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I have been intrigued by this for some time and shied away from it becuase after looking at a friends copy of The Writing Road to Reading I was convinced I couldn't teach it.

Since then I have heard of Spell to Read and Write. Are these different/the same? Is one easier than the other? Can anyone explain this to me?

The reason I am intrigued by this program is because of the rave reviews from seasoned homeschoolers I have talked with. They all say if you can teach the spalding method it is the best.

 

Any help would be really appreciated. So far with our oldest we have used OPG with ETC for first grade and then PLL by Serl, and R&S spelling for 2nd grade. Our 2nd child is going into 1st grade and I really wanted something we could start now and stick with... could this be spalding?

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Ellie (the WTM Spalding expert) would say there is only one Spalding and that's WRTR. SWR is based on it, but some things are changed. I would encourage you to take another look at your friends WRTR, it takes a bit to wrap your head around, but after you read it several times it begins to click :). It's really worth the effort to learn to teach it, I've seen huge improvements in my dd's spelling and now she's finally willing to try to sound words out for herself. If you do a search on WRTR you'll find a few threads on how to teach it. Also, here's a blog post of mine on how we use WRTR for spelling. Hope something in there helps!

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I just placed an order from the Spalding.org website. I decided I wanted to look at all ways of implementing Spalding, before deciding whether I just want to use it for spelling, especially with my younger child. Among several other resources, I decided to get the Teacher's guide for grade 1. The scope and sequence is pretty much the same between the grade 1 to 3 guides. He is reading at an advanced level and we have used Horizons Phonics and ETC to teach phonics before I found Spalding. He is a natural speller but I want to cement that with spelling rules, and I find Spalding will be the best resource for that. I will accelerate him through it at whatever pace I see he can go and depending on how I decide to use it I will determine if I need to order another guide (possibly the grade 4 guide). Anyway, I hope Ellie pops in with some valuable advise. I just placed our order today and am anxiously awaiting for our materials to arrive :). I have no wisdom to offer so I am just giving your thread a bump ;).

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I first was introduced to Spalding when my oldest was 6mo. I knew that it was the method I wanted to use with my dc. However, I read WRTR several times and got the idea but couldn't figure out how to implement it in my home. After a lot of research, I went with Spell to Write and Read. It's predessor (Teaching Reading at Home) was a supplement to WRTR but it eventually became its own program based on Spaldiing. IMHO, it is an easier-to-use Spalding program created for homeschoolers. There are a few changes in SWR (like the order of the Ayers List) but it stays true to the method.

 

I usually recommend that you use WRTR if you can because it is the original and can be cheaper (depending on what you think you need to buy...TMs are expensive) but if you can't SWR might be the program for you. I love it. It is easy to implement and flexible. It does require the teacher to invest time at the beginning to read the manuals and create a teacher log but that time was valuable to me in learning the method. The author now has a video out which would be very helpful. It wasn't out when I started. I create a schedule at the beginning of each year based on the SWR steps and WISE guide enrichments which makes it open-and-go for the year. Now that I've been doing this for a couple of years, it doesn't take me long to create that schedule at all. Teaching SWR has become second nature.

 

If you choose SWR, I'd be happy to share my schedules. A huge benefit to Spalding is its ability to be customized but the schedule could give you a place to start.

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I have been intrigued by this for some time and shied away from it becuase after looking at a friends copy of The Writing Road to Reading I was convinced I couldn't teach it.

Since then I have heard of Spell to Read and Write. Are these different/the same? Is one easier than the other? Can anyone explain this to me?

The reason I am intrigued by this program is because of the rave reviews from seasoned homeschoolers I have talked with. They all say if you can teach the spalding method it is the best.

 

Any help would be really appreciated. So far with our oldest we have used OPG with ETC for first grade and then PLL by Serl, and R&S spelling for 2nd grade. Our 2nd child is going into 1st grade and I really wanted something we could start now and stick with... could this be spalding?

There is only one Spalding Method. :D Sanseri's SWR and Beers's Phonics Road are spin-offs, and they are not Spalding.

 

Spalding is really very easy to teach; everything you need to know is in the manual (WRTR):

 

*Teach the first 45 phonograms (there's a script in the manual)

*Drill those phonograms daily, by dictating them and by "flashing" them

*When the dc knows the first 45, begin teaching the spelling words in the Extended Ayres List (sample script in the manual)

*Continue teaching the phonograms until the dc knows all 70

 

See? Easy peasy. :D

 

If you do Spalding, it will be everything you'll need for English skills: basic reading, spelling, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, simple composition. If you want it to be, it can also do grammar and more comprehensive writing and reading (i.e., literature analysis and whatnot). You can't go wrong with just sticking to the basics (spelling--children learn to read by learning to spell--penmanship, capitalization/punctuation, simple writing).

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There is only one Spalding Method. :D Sanseri's SWR and Beers's Phonics Road are spin-offs, and they are not Spalding.

 

Spalding is really very easy to teach; everything you need to know is in the manual (WRTR):

 

*Teach the first 45 phonograms (there's a script in the manual)

*Drill those phonograms daily, by dictating them and by "flashing" them

*When the dc knows the first 45, begin teaching the spelling words in the Extended Ayres List (sample script in the manual)

*Continue teaching the phonograms until the dc knows all 70

 

See? Easy peasy. :D

 

If you do Spalding, it will be everything you'll need for English skills: basic reading, spelling, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, simple composition. If you want it to be, it can also do grammar and more comprehensive writing and reading (i.e., literature analysis and whatnot). You can't go wrong with just sticking to the basics (spelling--children learn to read by learning to spell--penmanship, capitalization/punctuation, simple writing).

 

You make it sound SO easy. Really? Is it really that easy? How long is it designed to take? I guess I need to reborrow the book and try again to figure it out.

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I first was introduced to Spalding when my oldest was 6mo. I knew that it was the method I wanted to use with my dc. However, I read WRTR several times and got the idea but couldn't figure out how to implement it in my home. After a lot of research, I went with Spell to Write and Read. It's predessor (Teaching Reading at Home) was a supplement to WRTR but it eventually became its own program based on Spaldiing. IMHO, it is an easier-to-use Spalding program created for homeschoolers. There are a few changes in SWR (like the order of the Ayers List) but it stays true to the method.

 

I usually recommend that you use WRTR if you can because it is the original and can be cheaper (depending on what you think you need to buy...TMs are expensive) but if you can't SWR might be the program for you. I love it. It is easy to implement and flexible. It does require the teacher to invest time at the beginning to read the manuals and create a teacher log but that time was valuable to me in learning the method. The author now has a video out which would be very helpful. It wasn't out when I started. I create a schedule at the beginning of each year based on the SWR steps and WISE guide enrichments which makes it open-and-go for the year. Now that I've been doing this for a couple of years, it doesn't take me long to create that schedule at all. Teaching SWR has become second nature.

 

If you choose SWR, I'd be happy to share my schedules. A huge benefit to Spalding is its ability to be customized but the schedule could give you a place to start.

 

Thanks! If I decide to go this route I will take you up on that.

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I just placed an order from the Spalding.org website. I decided I wanted to look at all ways of implementing Spalding, before deciding whether I just want to use it for spelling, especially with my younger child. Among several other resources, I decided to get the Teacher's guide for grade 1. The scope and sequence is pretty much the same between the grade 1 and 3 guides. He is reading at an advanced level and we have used Horizons Phonics and ETC to teach phonics before I found Spalding. He is a natural speller but I want to cement that with spelling rules, and I find Spalding will be the best resource for that. I will accelerate him through it at whatever pace I see he can go and depending on how I decide to use it I will determine if I need to order another guide (possibly the grade 4 guide). Anyway, I hope Ellie pops in with some valuable advise. I just placed our order today and am anxiously awaiting for our materials to arrive :). I have no wisdom to offer so I am just giving your thread a bump ;).

 

We tried Horizons phonics and hated it! We dropped it after a very short time using it. I thought we would like it since we liked Horizons math. Please keep me updated on how you like your spalding stuff.

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Ellie (the WTM Spalding expert) would say there is only one Spalding and that's WRTR. SWR is based on it, but some things are changed. I would encourage you to take another look at your friends WRTR, it takes a bit to wrap your head around, but after you read it several times it begins to click :). It's really worth the effort to learn to teach it, I've seen huge improvements in my dd's spelling and now she's finally willing to try to sound words out for herself. If you do a search on WRTR you'll find a few threads on how to teach it. Also, here's a blog post of mine on how we use WRTR for spelling. Hope something in there helps!

 

Your blog was very helpful. On the monday-thurs schedule, do you do the whole routine every day?

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We tried Horizons phonics and hated it! We dropped it after a very short time using it. I thought we would like it since we liked Horizons math. Please keep me updated on how you like your spalding stuff.

 

We liked both Horizons Math and Phonics but I am not happy with Horizons Math as I have found that my son is not always internalizing the whys with certain things. It moves too fast, jumping from one thing to another, and I should have known better than to add a spiral program to our mastery oriented family :tongue_smilie:. I am switching to MUS while keeping our second math program, SM :). I was going to continue with Horizons Phonics 2, just getting the workbooks for next year, but everything is just so repetitive at this point that I just need something like Spalding to put everything together for Adrian. It is not as structured as Spalding and I cannot get a feel for where we are going. Again, lots of jumping around there. Anyway, I am off topic now :lol:. I'll keep you posted how I like the materials. I really want to begin my little guy with Spalding from the start. Wish I had found out about it when Adrian was learning to read. It would have been crazy to even consider it as a new homeschooler but well worth it. I am not giving myself any other options. I am going to find the way to implement it no matter what :D. I am busy writing notes on my WRTR book, while waiting for our other materials. One thing I would suggest to you though is to purchase your own copy of the WRTR. It is very inexpensive for what you get.

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Good to know about the versions. The one I had access to was a newer white covered one. I do know someone who has the older one though and she isn't going to use it. She offered it to me and it has the cards in the book to pull out.

 

I do have another question though. While reading through an old post on the spalding method it sounds identical to AAS in spelling method and teaching the phonograms. What is the difference between these two programs?

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I started Spalding methods with my child about a month ago. We have had good results so far. I reviewed many of the old threads including a great deal of advice from Ms. Ellie. They were most helpful. I purchased the flash cards and 1st grade teachers manual from Spalding, and then jumped in.

 

My child will be in kindergarten this fall so we do not follow a set schedule or format yet. She enjoys the flashcards and picked up on those concepts quickly. We are also doing the Spalding spelling method with the underlines and numbers. I thought that might be difficult but it is not. The biggest improvement has been handwriting! That surprised me. I think part of it is that Spalding has high expectations and a script to follow.

 

What I like about Spalding is that it gives a script and I have seen results quickly. I do wonder if this will be the same for my other kids. Will have to see over the next few years.

 

I also like that Spalding has taught me how to think about phonics and reading and writing. I never knew that the letter "o" had three sounds, or thought about which sounds were most common, or what made "g" say g in goat and j in George. I like the rules too as I did not realize how helpful they can be when explaining why a word is spelled that way or how to decode a word in reading. I find a logical explanation helps both my child and me.

 

Best wishes on deciding what curriculum works for you.

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Your blog was very helpful. On the monday-thurs schedule, do you do the whole routine every day?

 

Yes and Ellie is right, it really is just that easy. I also agree that the blue/green version (I think it's the 4th edition) is much easier to navigate.

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Yes and Ellie is right, it really is just that easy. I also agree that the blue/green version (I think it's the 4th edition) is much easier to navigate.

 

So how much writing is required in a day's lesson? Sentence wise? When you say put the words in a sentence, do they write the sentence? My son detests writing unless it is on his own in his journal lol. So I am just wondering about the amount of writing.

 

Although I guess first I should ask if it would be wise to start a 3rd grader on this? If not then no worries, my daughter loves to show off and write, and write, and write some more.

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My dd was halfway through 3rd grade when we began WRTR. It was all to obvious to me that our lightening fast phonics approach did not help her spelling. I have her make up her own sentence, my only requirement is that it includes at least two spelling words. Some days her sentence has been as simple as--I ran. So she write 20 words per day plus the one sentence, so far she hasn't complained.

 

ETA: If you wanted to add tiles to the program, which we have done, you can measure and cut out squares on card stock, write the phonograms on them and then stick magnet strips on the back. Works great, but your dc do need to be a bit gentle with them, unless you laminated them.

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Good to know about the versions. The one I had access to was a newer white covered one. I do know someone who has the older one though and she isn't going to use it. She offered it to me and it has the cards in the book to pull out.

 

I do have another question though. While reading through an old post on the spalding method it sounds identical to AAS in spelling method and teaching the phonograms. What is the difference between these two programs?

 

 

I *think* that AAS only covers the phonograms and rules, but doesn't not include the specific handwriting, grammar and composition that Spalding offers. I *think* being the key word there....

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I *think* that AAS only covers the phonograms and rules, but doesn't not include the specific handwriting, grammar and composition that Spalding offers. I *think* being the key word there....

 

 

We have AAS levels 1 & 2 and I have not seen any grammar or composition. So does Spalding teach these with the spelling? Or is it a seperate lesson? I am totally confused. I was thinking of spalding for just spelling. I know Ellie said it is all you need for LA can someone give me an idea of how this works?

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My dd was halfway through 3rd grade when we began WRTR. It was all to obvious to me that our lightening fast phonics approach did not help her spelling. I have her make up her own sentence, my only requirement is that it includes at least two spelling words. Some days her sentence has been as simple as--I ran. So she write 20 words per day plus the one sentence, so far she hasn't complained.

 

ETA: If you wanted to add tiles to the program, which we have done, you can measure and cut out squares on card stock, write the phonograms on them and then stick magnet strips on the back. Works great, but your dc do need to be a bit gentle with them, unless you laminated them.

 

So, I could very well use this for both of my children then. They will be in 3rd & 1st. Is there different levels in the book for different grade levels? Or would I teach them both at once?

 

We have the AAS tiles for the first two levels, I suppose we could use those with this right? If my son starts balking at the writing... although he didn't really like the AAS tiles and I think the writing is good for him lol. No, I think I will send the AAS tiles back and just have him write. :tongue_smilie:

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Joyful--I'll toss out a few thoughts here. I've used SWR, PR, AAS, WRTR (what I started with), HTTS, and some of the regulars too. I can tell you that, the competition notwithstanding, conceptually these programs are all very, very similar. What they bring to the table are their unique features or perks.

 

-SWR has fabulous enrichments in the Wise Guide and amazing sentences for every single word. I also like Sanseri's AlphaList.

-PR--Videos and complete LA integration. Helps moms get over the hump and handy one-stop-shopping for LA for the child who is at a similar enough level on all components for it to work.

-AAS--The tiles work best when you're using them in the context of presenting concepts (the way they do in the lessons). If you're just using them to spell words from another program, that will get old quickly. There are little steps the AAS manual includes, like having the dc arrange his tiles every time (working on alphabetical order), the way they show syllabification, etc. that are VERY good. But I think you're missing the potential because you don't have the AAS tm. She should make a little booklet on how to use the tiles. Maybe it was included on the cover page and I missed it? The way she structures review in AAS is *exceptional* and worth carrying over to any of the other Spalding spinoffs.

-HTTS--To the point, interesting nonsense and regular sense phrases, sentences, etc. that work on the rule and then spiral review. Very concise.

-WRTR--I started with the 5th edition. Now they have leveled lesson plans and all sorts of things. Their phonogram card quality is terrific, highly recommend. With a sharpie marker and a couple changes, you can use any phonogram cards with any of the programs above. WRTR is seemingly written to teachers, so half the book was theory. Then you had some confusing (to me) examples of how to implement the suggested components, and the word lists. I started with it, go so frustrated I threw it at the wall for months, decided I WOULD conquer the method, figured it out, and finally realized that even though the theory was there SWR would offer me more day-to-day help. So I bought SWR. That was, um, 7 years ago. Wow how time flies!

 

It really kind of glosses differences in kids to make it sound like one of these products is easier than another. They all exist because they create niches with the special helps they give. For instance, if you take a dyslexic through AAS (which was written by a tutor out of her tutoring experience) you're going to have a better fit than if you put a linguistically-bent natural speller through it, kwim? Conversely, if you try to use WRTR with a dyslexic/struggling speller, you might find yourself wishing for the enrichments and dictation sentences of SWR, the nonsense and spiraling phrases and sentences of HTTS, or the handy organized review methodology of AAS. Sure you *could* get to the same place with WRTR as the METHODOLOGY IS ALMOST THE SAME. But you'd work your butt off in certain cases making it happen.

 

I repeat what I have said 20K times on the board. Go to the library and get WRTR. Read it, learn the method, see what you think, try it. After a bit of that, you'll know if the method is what you need and whether you need more helps (in those other programs) or the streamlined version or what to make it happen. If $17 is your budget, WRTR is your program. The rest *can* be done in theory by you, if you have enough time and gump to do those things yourself. Many of us have burnt out over the years trying to recreate the wheel, so we're more than happy to use someone else's add-ons. And you might get the materials and realize they're WAY OVERKILL for your kid. That possibility does exist. :)

 

So yeah, check your library and see what you have access to for free. :)

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BTW, on the ds who doesn't like to write, sometimes you're seeing indications of other problems. My reluctant writer turned out both to be dyslexic and to need vision therapy. http://www.covd.org is where you find a developmental optometrist for a more thorough eye exam. She also had unidentified low muscle tone that was causing her hand to hurt. We did OT for that. So this is just a good age to start watching for what's REALLY going on and causing the symptoms, kwim? If he doesn't like the tiles, no biggee. Personally, I would use them for presentation of rules and concepts, NOT for doing all the words. But if your 3rd grader balks at writing 10 words, that's a good time to look at the red flag and start looking for some answers.

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Joyful--I'll toss out a few thoughts here. I've used SWR, PR, AAS, WRTR (what I started with), HTTS, and some of the regulars too. I can tell you that, the competition notwithstanding, conceptually these programs are all very, very similar. What they bring to the table are their unique features or perks.

 

-SWR has fabulous enrichments in the Wise Guide and amazing sentences for every single word. I also like Sanseri's AlphaList.

-PR--Videos and complete LA integration. Helps moms get over the hump and handy one-stop-shopping for LA for the child who is at a similar enough level on all components for it to work.

-AAS--The tiles work best when you're using them in the context of presenting concepts (the way they do in the lessons). If you're just using them to spell words from another program, that will get old quickly. There are little steps the AAS manual includes, like having the dc arrange his tiles every time (working on alphabetical order), the way they show syllabification, etc. that are VERY good. But I think you're missing the potential because you don't have the AAS tm. She should make a little booklet on how to use the tiles. Maybe it was included on the cover page and I missed it? The way she structures review in AAS is *exceptional* and worth carrying over to any of the other Spalding spinoffs.

-HTTS--To the point, interesting nonsense and regular sense phrases, sentences, etc. that work on the rule and then spiral review. Very concise.

-WRTR--I started with the 5th edition. Now they have leveled lesson plans and all sorts of things. Their phonogram card quality is terrific, highly recommend. With a sharpie marker and a couple changes, you can use any phonogram cards with any of the programs above. WRTR is seemingly written to teachers, so half the book was theory. Then you had some confusing (to me) examples of how to implement the suggested components, and the word lists. I started with it, go so frustrated I threw it at the wall for months, decided I WOULD conquer the method, figured it out, and finally realized that even though the theory was there SWR would offer me more day-to-day help. So I bought SWR. That was, um, 7 years ago. Wow how time flies!

 

It really kind of glosses differences in kids to make it sound like one of these products is easier than another. They all exist because they create niches with the special helps they give. For instance, if you take a dyslexic through AAS (which was written by a tutor out of her tutoring experience) you're going to have a better fit than if you put a linguistically-bent natural speller through it, kwim? Conversely, if you try to use WRTR with a dyslexic/struggling speller, you might find yourself wishing for the enrichments and dictation sentences of SWR, the nonsense and spiraling phrases and sentences of HTTS, or the handy organized review methodology of AAS. Sure you *could* get to the same place with WRTR as the METHODOLOGY IS ALMOST THE SAME. But you'd work your butt off in certain cases making it happen.

 

I repeat what I have said 20K times on the board. Go to the library and get WRTR. Read it, learn the method, see what you think, try it. After a bit of that, you'll know if the method is what you need and whether you need more helps (in those other programs) or the streamlined version or what to make it happen. If $17 is your budget, WRTR is your program. The rest *can* be done in theory by you, if you have enough time and gump to do those things yourself. Many of us have burnt out over the years trying to recreate the wheel, so we're more than happy to use someone else's add-ons. And you might get the materials and realize they're WAY OVERKILL for your kid. That possibility does exist. :)

 

So yeah, check your library and see what you have access to for free. :)

 

Great synopsis! OhE hit the nail on the head that they are all good programs. My dc are advanced linguistically so AAS wouldn't have been for us. Neither PR nor WRTR would have been right for me as the teacher. You need to examine your needs and budget to find the right one. I'm glad there are so many options.

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Joyful--I'll toss out a few thoughts here. I've used SWR, PR, AAS, WRTR (what I started with), HTTS, and some of the regulars too. I can tell you that, the competition notwithstanding, conceptually these programs are all very, very similar. What they bring to the table are their unique features or perks.

 

-SWR has fabulous enrichments in the Wise Guide and amazing sentences for every single word. I also like Sanseri's AlphaList.

-PR--Videos and complete LA integration. Helps moms get over the hump and handy one-stop-shopping for LA for the child who is at a similar enough level on all components for it to work.

-AAS--The tiles work best when you're using them in the context of presenting concepts (the way they do in the lessons). If you're just using them to spell words from another program, that will get old quickly. There are little steps the AAS manual includes, like having the dc arrange his tiles every time (working on alphabetical order), the way they show syllabification, etc. that are VERY good. But I think you're missing the potential because you don't have the AAS tm. She should make a little booklet on how to use the tiles. Maybe it was included on the cover page and I missed it? The way she structures review in AAS is *exceptional* and worth carrying over to any of the other Spalding spinoffs.

-HTTS--To the point, interesting nonsense and regular sense phrases, sentences, etc. that work on the rule and then spiral review. Very concise.

-WRTR--I started with the 5th edition. Now they have leveled lesson plans and all sorts of things. Their phonogram card quality is terrific, highly recommend. With a sharpie marker and a couple changes, you can use any phonogram cards with any of the programs above. WRTR is seemingly written to teachers, so half the book was theory. Then you had some confusing (to me) examples of how to implement the suggested components, and the word lists. I started with it, go so frustrated I threw it at the wall for months, decided I WOULD conquer the method, figured it out, and finally realized that even though the theory was there SWR would offer me more day-to-day help. So I bought SWR. That was, um, 7 years ago. Wow how time flies!

 

It really kind of glosses differences in kids to make it sound like one of these products is easier than another. They all exist because they create niches with the special helps they give. For instance, if you take a dyslexic through AAS (which was written by a tutor out of her tutoring experience) you're going to have a better fit than if you put a linguistically-bent natural speller through it, kwim? Conversely, if you try to use WRTR with a dyslexic/struggling speller, you might find yourself wishing for the enrichments and dictation sentences of SWR, the nonsense and spiraling phrases and sentences of HTTS, or the handy organized review methodology of AAS. Sure you *could* get to the same place with WRTR as the METHODOLOGY IS ALMOST THE SAME. But you'd work your butt off in certain cases making it happen.

 

I repeat what I have said 20K times on the board. Go to the library and get WRTR. Read it, learn the method, see what you think, try it. After a bit of that, you'll know if the method is what you need and whether you need more helps (in those other programs) or the streamlined version or what to make it happen. If $17 is your budget, WRTR is your program. The rest *can* be done in theory by you, if you have enough time and gump to do those things yourself. Many of us have burnt out over the years trying to recreate the wheel, so we're more than happy to use someone else's add-ons. And you might get the materials and realize they're WAY OVERKILL for your kid. That possibility does exist. :)

 

So yeah, check your library and see what you have access to for free. :)

 

Thanks for all that info. It helps. I have the WRTR on hold at the library, just waiting for it to be returned. Also have a friend with the newer edition (library one is the older edition). I guess I am just impatient :)

 

Also I do have the TM for AAS 1 & 2 I think this program was just overkill for us. I did recently find out we were doing it wrong though. We were doing a step a day instead of spreading it out over a course of three days. I still don't think it will work for us though. The reason I was drawn to AAS in the first place was because I liked WRTR but couldn't figure it out... or was just too lazy to read through the WHOLE book :)

 

BTW, on the ds who doesn't like to write, sometimes you're seeing indications of other problems. My reluctant writer turned out both to be dyslexic and to need vision therapy. www.covd.org is where you find a developmental optometrist for a more thorough eye exam. She also had unidentified low muscle tone that was causing her hand to hurt. We did OT for that. So this is just a good age to start watching for what's REALLY going on and causing the symptoms, kwim? If he doesn't like the tiles, no biggee. Personally, I would use them for presentation of rules and concepts, NOT for doing all the words. But if your 3rd grader balks at writing 10 words, that's a good time to look at the red flag and start looking for some answers.

 

I don't think it is a developmental problem. I think it is a BOY thing ;-) He loves to write in his journal and will write a whole page or more at a time (small journal) without any prompting from me. I think he just doesn't like to write for school. Plus he is a little guy and has little hands and is only 7. It does cause his hands to hurt at times but that is after writing three paragraphs.. I only made him do this once and then decided to back off. We now do two or three sentences a day. Then he writes in his journal when he wants to (usually daily or every other day) and sometimes tells me afterwards that his hands hurt from writing so much. I remember this from being in school too. My hands always hurt if I had to write a report... boy was I glad when we were able to start turning in typed reports.

Edited by joyfulhomeschooler
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Also I do have the TM for AAS 1 & 2 I think this program was just overkill for us. I did recently find out we were doing it wrong though. We were doing a step a day instead of spreading it out over a course of three days.

 

The steps aren't meant to be done in a certain period of time. You do them in whatever amount of time you need. In level 1, that was a step or more per day for us (we finished the level in 3 weeks). In level 2, we sometimes spent 1 day, sometimes 2 days on a step. We never did have to spend more than that (finished that level in about 8 weeks). In level 3, I foresee us spending 2-3 days on a step, as the material is much meatier, and there is more to do in general, plus the concepts being taught are finally getting to be mostly "new" to DS instead of mostly review. We spent 5 days on step 1, making sure we reviewed everything. The regular steps won't take that long, I don't think.

 

The program may be overkill for you, of course, and you might like WRTR better. My son would probably do fine with whichever one I used. I use AAS for me, because I need the handholding. You may not need that. Definitely try out WRTR form the library! I had looked at it at the library first, and I didn't really understand how to use it... I needed more handholding.

 

I think OhElizabeth's review of all the programs is excellent. They all have their strengths and weaknesses, but they also all teach very similarly. If this type of program in general is overkill for your child (ie, if he's a natural speller), you might think about a dictation type program like Spelling Wisdom or Simply Spelling.

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Good to know about the versions. The one I had access to was a newer white covered one. I do know someone who has the older one though and she isn't going to use it. She offered it to me and it has the cards in the book to pull out.

The green one is the 4th edition; the white one is the fifth edition. :001_smile:

 

I do have another question though. While reading through an old post on the spalding method it sounds identical to AAS in spelling method and teaching the phonograms. What is the difference between these two programs?

Spalding is the original after which AAS was modeled; IOW, you'd have to say that AAS is identical to Spalding, rather than the other way around. Spalding is much more comprehensive than AAS; it is a complete English course for children up through at least 3rd grade/8yo (spelling, reading, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, some writing; with the TG, it can also be grammar and more complex composition).

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You make it sound SO easy. Really? Is it really that easy? How long is it designed to take? I guess I need to reborrow the book and try again to figure it out.

Yes, it really is that easy.

 

In a classroom, where Spalding is the whole ball of wax (reading, spelling, penmanship, etc.), it will take 3 hours a day. It shouldn't take nearly that much time at home, although understand that you won't need vocabulary-controlled basal readers and their accompanying workbooks, another penmanship class, etc. It's everything for literacy skills. Also, you can break it up into smaller bits, rather than sitting and doing Spalding for a couple of hours, KWIM?

 

This is how you learn to teach the Spalding Method:

 

Sit down in the evening with a cup of tea and WRTR. Read it from cover to cover (yes, it should take you more than one evening, and yes, including the spelling list and everything--cover to cover). When you're finished, read it again from cover to cover, making notes to yourself with pencil. When you're finished, read it again; this time you should be able to figure out what your daily class time will look like, what happens next, and so on. IOW, don't read through it once thinking you'll be able to figure it out. A beginning how-to-teach Spalding class is upwards of 40 hours, after all.:D

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So does Spalding teach these with the spelling? Or is it a seperate lesson? I am totally confused. I was thinking of spalding for just spelling. I know Ellie said it is all you need for LA can someone give me an idea of how this works?

 

It is one of the main reasons why I decided to get a TG. I was going to get the grade 3 TG for Adrian and K for Malcolm, but the scope and sequence between grades 1-3 follows a similar pattern. I decided to get the grade 1 TG for now because I can use it with both boys (to get an idea on how to plan daily/ weekly lessons) and it saved from spending on two TG's for now ;). After I determine how much of Spalding I will be using, I will decide if I need another TG. I may get the grade 4 TG. Anyway, I cannot speak for the older editions but the fifth edition of the WRTR (the latest one) that I have, has a chapter on planning integrated language lessons. It is chapter 5 in the 5th edition.

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Yes, it really is that easy.

 

In a classroom, where Spalding is the whole ball of wax (reading, spelling, penmanship, etc.), it will take 3 hours a day. It shouldn't take nearly that much time at home, although understand that you won't need vocabulary-controlled basal readers and their accompanying workbooks, another penmanship class, etc. It's everything for literacy skills. Also, you can break it up into smaller bits, rather than sitting and doing Spalding for a couple of hours, KWIM?

 

This is how you learn to teach the Spalding Method:

 

Sit down in the evening with a cup of tea and WRTR. Read it from cover to cover (yes, it should take you more than one evening, and yes, including the spelling list and everything--cover to cover). When you're finished, read it again from cover to cover, making notes to yourself with pencil. When you're finished, read it again; this time you should be able to figure out what your daily class time will look like, what happens next, and so on. IOW, don't read through it once thinking you'll be able to figure it out. A beginning how-to-teach Spalding class is upwards of 40 hours, after all.:D

oops I missed this post. Three times huh... hmm do I have a big enough desire for that :glare: Is it really worth it. I hear such great things about it from retired homeschoolers I have talked to. I am waiting on it from the library. I guess since the baby nurses for SOOOO long in the eve's I could read it while nursing. Although the tea sounds great, I don't think I could juggle the baby, book, and cup of tea at the same time :D

 

I am confused as to how it teaches everything so I guess I really shouldn't have just skimmed it before when I had it in my hands. I will give it a REAL chance and attempt to really read it.

Thanks!

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Spalding is much more comprehensive than AAS; it is a complete English course for children up through at least 3rd grade/8yo (spelling, reading, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, some writing; with the TG, it can also be grammar and more complex composition).

 

This is what I was trying to say and one of the main reasons why I decided to get a TG in the first place. Funny thing is I was researching AAS at the time :tongue_smilie:. I think it was in the AAS website at the time that I saw mention of Romalda Spalding :D but either way, it was at the time that I was researching AAS. I got the WRTR from our library and read parts of it and decided I wanted to buy it. Since then I have felt that this is the approach I am looking for. The original ;). AAS would not have worked for us because it would have been too slow paced for Adrian. I like some of the comments that OhElizabeth made because they desrcibed in a much better way than I could express the reasons why I decided against some of the programs she listed.

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The green one is the 4th edition; the white one is the fifth edition. :001_smile:

 

 

Spalding is the original after which AAS was modeled; IOW, you'd have to say that AAS is identical to Spalding, rather than the other way around. Spalding is much more comprehensive than AAS; it is a complete English course for children up through at least 3rd grade/8yo (spelling, reading, penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, some writing; with the TG, it can also be grammar and more complex composition).

Yes, sorry, that would be correct :)

 

So, if I was going to use spalding for just spelling, I could instead just use our AAS that we already have and it would most likely get us to the same spot spelling wise?

 

You said 3hrs in a classroom. How long in a home setting does this method take? You used it with your children if I remember correctly? Would I teach both children at once? Or would it be better to just use it with my 1st grader? What do you go to after spalding if it only covers to 3rd grade?

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Yes, it really is that easy.

 

In a classroom, where Spalding is the whole ball of wax (reading, spelling, penmanship, etc.), it will take 3 hours a day. It shouldn't take nearly that much time at home, although understand that you won't need vocabulary-controlled basal readers and their accompanying workbooks, another penmanship class, etc. It's everything for literacy skills. Also, you can break it up into smaller bits, rather than sitting and doing Spalding for a couple of hours, KWIM?

 

I was reading about this again, in the early morning hours when I usually get the chance to do my reading :tongue_smilie:. It didn't phase me, I was just trying to figure out how I would work it in. Thank you for adding the comment about this being for a classroom setting. It makes so much sense.

 

This is how you learn to teach the Spalding Method:

 

Sit down in the evening with a cup of tea and WRTR. Read it from cover to cover (yes, it should take you more than one evening, and yes, including the spelling list and everything--cover to cover). When you're finished, read it again from cover to cover, making notes to yourself with pencil. When you're finished, read it again; this time you should be able to figure out what your daily class time will look like, what happens next, and so on. IOW, don't read through it once thinking you'll be able to figure it out. A beginning how-to-teach Spalding class is upwards of 40 hours, after all.:D

 

This is the stage I am at now :).

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Yes, sorry, that would be correct :)

 

So, if I was going to use spalding for just spelling, I could instead just use our AAS that we already have and it would most likely get us to the same spot spelling wise?

 

You said 3hrs in a classroom. How long in a home setting does this method take? You used it with your children if I remember correctly? Would I teach both children at once? Or would it be better to just use it with my 1st grader? What do you go to after spalding if it only covers to 3rd grade?

 

Not Ellie but I just wanted to say here that the 70 phonograms and 29 second-order spelling rules will enable your child to spell accurately 80% of English words. If you factor in only the most frequently used words the percentage is higher. These are comments found in the book. The 3rd grade that Ellie spoke about is if you decide to use it as a LA program. You can go beyond that with a teacher's guide, as Ellie said :D.

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Yes, sorry, that would be correct :)

 

So, if I was going to use spalding for just spelling, I could instead just use our AAS that we already have and it would most likely get us to the same spot spelling wise?

 

You said 3hrs in a classroom. How long in a home setting does this method take? You used it with your children if I remember correctly? Would I teach both children at once? Or would it be better to just use it with my 1st grader? What do you go to after spalding if it only covers to 3rd grade?

 

No, if you use AAS it's going to take you a lot longer to get to the same place. AAS presents the words in a different way, grouping them by rule or pattern. It's a modification that greatly helps some kids who NEED to see those patterns and explore them. WRTR and SWR are organized by frequency of use (in adults, not kids, think on that one), meaning that a student covering a certain number of words will go to an astonishing level of spelling quite quickly. If you keep on pace with SWR per Sanseri's suggestions, you can literally be through high school level spelling by the end of 4th!

 

Despite the comments about the LA being incorporated with WRTR, I never found it quite as obvious as what it is with SWR. With SWR the activities are right there on the page with the words you're working on. WRTR is more segregated and assumes a teacher who takes the time to sort it out. Or you buy the grade leveled teacher's guides. (Those were brand new when my dd was little.)

 

Really, if you're coming from AAS, you're going to have a few surprises when you hit WRTR. With AAS you weren't marking words, and your words were chosen by rule. You're going to find WRTR a lot more free-form. Might be great, or might push you out of your gourd. Just get it and see what happens. :)

 

Oh, and all the talk about the virtues of integrated LA are great UNTIL you realize your dc reads way beyond their spelling or is in some other way asynchronous. Or until you realize you LIKE the ease of a grammar book. Or until you realize your kid doesn't retain anything despite all your efforts with the fancy activities. I mean it's not like it works for every kid. It sounds great on paper. For us, it was really snazzy in K5 and 1st. By 2nd we were scratching our heads, and by 3rd we had moved on. So I wouldn't die on that hill.

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oops I missed this post. Three times huh... hmm do I have a big enough desire for that :glare: Is it really worth it. I hear such great things about it from retired homeschoolers I have talked to. I am waiting on it from the library. I guess since the baby nurses for SOOOO long in the eve's I could read it while nursing. Although the tea sounds great, I don't think I could juggle the baby, book, and cup of tea at the same time :D

Of course, it's worth it. Really and truly, don't you want to be prepared to teach whatever it is that you're going to teach? And think about it: How many times does someone read through WTM before she feels as if she can really implement it? Can someone pick up MOH today and start teaching tomorrow?

 

I am confused as to how it teaches everything so I guess I really shouldn't have just skimmed it before when I had it in my hands.

See?

 

I will give it a REAL chance and attempt to really read it. Thanks!

YW. :-)

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Before I jumped into the Spalding method, I researched the other methods as well. Most of the threads I read here said that the phonics programs you are considering are all worthwhile but each has an individual character. Thus some programs are a better fit for student or teacher.

 

I decided how much I was willing to spend on a program and which program I wanted to try first. It was Spalding (added incentive 50% coupon at local national book chain), and I have been happy with it.

 

I urge you not to devote a large amount of time to the decisionmaking and rather pick the program you think is the best fit, spend as little money as possible starting on it and devote some time to learning how to teach it to your children.

 

Spalding takes time to learn how to do, but you can also be using the phonograms with your kids while you are learning how to teach it.

 

I understand your concerns about reading the white book through a couple of times. My motivation is also low at the end of the day. I have been implementing Spalding in stages. Perhaps with your third grader you could stay with your current curriculum and implement Spalding in stages. Start with phonograms and administer a spelling assessment. Then move up to the handwriting and reading parts.

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Before I jumped into the Spalding method, I researched the other methods as well. Most of the threads I read here said that the phonics programs you are considering are all worthwhile but each has an individual character. Thus some programs are a better fit for student or teacher.

 

I decided how much I was willing to spend on a program and which program I wanted to try first. It was Spalding (added incentive 50% coupon at local national book chain), and I have been happy with it.

 

I urge you not to devote a large amount of time to the decisionmaking and rather pick the program you think is the best fit, spend as little money as possible starting on it and devote some time to learning how to teach it to your children.

 

Spalding takes time to learn how to do, but you can also be using the phonograms with your kids while you are learning how to teach it.

 

I understand your concerns about reading the white book through a couple of times. My motivation is also low at the end of the day. I have been implementing Spalding in stages. Perhaps with your third grader you could stay with your current curriculum and implement Spalding in stages. Start with phonograms and administer a spelling assessment. Then move up to the handwriting and reading parts.

 

Glad to know it can be done in like this. I am starting to get really worked up over spelling and LA subjects. All the other subjects are in place and working well, except for these. I really like PLL but it just doesn't have the grammar instruction I am looking for. We are currently doing nothing but individualized study for spelling.

 

Does everyone that has posted on here use it for all LA subjects or just spelling?

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Glad to know it can be done in like this. I am starting to get really worked up over spelling and LA subjects. All the other subjects are in place and working well, except for these. I really like PLL but it just doesn't have the grammar instruction I am looking for. We are currently doing nothing but individualized study for spelling.

 

Does everyone that has posted on here use it for all LA subjects or just spelling?

 

I am getting Shurley 2, PLL and CW for next year and I most likely will not use it for grammar but it is my understanding that the grammar component is added in at the grade 4 level. I think Ellie would be the best to answer that, unless there's someone else using it as a full LA program. If I remember correctly Ellie has previewed the TG's. This is also the other reason why I am not sure if I will be getting the grade 4 TG yet or not. I will decide after I see what components, besides spelling, I use it for with Adrian.

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Glad to know it can be done in like this. I am starting to get really worked up over spelling and LA subjects. All the other subjects are in place and working well, except for these. I really like PLL but it just doesn't have the grammar instruction I am looking for. We are currently doing nothing but individualized study for spelling.

 

Does everyone that has posted on here use it for all LA subjects or just spelling?

 

I use SWR for phonics, spelling, and reading comprehension. It includes grammar and writing in the enrichments and we do a lot of those but prefer FLL and WWE as our main sources right now. The reason I added FLL and WWE was because I didn't feel confident teaching writing and grammar so scripted was good for me. I didn't learn any (really, not a bit) grammar in school. I am a good writer but lack the skills to teach it. The grammar/writing enrichments are good complements to FLL/WWE and tie our spelling words in nicely. A good example of this is we categorized our spelling words last week into verbs and nouns per a SWR enrichment. That exercise allowed us to review our spelling words that day and review the verb and noun concepts we've been learing in FLL1.

 

Now that I've learned so much teaching my first ds, I would feel comfortable using only SWR with my ds5 but have come to like FLL and WWE so much that I'll probably end up using them with him too.

 

We also add SL readers but we'd have to add readers to any of the programs you're considering. I loved that ds7 never had to read any phonetically controlled readers as Ellie mentioned. He hated them when I tried to add them to our schedule (other kids we knew were reading them...) so I took the advice in SWR and dropped them. The first book he read by himself was Green Eggs and Ham. He loved reading it and has had a book in his hand ever since.

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What is a phonetically controlled reader? My son started out on SL readers too. Beginning with the grade 1 readers. My daughter is just now starting the SL grade 1 readers.

 

The SL K readers would be phonetically controlled readers. If you have used those.

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What is a phonetically controlled reader? My son started out on SL readers too. Beginning with the grade 1 readers. My daughter is just now starting the SL grade 1 readers.

 

Bob books, Fun Tales, and I Can Read It are all phonetically controlled. We started SL Readers 1 with The Best Trick (but he wanted to read Green Eggs and Ham first:001_smile:. We own all of those readers I mentioned and ds5 read them all voluntarily a couple of years ago. Ds7 thought they were "dumb." He just wanted to read real books.

 

SWR instructs you to start assigned reading at a certain point in the program (after List I-1) when beginning with a non-reader. If the dc is already reading, you'd just continue with what you're doing. My ds5 will begin SWR in June but will be using SL Readers 2 since he's been reading for awhile. Ds7 was a beginning reader when he started SWR. He could read Bob books and I Can Read It at the beginning but not real books.

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We used SL's K books, HOP K-2, Scholastic and some MCP (that I can think of), oh and a few I Can Read, before I switched Adrian to real books. I switched him just after his sixth birthday. We were living overseas prior to that and I did not have access to books to preview them and the shipping was horrendous anyway. Once we moved back to Canada and had the use of a library again we just switched to real books :D.

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We started SL Readers 1 with The Best Trick (but he wanted to read Green Eggs and Ham first:001_smile:.

 

Adrian went through a Dr. Seuss phase also, when he was younger :). We have most of the Dr. Seuss stories.

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It seems to me that SWR is kind of spendy. I was just looking around the website.

 

I considered SWR at some point also :tongue_smilie:. The materials I was looking at were about $100 but it is a one shot deal, unlike programs like AAS where you have different levels to purchase. Since I wanted to do Spalding anyway, I figured why not spend the money to get the materials I want from Spalding. It really all depends on what you want to do.

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It seems to me that SWR is kind of spendy. I was just looking around the website.

 

You don't need to buy everything. I did and didn't end up using some of the extras. You need:

 

Core Kit (SWR, WISE guide, phonogram cards, spelling rule cards, phonogram cd)

1 learning log for each dc

1 learning log for you

 

Nice to haves:

Phonogram fun packet (I highly recommend this regardless of which program you choose!)

Cursive First (if you want to teach cursive)

McCall-Crabbs (if you want reading comprehension...only for 2-3rd grade and up...same as Spalding.)

Alpha list (I don't even have this yet. Honestly, I haven't needed it but it would be nice going forward)

 

The only consumable is the learning log. Each dc will need a new one each year. You only need to do yours once. They range from $3-$5 depending on which one you get. I bought several from RR last year to cut down on shipping costs.

 

My dh convinced me to try SWR because it was going to be cheaper than Spalding with the package I thought I needed. His idea was that I could always sell SWR if it didn't work out and buy the package from Spalding. He's practical like that.

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What is a phonetically controlled reader? My son started out on SL readers too. Beginning with the grade 1 readers. My daughter is just now starting the SL grade 1 readers.

I usually refer to vocabulary-controlled readers. Those would be Pathway readers, McGuffy readers, all those books compiled by BJUP or ABeka or R&S, etc. They usually begin with short-vowel words, because that's how most school publishers start off, and they are carefully written not to challenge young learners.

 

Spalding and its spin-offs recommend trade books instead of readers--books you'd find at a bookstore or at the library. Trade books have larger vocabularies and are usually much more interesting. And challenging. :-)

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It seems to me that SWR is kind of spendy. I was just looking around the website.

 

SWR isn't nearly as spendy as AAS or Phonics Road. I spent under $100 and had everything (except the consumable learning logs which run $3-5 each per year per kid) for my dc until I add in a grammar component in 3rd grade.

 

We use SWR for phonics, spelling, and informal grammar until 3rd when I add in grammar. I add a writing program in 4th.

 

I agree with Oh Elizabeth that the programs listed have their +/- depending your kids & your teaching methods. I never tried WRTR because my local library doesn't have it and after researching what was out there at the time, decided I could wrap my head around SWR.

 

I love concept of the Spaulding method & like the way Sanseri (SWR's author) has modified it (made it "Sanseri's Method") in SWR/Wise Guide. My kids don't like it nearly as much as I and will be glad we're taking a break from it next year.

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