Pookamama Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 DS, who just turned 6, has been eating through Hooked on Phonics and doing great. (Our set has different colored books, he's on the third one, which is red. We've been working on HOP for three months.) He gets a bit burned out by the review pages but as far as grasping the concepts he's doing terrific. I've also had him working in Kumon 1st grade reading workbook and he just finished that today. So, I was wondering, should I introduce some formal spelling work? HOP doesn't cover rules of phonics very well. I want to be able to teach him the rules to make it easier for him. He's been catching the reading passion and starting to pick up books everywhere and try to read them. I myself don't know the phonics rules so I need some hand-holding in teaching them. I was looking into All About Spelling and it seems to cover it very well! It also sounds like something I could do with my 4 year old DS learning too! For those of you that use it, which products/package(s) do you get? How long does one level last? But I wanted to look around a bit more (because I am brand-spanking new at this) and get a grand scope of the reading and writing process, see if there were other programs that also covered the phonics rules well and included other aspects (writing, grammar, etc) in the long-term. My DS is a visual/kinesthetic learner. I am so new at this and very busy with my little ones, so I need something that's not a whole lot of prep and FUN to keep my wiggly boys interested. So what's out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 AAS would work perfectly for you. It's open and go, and it's fun. :D In fact, dd7 learned using HOP and when I got around to starting AAS she had been done with all 5 boxes and reading well for a while. Even so, it was a great way to cement her phonics and learn how to apply it in her writing. We used levels 1-3 of AAS and it took us about 1.5 years of sporadic use to get through them. IF we had done spelling more consistently we could have completed all three levels in a school year. Now we use Spalding at her part-time school so I stopped using AAS after level 3. Spalding is a great program also, but requires a lot of planning, reading, and educating yourself so it doesn't sound like it would be a good fit for you. For the rest of our language arts we have used (or still use): Writing With Ease First Language Lessons 1 Rod and Staff (2 and 3) Handwriting Without Tears I have been happy with all of the above. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByGrace3 Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 Sounds like AAS might work well for you. Level one took about 3 months 15 minutes a day/ 4 times a week. We are just getting started with level 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mandymom Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 If you want an all-in-one language arts package, you might look at Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. We have been very happy with it, and it very thoroughly teaches phonics rules. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidip2p Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 :lurk5:I m looking for help with this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookamama Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 If you want an all-in-one language arts package, you might look at Phonics Road to Spelling and Reading. We have been very happy with it, and it very thoroughly teaches phonics rules. Ok, thanks! So, looking at the site, it sounds like you get the DVDs to show you how to teach the lessons. Do you watch them all at the same time? And it says that it teaches latin-how does it go about doing that (or perhaps setting it up?) in lower grades? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookamama Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 AAS would work perfectly for you. It's open and go, and it's fun. :D In fact, dd7 learned using HOP and when I got around to starting AAS she had been done with all 5 boxes and reading well for a while. Even so, it was a great way to cement her phonics and learn how to apply it in her writing. We used levels 1-3 of AAS and it took us about 1.5 years of sporadic use to get through them. IF we had done spelling more consistently we could have completed all three levels in a school year. Now we use Spalding at her part-time school so I stopped using AAS after level 3. Spalding is a great program also, but requires a lot of planning, reading, and educating yourself so it doesn't sound like it would be a good fit for you. For the rest of our language arts we have used (or still use): Writing With Ease First Language Lessons 1 Rod and Staff (2 and 3) Handwriting Without Tears I have been happy with all of the above. :001_smile: How much of the above did you use with PreK/Kindy/first? I know HWT covers it, we are working on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 How much of the above did you use with PreK/Kindy/first? I know HWT covers it, we are working on that. Dd7 was an early reader, and was a year ahead or more on all her language arts. So our schedule was a little off. We used HOP and HWOT for pre-k, WWE1 and FLL1 in K, along with some Explode the Code books that we ended up stopping when we started AAS. Then in first we used R&S2, WWE2, and AAS 2 and 3. Dd5 is almost done with HOP K and then will move up to level 1. We did HWOT pre-k and K last year. I won't start FLL and WWE with her until she's in 1st. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cholderby Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 We bought a seat on Explode the Code online when HBC had a special (I always wonder on just how "special" their specials are). DS likes it quite a bit, although it is not our only reading/spelling source. Its main emphasis is reading, but spelling is also covered. Because it is online, I think it counts for typing too, since all spelling responses are typed. Heck I'm going to count it as an intro to computer usage too. ;) We did HOP through 1st grade. I bought the sets on clearance at a bookstore and suspect that they are older versions of the program than what everyone else is using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted November 3, 2011 Share Posted November 3, 2011 My son is in First Grade. We use OPGTR to introduce new rules but he tends to rush through it and not really want to linger so we use ETC as extra practice and reinforcement. We use AAS for spelling and as a review of the phonics rules. We are still in AAS1 but we started off taking it slow. The speed has picked up some now and we will be moving on to AAS2 by January. My son doesn't like to write so I don't have him write a lot in the above. ETC he'll do all the pages except the ones that involve just writing the words (the pages with the word list on top, he'll draw lines to the right picture) and AAS he does a little bit of writing on the whiteboard. We do HWT 1st grade to work on proper letter formation. We're doing some free Scholastic workbooks for Reading Comprehension and Grammar but will be moving on to Spectrum books and eventually WWE. ETA: I've been considering AAR1 for my dd but looking at the sample teachers manual, I think I could do it using our AAS and the Get Ready for the Code books we already have. I would go through AAS very slowly for reading since she is just beginning to sound out and then start it over again for spelling when she is reading well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookamama Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Thanks! So, AAS users, what about the AAS being consumable or not? My four year old would be participating as well. Should I get two card sets (cause DS6 will master more faster due to his reading exposure)? I read the other thread about what I can do without so I was going to get one teacher/student pack, the divider cards, the letter tiles, the tile magnets, and the box, but I was wondering what I would need for a second student so I can keep their progress tracked separately? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pookamama Posted November 3, 2011 Author Share Posted November 3, 2011 Oh, and also, if I'm getting multiple levels, 1 and 2, should I just get the student/teacher pack for each level? Do I need multiple student packs for multiple students? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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