JulieH Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I purchased All About Spelling Level 1 for both my kids and as I'm looking at it, I think it's going to be way too easy! I had read to start at level 1 and progress quickly . I hope they don't get bored. Anyone here start with level 1 and fly through it? I'm starting to second guess my choice. Would love to hear how it has helped your dc! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 yes, start at level one. My kids were reading really well when I finally got AAS and we did 1 in a month, 2 in a month and then slowed down as we moved farther into it. But they need the solid foundation of rules to build upon. and it won't take long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 DS is soon to be 7 and when I looked at AAS 1, I too thought, wow, this is going to bore him to death because it's easy. First lesson the program actually identified some sounds I didn't realize DS didn't know! The next couple of lessons we breezed through, reviewing the sounds from lesson one as we're supposed to....and continued along, moving fairly quickly - DS is a "do" kid, so he is enjoying the tiles on the white board approach and finds the program fun. We'll likely wrap up level 1 sometime before September at the pace we're going and then move onto level 2 - we started level 1 on July 1st and DS is an emerging reader. What I really like about the program is you move at the pace you need to move - if you need to slow down, you slow down...if you can cover a couple of lessons in a day, and pace more quickly, you do. That said, it looks like you have a nine year old too - I'm not sure how a nine year old will like or dislike the program starting at level 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warneral Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I have 7 & 9 y/o and from what I've read here, it is best to just go through it all with them to make sure there aren't any holes. The c "k" rule might be a new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I spent 3 weeks on it with my then-6 year old. Level 2 took about 8 weeks. We've settled into a more reasonable pace in level 3. He could not have jumped into 3 though. He needed the rules and such taught in levels 1 and 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 My 7 year old is flying through level 1, but I'm glad we are going through it because it's good phonics reinforcement and there are a few rules she didn't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I started with level 1 with my 13yo son (you read that right). He flew through it and the next 4 levels. I am glad we didn't skip level one as that is where all the sounds are memorized. There were also some rules introduced that he needed to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieH Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 Thank you! I just went and purchased levels 2 and 3 to have on hand and will just start at the beginning. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I had the same fear with my older but he loved it. I didn't have him join in until we were past the basic letter sounds of Level 1 (younger brother was using this as a reading program, mainly), but they both love spelling. They often say it was their favourite activity of the day. Start Level 1, go as quick as you need, and you'll soon hit material that is like a lightbulb going off even for strong readers / spellers. ("Oh, so that's why it's sometimes a K and sometimes a CK in English"). We did Level 1 in a couple months, and are now mid-way through Level 2 and slowing down. The actual spelling words are fairly easy still, but there's a lot of "meat" to the program in terms of explanation and rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Wife Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I'm glad I started my DS in Level 1, but had I known about AAS when my oldest was in K5 (if it even was available then), she would've been best off starting in Level 2. The first few lessons of 2 review everything in 1 and we were on such a tight budget then that I would've felt 1 was a waste of $$$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnMomof7 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hey, I even started DH with level 1! And it is helping him think differently about spelling already :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Can I say, (and this is really embarrassing), I had no idea about the "Floss Rule" until I went through Level 1 with my son? No wonder I am an awful speller! I constantly goof up with double letters. Now I know that F, L, and S are often doubled at the end of one syllable words. But this is what I want to know. What level of AAS is going to explain to me why beautiful and careful have one L, but windmill has two? I’m not joking. My spelling abilities really are that pathetic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieH Posted August 2, 2011 Author Share Posted August 2, 2011 Can I say, (and this is really embarrassing), I had no idea about the "Floss Rule" until I went through Level 1 with my son? No wonder I am an awful speller! I constantly goof up with double letters. Now I know that F, L, and S are often doubled at the end of one syllable words. But this is what I want to know. What level of AAS is going to explain to me why beautiful and careful have one L, but windmill has two? I’m not joking. My spelling abilities really are that pathetic! LOL Never heard of the "floss" rule! I think maybe *I* am more worried because I have always been a great speller. Same with math facts. I look at something and think "oh please..this is easy peasy" I NEED to remember that my children, especially my son, is not like I was. I'm really excited about this program! Heck, I'll probably learn a thing or two!:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 DS9 is working quickly through level 1. But I have found a few gaps so I'm very pleased that we didn't just skip ahead to level 2 or 3. Fortunately I will be using it on DS6 in the near future as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veggiegal Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Windmill has the double L because it is a compound word, and the individual word "mill", being a single syllable with a short vowel, obeys the Floss rule. Words ending in 'ful' and many other multi-syllable words in English do not follow the Floss rule. This is the thing I am loving about AAS, even for myself. Having a concise rule that explains many things I knew intuitively, but would sometimes get confused about. Ever wonder why 'give' and 'have' don't follow other silent-e words and make the vowel long? AAS explains it. Ever wonder why it's sometimes 'ge' and sometimes 'dge' at the end of words (cage vs. judge)--AAS explains it. And I say that as someone with strong spelling skills: I used to work as an editor (among other things)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.m Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 But this is what I want to know. What level of AAS is going to explain to me why beautiful and careful have one L, but windmill has two? I’m not joking. My spelling abilities really are that pathetic! I'm not sure what level they teach it. But -ful is a suffix. Which I guess means the floss rule won't apply to it. ;) (just a stab, but there is always an explanation for the words that seem to be a rule breaker!) I have a lot to learn as well!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColoNative Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 My ds 6 is flying through it, although there are a few sounds he did NOT know, so it's a great review as well as preparation for Level 2....I would not skip it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 But this is what I want to know. What level of AAS is going to explain to me why beautiful and careful have one L, but windmill has two? I’m not joking. My spelling abilities really are that pathetic! Level 3 does suffixes such as -ful. Beautiful comes from the base word "beauty", then you change the 'y' to 'i' when adding the suffix -ful. Careful has the base word "care" and you just add -ful to it. Windmill is a compound word, as others pointed out, so "mill" follows the floss rule. :) And of course, there are exceptions to the floss rule, such as bus, which is why those words were introduced before introducing the floss rule. I too didn't know the floss rule, or the rules about c/k/ck, or that English words don't end in i, j, u, or v! It makes so much more sense how a lot of words are spelled now! There are still rule breakers, but it's easier to remember them because there are so FEW! The syllabication stuff I also didn't know - mainly the open and closed syllables. I never knew that open syllables had long vowel sounds. That helps so much in trying to pronounce new large words! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynyel Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Md ds9 is flying through it as well. I am taking it slower with him that he would like to do just to keep the lessons shorter so we are doing each step in two/three days. We only really started about 2 weeks ago. So far I (and he) loves the program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenbrdsly Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Thank you for all of the wonderful info! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.