mom4him Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Have any of you ever gone from Barton to AAS? I know this is strange but my kids are both flying through the Barton. It took about 3-4 wks for level one. We are on level 2 and they are both going through that fairly fast. Ds is close to completing lesson 1 in a week and dd is completing lesson 1-3 in 2 wks. My main problem is the $$ it is taking to keep them in Barton. At this rate my dd will be finished with level 2 in a couple weeks and I will be needing to shell out $300 for level 3! Can the same thing be accomplished with AAS? DD is a good reader but need help decoding larger words. I am thinking she does a lot of sight reading. She also needs some help with spelling and it seems non of the conventional workbook type spelling programs have been that much help. Ds needs help in both reading and spelling. He does a lot of guess reading. 1/2 of me says to just do what ever I need to do to keep them in the Barton(this would been credit card at this point). The other 1/2 says there is probably something out there much less expensive that I can use to help them with. Neither of them are dyslexic but my ds has been diagnosed as ADHD with a pretty big delay in reading. Any helpful suggestions? Stay with Barton? Move to AAS? Something totally different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiddle Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 We did the first 4 levels of Barton - the 3rd level picks up significantly than the 1st to and builds in difficulty from thereon out. The 3rd level begins the spelling rules and separating syllables, etc. It's a great program for many dyslexic kids or kids that have difficulty reading, but our daughter had so much trouble learning the spelling rules- she just couldn't keep them all straight. For spelling, we switched to Sequential Spelling through AVKO this year, and it is going very well [check out the AVKO sight-they have some great stuff and it's all fairly inexpensive]. My daughter did not have much difficulty with reading, but I am planning on using REWARDS to work on multi-syllable decoding of words this summer. There are great programs out there and some are more costly than others- sometimes we also just have to try different things until we find the good fit for *our* particular child :) I've heard nothing but good things for All About Spelling - the use of the tiles, etc. seems similar to Barton. But you'd have to do the reading part with either All About Reading or another program if you go that route. Again, it's all about finding what's right for your kid- Barton was painfully slow for us, so we just couldn't fathom continuing on (and our kid HATED it). Paula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) I would try to sell the old levels and buy the next ones used. I have heard people mention that. My son is doing Abecedarian Level B right now... he has a lot easier time now that he is through phonemic awareness. He is in public school, so I want something that follows the public school order more (aka the vowel-consonant-e pattern). I don't think they have to do it, but I would look at re-selling before I looked at changing programs. There is a lot to be said for an all-in-one program for reading and spelling. And, there is a lot to be said for following one program so there are not gaps and repetitions. I think Abecedarian is an easier program and my son is doing well with it -- he responds well to how it works. There is no spelling or reading part, though. It is just a way to learn the "advanced code" (all the vowel teams and things like ea, ay, ai, ei, ough). I have used AAS 1 with him but it kind-of goes too fast for him, and it is hard for me to make it fit him. I love AAS but I am not using it right now. Really, I love AAS. Edited April 12, 2012 by Lecka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I've used both Barton and AAS. If you are looking for help with reading (especially multisyllable words), I'd stick with Barton. Level three picks up a lot in complexity and level four really starts to get into multi syllable words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShelleyW Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I am in the same situation that you are in w/Barton. We are finishing the first levels so quickly and my 10yo dd hates it. She says it is for babies b/c it is easy right now. I know it will get harder but in the meantime we are battling to get it done. AAS is only for spelling and if your ds is struggling w/reading he will need more. The struggle you face w/him is that you need a reading program that doesn't fly through the concepts so he has time to "get it". There are quite a few reading programs that are O-G based for struggling/dyslexic readers and the prices can vary quite a bit. I am going to transition into Recipe for Reading for my 10 yo b/c she is reading multi-syllable words and that is where she needs the work. I don't want to lose months doing the early levels of Barton. For her, she does have her phonemic awareness down and just needs the word practice. Another problem I have w/Barton is that she is just not doing well memorizing all the rules but is anxious to just get to reading. She does much better with patterns and seems to get it that way. You really need to find a program that is a match for your ds and his learning style. My 8 yo loves the tiles and the Barton approach, my 10 yo does not. At this point I will stand on my head if it will help her.:) Just keep in mind that you need to find a program that is for struggling readers b/c most of the mainstream reading programs will progress too quickly for him and are not designed for those that need special instruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 (edited) Thanks, ladies. I am so good at second guessing myself and changing curr. I have looked at the suggestions made and for now I do believe that we need to just keep on. Ugh. One day I will make a curr. choice, stick to it and not doubt myself. Edited April 13, 2012 by mom4him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I've used both Barton and AAS. If you are looking for help with reading (especially multisyllable words), I'd stick with Barton. Level three picks up a lot in complexity and level four really starts to get into multi syllable words. :iagree:We went through the first 2 levels fairly quickly, but have really lowed down in the last few levels. We are halfway through level 6 right now. I would sell a level when we were finished and used that money to buy the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 :iagree:We went through the first 2 levels fairly quickly, but have really lowed down in the last few levels. We are halfway through level 6 right now. I would sell a level when we were finished and used that money to buy the next level. This is how I purchased level 2. I bought level one from the company. I didn't realize that you couldn't get extra tiles from the company unless you purchased the level from them. Having two kids in the same level is a bit of a pain as they are in different lessons and I have to constantly get different tiles out. I keep their tiles in a zip lock bag. Because of this I will probably end up ordering from the company so I can get the extra set of tile for each child in each level. I have gotten different input though with the tile. One person told me I need to keep the tile from one level to the next to do the next level. Another person told me that you get all the tiles you need with each level. Can anyone clarify that for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie of KY Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 For Barton, a new level comes with all the new tiles that you need for that level. You still need all the previous level's tiles as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caro Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 I made the same mistake when I bought/sold Level 1. I didn't know I was supposed to keep the tiles. I called the company, and they graciously sold me an extra set. Since then, I always buy from the company and purchase an extra set so when I sell mine, I'll have one to keep. Seems to work well. And Barton has an excellent resell value. I usually post mine about 2 weeks before we finish up. They've always sold before I was ready to order the next level. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 I made the same mistake when I bought/sold Level 1. I didn't know I was supposed to keep the tiles. I called the company, and they graciously sold me an extra set. Since then, I always buy from the company and purchase an extra set so when I sell mine, I'll have one to keep. Seems to work well. And Barton has an excellent resell value. I usually post mine about 2 weeks before we finish up. They've always sold before I was ready to order the next level. Best wishes! I did call the company and it was a no go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Another option for spelling that I really like is Apples and Pears spelling. It is super easy to use and seems to work well for many kids. They also offer Dancing Bears and other reading programs that are again much less expensive and easy to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Another option for spelling that I really like is Apples and Pears spelling. It is super easy to use and seems to work well for many kids. They also offer Dancing Bears and other reading programs that are again much less expensive and easy to use. Thanks, Ottakee. I have looked at both of those. I was really ready once again to chuck Barton because of the expense and their unwillingness to sell the extra set of tile but when I talked to my husband about it he said'NO!" Both kids are doing good with it and our ds is cooperating with it. He didn't think I should change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Sandy, I have not read the other replies but I have a question for you. Is this building their confidence? I have done abunch of confidence building with my 8th grader in math and now in grammar and I honestly think that is worth its weight in gold! BUT- that being said as well the programs I have for confidence building were cheap! I have AAS level 1. Maybe we can get together so you can look at it! ;) (hint hint at the get together part :lol:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 I just want to say that I have been communicating with Susan Barton the last couple of days and she has been very helpful in sorting out our needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm thinking of becoming a reading tutor using Barton's.... My friend has been using it and says it's simple to learn a lesson, then teach it. :) I love hearing the success!! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom4him Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 I'm thinking of becoming a reading tutor using Barton's.... My friend has been using it and says it's simple to learn a lesson, then teach it. :) I love hearing the success!! :) It has been very easy to implement. In fact I have used several different programs and never had good success with them, especially with my ds. Most of the time he simply would even try to learn what needed to be done. I am not sure what is different with Barton but he is working at it. That really was the main reason that my husband felt I needed to keep going with it. I wish you great success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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