BoZeeCo's Mom Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My son has been doing really well with the OPGTR and is absolutely loving it. We're about halfway through, and my question is should we just keep the focus soley on learning to read or should I add spelling to the lesson, too? I had planned to focus soley on reading this year, as it is technically his preschool year, but now that I've joined this forum, I'm not so sure. I was thinking I could add in AAS at this point, but I am worried I will overwhelm him. Am I missing an opportunity to tie in spelling to OPGTR? Or can I get away with just finishing the curriculum and start spelling lessons when we're done? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I finished OPGTR with my son before I started AAS. My daughter didn't want to wait, and started both at the same time, only because she wanted to do what her brother was doing. ;-) I don't think there will be any harm either way, as long as you keep it all at his pace and watch for frustration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoZeeCo's Mom Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks for your insight. I appreciate it! I really want to keep him excited and engaged, and I don't want him to be overwhelmed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I started AAS when my daughter was 4 years old and about halfway through OPGTR (maybe even less than half). In any event, she thrived on doing them together. We do OPGTR everyday for about 5 or 10 minutes. We do AAS 3x a week on MOn, Wed, and Friday for about 15 min each. We also do ETC everyday for about 10. They resources all worked really well together and complimented each other awesomely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoZeeCo's Mom Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 Did your daughter use the online version of ETC? Or the workbooks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistyMountain Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 I'm using it and dd isn't even that far in reading. It is really helping her reading even though we are not far into it. I don't use it every day and don't complete a whole step at a time I just do it for 15 minutes at a time. I'm doing it to really cement the rules and to move at a slow pace so she has a sense of accomplishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferLynn Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 At 4.5 my DD was 1/2 through OPGTR. I'd planned to wait until nearly finishing but then she started writing a lot - notes, lists, stories. She was trying to spell phonetically and I didn't want to wait and have her get in the habit of incorrect spelling. It ended up working well and I will try my younger children at about the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenR Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Did your daughter use the online version of ETC? Or the workbooks? Definitely the workbooks. We didn't like ETC online. You can do some reviews of it here on this forum and find many people in the same boat. The workbooks are just much better all around. If your child is comfortable with a pencil you can start with ETC 1. If they need some fine motor work and minimal writing you can start with Get Ready for the Code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StartingOver Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 We use ETC books too. My kids love them. I don't think they are necessary though. ;-) My son just laughs and laughs at the silly sentences ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoZeeCo's Mom Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thanks for the recommendation of ETC books. I am looking for more opportunities for him to write, so this sounds like a great resource. Thanks! And silly sentences will be a hit :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Since he's Prek, I'd wait until K or 1st grade unless he is anxious/excited to learn how to write. AAS has letter tiles, so it's not an overwhelming amount of writing to start, though level 2 does step up the writing some. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpskowski Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 When my ds was in 1st grade we did OPGTR and I waited on the AAS, because I didn't want to overwhelm. Now, I am regretting that decision! I should have started AAS much sooner. His reading took off and he's afraid to write, afraid of making a mistake. As his spelling comes along, his writing is becoming less stressful (to him). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I think the answer will depend on how well he is writing. The writing ramps up quickly in level 2, and IMHO you are not getting the full benefit of an O-G program if you skip the writing. My ds 2 who is nearly the same age, could not handle the writing at this point, which is why we use AAR instead of AAS for now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micron4 Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I am also using OPGTR and AAS1. It was working together nicely, until I hit the latter lessons in AAS1. Then the spelling rules got confusing for my dd5, so I took a break with AAS. I plan to continue once her reading gets better established. Even though I am not currently using AAS, many times I will tweak the OPGTR lessons to use the AAS board and magnetic letter tiles. I've gotten the letter tiles out that are used in AAS2 and beyond--like the "ai" and the "ee"--as they are intruded in OPGTR. This really helps my wiggly, squirmy dd focus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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