nicoleseitler Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I am so very excited. I just ordered AAS for my daughter (to replace Sequential Spelling that I bought for this year--gosh, we hated that!) and also AAR for my son. I can't wait to get my goodies. Woo-hoo! But I know that I'm going to open up my box and have a lot of little pieces to play with... What would you suggest for someone just starting out with AAS? Thinking back to when it was all new for you, what do you wish you would have done? I would so appreciate your advice! :thumbup: Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfamilygal Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I am so very excited. I just ordered AAS for my daughter (to replace Sequential Spelling that I bought for this year--gosh, we hated that!) and also AAR for my son. I can't wait to get my goodies. Woo-hoo! But I know that I'm going to open up my box and have a lot of little pieces to play with... What would you suggest for someone just starting out with AAS? Thinking back to when it was all new for you, what do you wish you would have done? I would so appreciate your advice! :thumbup: Thanks! I have all the kids use the same board and just leave the extra tiles on it (as we introduce them for the fastest kid). It hasn't confused the younger kids. I mounted the white board on the wall up high so the baby doesn't pull all the tiles off. At lesson time I just take it down and set it against the wall. We sit on the floor in front of it and do the tile part of the lesson. Then I hang it back up. Once you get going to the point that you start dictation, try doing 1 lesson per week. Tiles the first day and flashcards. Then a few words, a couple phrases and a couple sentences of dictation each day for the rest of the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 I also have my two older ones using the same board. I'm not sure if I'll use the same one for AAR for my little guy or not, I have an extra set of tiles (I bought 2 just in case we lost a bunch as I have a pug that likes to eat anything he finds on the floor) I will say that set up is much easier now than when I first started as the cards and tiles now come perforated, which makes set up much quicker. You don't need a paper cutter or a good pair of scissors and lots of hand strength anymore.:tongue_smilie: I know for some it seems like time is a big factor so I have a timer and set it for 15 minutes when we do spelling, no matter how much or little of the step we get through that's all the time we spend 4 days a week on it. Don't freak out when you get it and think each step has to be done in one day, I've seen some people end up hating AAS because they think that and some steps are really long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I'm pretty sure you still have to cut out the tiles. I did, at least, and I got my (perforated card) version of the program this summer. A paper cutter would have been nice, but I survived. My advice: Make sure you keep the card box far from grabby little hands. My 20-month-old son will go looking for it when it's out, in order to cause maximum chaos. (He also goes for his brother's memory verse card box when it's out.) If you want to buy a magnetic dry-erase board, check out your Target. Mine was less than $20.00. And once I actually had my husband mount it a couple of weeks ago, the tiles suddenly became interesting to my son again. (Amazing!) Once we got to the word cards, I would dictate them for the lesson (I've never bothered with the extras, since he hasn't had a difficult time yet), and then stick the cards in the "review" section. I didn't actually review them until I had two sets to mix together, and then I shuffled them and did ten. If my son got them all right (which he always has), into the "mastered" section those ten went. So, we're always about ten cards "behind" where we're supposed to be, but he can't be sure what rule is being used. I think it makes it more interesting (and less dreary) for him. Now that we've hit the dictated phrases, I also tend to do half the dictation one day, and the other half the other day of a lesson. (It's about twelve phrases a lesson.) Day 1: Do beginning of lesson as written, except for reviewing word cards. Introduce new spelling words and have him spell them with tiles or on white board, whichever he prefers. (For the blending level, which has a much longer list, I only did part of each list--I think that level took three sessions.) Add cards to the "Word cards -- Review" section of the box, shuffling like crazy. Dictate six phrases, often including them in sentences to make a silly story. Day 2: Have son spell on whiteboard ten words from word cards in the review section and put them in the "mastered" section if they are spelled correctly. Dictate remaining six phrases, once again making a silly story out of sentences using those words. And there's what we do. (Sadly, I only get to these lessons about twice a week, but let me tell you, we've gained some impetus since actually getting the whiteboard put up! So, real piece of advice? Mount a whiteboard or equivalent. The lessons suddenly get so much easier. And if you've lost a tile or two, because, say, your twenty-month-old son did get to the card box that one time... The lovely Molly at AAL is on the ball, and will send them to you pretty promptly!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 do to some issues with the lamination coming off they sent me new tiles for level 3 which were perforated. I'm not sure if they are doing it for all of them now, but I know when they switched the card packs I still got 1 or 2 that weren't because they were from past print runs. If they haven't made the switch for all the tiles, they definitely should. It's so much easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Perforated tiles??? I am so jealous! I was going to say for the newbie advice not to panic when you open your box. I couldn't believe how much work it was to get everything set up. That said, it is easy to implement once that is done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 And if you've lost a tile or two, because, say, your twenty-month-old son did get to the card box that one time... The lovely Molly at AAL is on the ball, and will send them to you pretty promptly!) How do I contact her? Would it just be through the contact at the website?? I've lost our letter t and I'm so bummed. We just started but the t is gone for good I fear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 How do I contact her? Would it just be through the contact at the website?? I've lost our letter t and I'm so bummed. We just started but the t is gone for good I fear. Yep, just email them through the contact us link on the website. They are all great workers and will get that tile in the mail to you ASAP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 Yep, just email them through the contact us link on the website. They are all great workers and will get that tile in the mail to you ASAP. Oh goodie gumdrops! :thumbup: Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I went through all of Level 1 without a magnetic board. I just never found the size I wanted at the price I wanted. I just recently came up with this cheap alternative for a large board. It works perfectly for AAS and I leave my tiles at the top where young siblings can't reach them. I was writing on the board with dry erase markers and all seemed fine until I used red. I had a hard time getting most of it off, but thanks to some suggestions on here its all but gone. Also, someone here suggested I cover the pan in chalkboard paint. I haven't tried it yet but am really thinking I will. DH thinks I would just have to prime it with something first but he thinks it should be able to cover it. We'll see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morosophe Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Yep, just email them through the contact us link on the website. They are all great workers and will get that tile in the mail to you ASAP. Yup, that's exactly what I did. I posted on Saturday, and heard back Monday morning. Wow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
honumom Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I was writing on the board with dry erase markers and all seemed fine until I used red. I had a hard time getting most of it off, but thanks to some suggestions on here its all but gone. One quick tip I just learned about after suffering from stains from dry erase pens: Don't use dry erase markers anymore .... use the Overhead Projector Pens! They are 'wet' and they wipe off with wet cloth. You can use them on whiteboards and they won't stain. They won't smudge either because they dry quickly!! YAY!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicoleseitler Posted November 26, 2011 Author Share Posted November 26, 2011 I was going to say for the newbie advice not to panic when you open your box. I couldn't believe how much work it was to get everything set up. That said, it is easy to implement once that is done! :thumbup: Thank you everyone for your tips! I'm soaking it all in. I can't wait to get my box!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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