How do you get the most bang for buck out of AAS?

[Stellalarella]

Gee, I love the price point of those SWO books, but I think one of my six dc may need something like AAS. What do you recommend for keeping AAS affordable without violating copyright? :001_smile:

 

Does anybody do AAS without buying a big magnetic whiteboard?

 

I see from posts that some families use AAS for more than one child at a time, but can the student workbooks be shared (not consumed)?

Edited August 23, 2011 by Andrea Lowry
misspelling.

[lmrich]

There are not any student books. You use a teacher edition and the student follows along. It is a good program and is easily shared among siblings.

[genny]

There are not any student books. You use a teacher edition and the student follows along. It is a good program and is easily shared among siblings.

 

:iagree:

[Lakeside]

Does anybody do AAS without buying a big magnetic whiteboard?

 

We completed the first two levels before buying a magnetic whiteboard. It was certainly doable. It just meant some extra time spent setting up the tiles each time we got them out.

[boscopup]

The white board was $17 at Sam's. The program itself is what costs a lot. It is completely non-consumable except a couple things, like the silent e book (easy to make yourself for the next kid).

 

Have you looked at WRTR or HTTS? Both are cheaper programs that teach the same phonograms and rules. HTTS is closer to AAS in the fact that it groups words by phonogram, whereas WRTR (and spinoffs) teach the phonograms and rules up front and go through a variety of words at one time. Neither gives the hand holding like AAS does, but they're both good programs.

[Stellalarella]

The white board was $17 at Sam's. The program itself is what costs a lot. It is completely non-consumable except a couple things, like the silent e book (easy to make yourself for the next kid).

 

Have you looked at WRTR or HTTS? Both are cheaper programs that teach the same phonograms and rules. HTTS is closer to AAS in the fact that it groups words by phonogram, whereas WRTR (and spinoffs) teach the phonograms and rules up front and go through a variety of words at one time. Neither gives the hand holding like AAS does, but they're both good programs.

 

HTTS is How to Teach Spelling? and what curriculum is WRTR?

Thank you

Andrea

[Stellalarella]

Just to clarify--A "level packet" includes the teacher manual and the student packet. The student packet just includes cards and other items that can be resued?

[TracyP]

Gee, I love the price point of those SWO books, but I think one of my six dc may need something like AAS. What do you recommend for keeping AAS affordable without violating copyright? :001_smile:

 

Does anybody do AAS without buying a big magnetic whiteboard?

 

I see from posts that some families use AAS for more than one child at a time, but can the student workbooks be shared (not consumed)?

 

AAS is completely non-consumable. I don't use it because of the time commitment but AAS won price wise when used for 4+ kids. (when I figured 1.5 years ago) That was compared to R&S. I believe SWO is twice the price of R&S. If you plan on using it for several kids the price is not that hefty.

[Moniksca]

We don't have a whiteboard, our tiles are on the side of our fridge.

[MerryAtHope]

The minimum you'd need: The level set, and the letter tiles. I do think that having the magnets and the white board makes it easier (you don't have to set it up each day).

 

Most of the materials packets are non-consumable, but there are a few consumables. Each level has a progress chart and completion certificate--you can download extras online for free from the "groups" section of their message board, the Chatterbee. Just go to the group for any level & you can find those. Levels 3, 5, & 6 have consumable booklets, you can get extras for $2.50 each, or you could probably use notebook paper and label each page with what to put on it, it just wouldn't be quite as fun.

 

The materials packets can be shared if you have kids working together in a group. These are how you customize the review for your kids, so in a group, you just review all the cards with each child until all master them. If you work individually, you might want to have kids working 1-2 levels apart to make it easier to pass the cards down from one sibling to another. Each level has 2 reviews of mastered cards, usually the first step and then another step later on, where all previously learned phonogram, sound, and key cards are reviewed. So you'll want to be able to "borrow" the cards back for those reviews.

 

If you have a child who really struggles or has a learning disability, that child is probably best served by having his or her own cards.

 

HTH! Merry :-)

[boscopup]

HTTS is How to Teach Spelling? and what curriculum is WRTR?

Thank you

Andrea

 

Yes on HTTS, and WRTR = Writing Road to Reading (Spalding)

[Stellalarella]

Thanks for the answers so far, everyone. The info helps.

 

I talked with another mom on the phone today who uses AAS and she also mentioned that it takes so much time.

I am expecting to spend 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes with DD8 on spelling, working one on one. Would AAS fit in that parameter?

She is able to "do" her SWO independently (uh, mostly), but doesn't do well when we test. Obviously, the do it on your own method isn't working for her and she needs 1:1. Her younger brother may be able to double up on her level somewhat, but I am pretty sure they are NOT going to move at the same speed.

Edited August 24, 2011 by Andrea Lowry
and should be on

[warneral]

15 minutes a day per kid is all you should need. I have my other kiddos do workbooks at that time.

 

I'm working on just my third day of AAS with two kids 2yrs apart starting at level 1 at the same time. I really don't want to buy double the cards so I'm seeing if I can't use the same set of cards with both kids. I can already see that it is a little tricky, but it should work out ok :)

[MerryAtHope]

Thanks for the answers so far, everyone. The info helps.

 

I talked with another mom on the phone today who uses AAS and she also mentioned that it takes so much time.

I am expecting to spend 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes with DD8 on spelling, working one on one. Would AAS fit in that parameter?

She is able to "do" her SWO independently (uh, mostly), but doesn't do well when we test. Obviously, the do it on your own method isn't working for her and she needs 1:1. Her younger brother may be able to double up on her level somewhat, but I am pretty sure they are NOT going to move at the same speed.

 

 

That should work fine. I set a timer and work for 15 minutes with my 12 yo and 20 minutes with my 14 yo. Those times work well with their attention spans and help us get through a lot of material but not spend all day on spelling. Maybe your friend feels like she needs to get through a whole step in one sitting? You can actually take several days or even a week or two per step--it's meant to be taken at your child's pace. I just start with the review cards, pick up in the book where we left off previously, and work until the timer goes off. Easy peasy. Here's what AAS recommends. HTH! Merry :-)

[boscopup]

I also just spend 15 minutes a day on it. It is only as time consuming as YOU make it. There is no set amount for you to do each day. You just go for 15 minutes, then stop and pick up at that point the next day. In the beginning, you may do multiple steps in one day, and later on you might spend 2 days or a whole week on a step. Whatever your child needs.

 

The dictation incorporated in it is really helpful for getting them to apply their spelling to their writing.