BatmansWife Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) I'm either ready to pitch it (the book) or pitch a fit, not sure which yet. I'm so disappointed. Dd just started Soaring with Spelling level 2 today. Here's what Lesson 1, Day 1 says: "Words with f sound using ph and gh". Then the words, with definitions, are: phone, photo, graph, morph, laugh, cough, tough, rough. There is no teaching of these sounds or letter combinations or any explanation. Zip. Nothing in the answer key; it's just the answers. So, dd looks over all the words, we talk about each one, I have her underline the letters that make the f sound. Now I give her the pretest. Here's how she spells them: phone, photoe, gragh, morgh, laphe, cophe, tough, rough. :001_huh: Ugh! Now what? :banghead: I mean...there isn't anything that talks about the ough, augh, or anything else. And, this is just the first lesson! After the pretest I told her I don't think I wanna continue this spelling program. I can't see how it's going to help her spell. Has anyone else felt this way....or would you say stick it out for awhile longer and see how it goes? Edited October 9, 2012 by ~AprilMay~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 BTDT.. AAS was the answer for us!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llindseymomoffour Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 We did pitch it after the first lesson. Love Growing With Grammar, but not their spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 No experience with SWS but it sounds :ack2:. Rod and Staff's spelling is quite good, in workbook format, and carefully builds skills. It does teach spelling by "sound and structure". I encourage you to carefully peruse samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Sounds like what you're looking for can be found in AAS, R&S, or How to Teach Spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Just a note though, that R&S 2 and 3 have less practice and are less organized by sound than 4-up. But the lists do not out confusing words together at all. For example, one list might contain mother, father, and work. But it would never contain work alongside shirk and lurk. My dd is doing very well with it. I don't use the TM at all. She just does the pages and writes the words 3x each. Pretest on Thursday and write the words 5x that she missed, test the next day. Another one you may want to consider if your dd really lives patterns is Sequential Spelling. That's what my son uses and it works great for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trlt Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 BTDT.. AAS was the answer for us!!! :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BatmansWife Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 Thanks everyone. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who felt this way so quickly into a book. It sure doesn't sound like it's going to get any better. So, I'm dumping it. I actually have AAS 1 and 2, she's about 1/2 way through level 1. But, we didn't keep going with it over the summer, and this year I bought Logic of English to use for spelling. We really liked LoE for awhile, then it seemed to get into tougher words really fast....and there are so many words to learn at a time. I'm not sure what to do with that yet. We just took a break from it, which is when I pulled the old Soaring with Spelling out. I also have How to Teach Spelling with four of the How to Spell Books. I may consider this, if I can read the beginning of the manual and get it all figured out (which was a major problem I had with Spelling Plus....which I also have, btw). PS: Just so you know......this is my 3rd kid and I've been homeschooling for about 15 years....so I pretty much have a bookstore on my shelves of many, many programs. :blush: But, sometimes that makes it even harder because I have over 4 different spelling programs she could use....but I need to find the one that's gonna work. Somewhere I have a Sequential Spelling, and I have an entire set of Houghton Mifflin Spelling and Vocab boxed up that oldest dd used and absolutely loved....they were her favorite school books. :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 I went back to AAS. It's the only way t hings really sink in. I don't like anything by that company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PookieMama Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) I also have How to Teach Spelling with four of the How to Spell Books. I may consider this, if I can read the beginning of the manual and get it all figured out (which was a major problem I had with Spelling Plus....which I also have, btw). For info on how some of us use How to Spell/How to Teach Spelling, take a look at this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=423348 I wrote a lengthy blog post about how we use HTTS that includes a planning spreadsheet. It is linked in the thread above. Genevieve gives a nice, concise description of how they use it which is helpful, I think. Edited October 9, 2012 by PookieMama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abrightmom Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 For info on how some of us use How to Spell/How to Teach Spelling, take a look at this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/sh...d.php?t=423348 I wrote a lengthy blog post about how we use HTTS that includes a planning spreadsheet. It is linked in the thread above. Genevieve gives a nice, concise description of how they use it which is helpful, I think. The link is wonky. Will you try again? :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 It's possible that the Evan-Moor spellers would be what you wanted when you got SWS. I'm using Grade 2 now for Button, and am quite satisfied. There is enough teaching support in the front to give some context to new sounds, the children use and write the words several times before being tested, and Button enjoys it more than other spelling we've tried. I am sure that if you started with Grade 1, zoomed through it as necessary and so on until you hit the right level to work through at a normal pace, she would be okay. I will say that while I didn't love Growing with Grammar, and it sounds as if Soaring with Spelling is a bit of a dud, I am very very happy with Winning with Writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Many4 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Both of my sons are using natural speller and are doing very well with it. I would recommend that actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PookieMama Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 The link is wonky. Will you try again? :001_smile: Sorry, I keep forgetting I can't just copy and paste links. :tongue_smilie: Fixed it in my original post, and here it is again: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/showthread.php?t=423348 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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