our kinder child do I need a separate phonics program like Abeka? I've also head that might confuse her but I really want to make sure she gets a good hold on reading this year. Anyone have experience with AAS and a beginning reader?

[Crimson Wife]

:lurk5:

[Mama2two]

I am using it with my first grade son and think it is fantastic for review and practice of the phonics rules. I don't know if you would want to use it as your only phonics instruction though. I don't think there would be enough reading and it would move very slow.

[lollie010]

I haven't used AAS, yet. But, I remember there being a few people on the board that were using it as a phonics program. I remember them saying that one difficulty was that it moved pretty slow if you were using it for phonics. I think for some others it was just right. There is a very precious reader that goes along with it that the publisher made available for those who are using it as a reading program. Sorry I don't have more info. I bet some others can point you in the right direction.

[Mandi in Ohio]

Thanks so much everyone! I'm still looking around the web for more reviews on AAS. If anyone else has any input I'd love to hear it!

 

Mandi

[Guest ME-Mommy]

We are using the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by SWB...as well as All About Spelling and the readers. :)

 

We have been very pleased with the results...

[MerryAtHope]

I have a review in my blog, but I am using it remedially with older students. It helped them a lot with their reading, even though they were beyond that level of reading when they started--some of the concepts and exercises made reading easier and filled in some "gaps" for them. If your 2nd grader is just starting out, then AAS 1 would be at his level. If he's been reading for awhile, it might not be. You could start it & then if he seemed ready to move faster, you could either add in a separate reading program, or adjust AAS.

 

If kids are ready to learn to read ahead of their spelling skills, you can use AAS as a basis for that teaching by having them learn the concept and read the word cards and dictations instead of spelling/writing them. You can write the dictations out on a white board if the font needs to be larger for your son to read.

 

You may find that he can do level 2 this year also--just depends on how quickly he progresses. Either way you would want to add on readers for additional practice.

 

AAS is coming out with a reading program next winter, All About Reading, for those who want instruction specifically scripted and paced for reading.

 

You could always have a reading program or two in mind as a fall-back, start out with AAS and see how it goes. If it's working well, you wouldn't need another program. If you do, you could order it this fall and add it in.

 

HTH some as you decide what will work for your son! Merry :-)

[Homemama2]

I used the Abeka reading/phonics w/ AAS for grades 1 and 2. I bought AAS before the readers were out and haven't used them so I can't comment....but I think that the Abeka goes well with AAS. My ds had no problems using the two together. I found I didn't always need to use the phonics lessons in Abeka, but I was glad to have him going through the Handbook because he needed the extra practice in phonics. Now with my second son, he's reading at a much higher level than his brother was for his age, so I'm not sure that he will need the extra practice.

[momee]

Might I hijack for a sec...

For an older child, 4th grade or so, do I still need all the materials for level I? ($26. for starter kit and $29 for level I)

How fast will she go through it? Should I order level II at the same time? ($39)

[Jen+4dc]

Might I hijack for a sec...

For an older child, 4th grade or so, do I still need all the materials for level I? ($26. for starter kit and $29 for level I)

How fast will she go through it? Should I order level II at the same time? ($39)

 

I would, and did. I just ordered this for my 3rd grader who really struggles with spelling. I think, however, that he knows all the sounds in level 1. We're starting there, though, to make sure we avoid gaps and we'll go at his pace. I'm assuming that we'll finish level 1 by Christmas and move on to level 2. I went ahead and bought level 2 now because of their shipping. Anything from $45-$175 is $10 to ship:001_huh:. I don't want to pay another $8 to ship level 2 if he only takes 2 months to get through level 1. If it doesn't work for us they have a 1 year unconditional guarantee. JMHO:)

 

Sidenote, I ordered the 29th and it got here the 3rd so at least the expensive shipping is super fast!:D

[momee]

Thanks Jen.

It seems quite expensive for a spelling program, I hope it's as good as Merry :) says it is...

 

and to the OP, welcome to the Hive.

 

I used OPGTR with my 3rd child and she was reading the fastest of all my children. I also used Explode the Code with her. I think AAS will make a much better partner to OPGTR for my youngest coming up in the ranks one day.

Edited August 7, 2010 by momee

[Jen+4dc]

Thanks Jen.

It seems quite expensive for a spelling program, I hope it's as good as Merry :) says it is...

.

Me, too!

[Mandi in Ohio]

Thanks so much everyone! We are really excited to start this Fall. We broke out the AAS when I purchased it at the Homeschool Convention here in Ohio last year but only did a tiny bit. I realized it wasn't worth starting the whole thing since we were breaking for Summer and just put it back for the Fall. What we've done of it already I really liked., It was amazing that even though my daughter had already had 2 years of phonics she still didn't know all the sounds for each letter. I was very impressed with what little we've done already. Can't wait to start both girls on the program next year.

[MerryAtHope]

Might I hijack for a sec...

For an older child, 4th grade or so, do I still need all the materials for level I? ($26. for starter kit and $29 for level I)

How fast will she go through it? Should I order level II at the same time? ($39)

 

Agreeing with Jen that you can save on shipping by ordering more levels at once. You can see a demo of the CD ROM online and decide if that will help you. If you don't want it, you can still buy the letter tiles and magnets separately, but that's a way to save $ if it's really tight. The CD ROM is helpful I think, but not essential.

 

I ordered backwards, LOL! I started with Level 2 at the end of my kids' 3rd and 5th grade years, but partway into it I realized they had gaps from level 1. We went back to fill those in, but it only took a few weeks.

 

There's a short placement test in the FAQ that can help you decide whether to start in one or two. Keep in mind that when it asks if your child knows the sounds of the alphabet, they mean the multiple sounds (ie, O has 4 sounds, CH has 3, S has 2, etc...). Level 2 starts out with a quick review of Level 1, so some people start there with a level 1 materials packet. It won't reteach the concepts though, so if you want the teaching you would need the Level 1 book. An older child most likely will know how to spell the words in level 1, but may not know when to use C or K, or when to double F, L, and S at the end of a word, and things like that.

 

It took us about 3 weeks to fill in the gaps from Level 1, but for my kids at least it was time well spent. If you haven't worked much on segmenting in other programs, that's another good reason to get Level 1, as it will teach that concept. It's another one that's important kids understand, and a strategy I continue to reinforce with my kids (who are now in levels 4 and 5).

 

HTH some! Merry :-)

Edited August 8, 2010 by MerryAtHope

[MerryAtHope]

Thanks Jen.

It seems quite expensive for a spelling program, I hope it's as good as Merry :) says it is...

 

 

 

I suppose it depends on what your kids need, but for us it's been awesome! I balked at the price in the beginning (although I probably spent a couple hundred on spelling programs before finding AAS, LOL!). Then I thought, hey, I use my spelling skills as often as I do my math skills, and I don't balk (much!) at spending $$$ on math. And unfortunately our culture does judge people by their spelling skills. Spell check is only so much help (just the other day I read a blog entry from a nationally known homeschool company that used "your" instead of "you're."). No spell check on job applications either!

 

Merry :-)