More spelling...AAS vs. Apples & Pears

[PentecostalMom]

I know there have been lots of spelling threads lately. I am trying to make a good decision for my dd and be financially savvy. I know that AAS is intially a bigger investment for my dc than Apples and Pears, but I cannot really ascertain which is "right" for her. Merry has explained AAS as best she could and I am leaning that way. However, then I read all of this about Apples and Pears and it makes me think again. Let me explain my situation.

 

Dd is reading on grade level, and loves to write. She writes letters, cards, notes, lists, on everything, everywhere. (Drives me a little bonkers!) In her writing, she spells phonetically. For instance, she wrote herself a things to do list.

 

1. Brekfust

2. Skol

3. Play

4. Mor skol

 

I want to get a program that will help with this. I want to encourage her writing and this is something we are working on, but if she could spell correctly it would be great. She gets a little down when she asks if things are spelled right and they are not. I don't know very much about AAS or A&P other than what I have read and what I see on their respective websites. I would like to hear from actual users and get recommendations. Thanks!

[boscopup]

If you want to be financially savvy, there are cheaper options that work well for many average spellers. It sounds like she just hasn't learned to spell those words, which is normal for her age. :) I don't know that she would NEED either AAS or A&P.

 

Have you looked at WRTR or Rod & Staff Spelling? Both are inexpensive and work well for a large number of kids.

 

A&P is a good program. I used it a bit with DS1, but then went back to R&S Spelling since it's independent. I also used AAS for a while. It went soooo slow for him. He was an advanced reader and picks up spelling quickly once he's taught the phonics rules. AAS was just overkill for him. We're happily using R&S now, and I've seen a huge leap in spelling ability this year, probably mostly due to age.

[PentecostalMom]

If you want to be financially savvy, there are cheaper options that work well for many average spellers. It sounds like she just hasn't learned to spell those words, which is normal for her age. :) I don't know that she would NEED either AAS or A&P.

 

Have you looked at WRTR or Rod & Staff Spelling? Both are inexpensive and work well for a large number of kids.

 

A&P is a good program. I used it a bit with DS1, but then went back to R&S Spelling since it's independent. I also used AAS for a while. It went soooo slow for him. He was an advanced reader and picks up spelling quickly once he's taught the phonics rules. AAS was just overkill for him. We're happily using R&S now, and I've seen a huge leap in spelling ability this year, probably mostly due to age.

 

I have looked at R&S and am not very thrilled with making her write more because of her age. She loves to write, but does so in quite a number of subjects and sometimes complains of her hand hurting. I have not looked at WRTR, but I thought it was more of a complete program for LA? Are there other programs that don't require so much writing? I did look at Spelling Workout but it is also workbook based.

[boscopup]

I have looked at R&S and am not very thrilled with making her write more because of her age. She loves to write, but does so in quite a number of subjects and sometimes complains of her hand hurting. I have not looked at WRTR, but I thought it was more of a complete program for LA? Are there other programs that don't require so much writing? I did look at Spelling Workout but it is also workbook based.

 

My pencil phobic son does R&S Spelling, but I didn't start using it with him until he was 7 and his hand didn't hurt anymore (he couldn't write 2 sentences in first grade without his hand hurting). R&S starts at 2nd grade. He's doing the 3rd grade level right now, and he does one page one day and then the other page the next day. You spend a whole week on one lesson, so it really can be spread out quite a bit, since it's 2 pages for a whole week. :)

 

WRTR is one book that you use for spelling. While it has other stuff for "LA", I personally wouldn't use it that way. It's very easy to use it just for spelling/reading. I have my middle son write words on a little white board - however many he can handle that day (we started with 3-4 per day). When DS1 was doing AAS in first grade (age 6.5), which had a lot of writing actually, I had him do it at the white board instead of with paper and pencil. Writing 10 words plus dictation phrases/sentences hurt his hand at that age, but writing them on the white board did not hurt.

 

The thing about spelling is... The best way to learn for a lot of kids is to write the words. So she's going to need to write in some way. That doesn't mean it has to be pencil/paper all the time though. Utilize the white board, or write words in sand/salt/etc.

 

Oh, and A&P is also a good amount of writing, moreso than AAS. When I used A&P with DS1 (again, writing phobic), I had to split the lesson up over two days. It was way too much for him to do in one day. He has no problem with the R&S lessons. They're really short, at least in the lower grade levels. Much less writing than A&P.

[PentecostalMom]

My pencil phobic son does R&S Spelling, but I didn't start using it with him until he was 7 and his hand didn't hurt anymore (he couldn't write 2 sentences in first grade without his hand hurting). R&S starts at 2nd grade. He's doing the 3rd grade level right now, and he does one page one day and then the other page the next day. You spend a whole week on one lesson, so it really can be spread out quite a bit, since it's 2 pages for a whole week. :)

 

WRTR is one book that you use for spelling. While it has other stuff for "LA", I personally wouldn't use it that way. It's very easy to use it just for spelling/reading. I have my middle son write words on a little white board - however many he can handle that day (we started with 3-4 per day). When DS1 was doing AAS in first grade (age 6.5), which had a lot of writing actually, I had him do it at the white board instead of with paper and pencil. Writing 10 words plus dictation phrases/sentences hurt his hand at that age, but writing them on the white board did not hurt.

 

The thing about spelling is... The best way to learn for a lot of kids is to write the words. So she's going to need to write in some way. That doesn't mean it has to be pencil/paper all the time though. Utilize the white board, or write words in sand/salt/etc.

 

Oh, and A&P is also a good amount of writing, moreso than AAS. When I used A&P with DS1 (again, writing phobic), I had to split the lesson up over two days. It was way too much for him to do in one day. He has no problem with the R&S lessons. They're really short, at least in the lower grade levels. Much less writing than A&P.

 

She doesn't complain unless we do a lot of writing in one sitting. For instance, Friday she complained after we finished three pages in ETC and then one Saxon math lesson. She will write, but after that much she was complaining. I try to break it up a bit, but she was on a roll and the baby was sleeping so I probably overdid it. :001_unsure:

[boscopup]

She doesn't complain unless we do a lot of writing in one sitting. For instance, Friday she complained after we finished three pages in ETC and then one Saxon math lesson. She will write, but after that much she was complaining. I try to break it up a bit, but she was on a roll and the baby was sleeping so I probably overdid it. :001_unsure:

 

BTDT! :D You never take for granted a good nap!

 

DS2 gets tired after one page of ETC and starts turning the letters into cars or monsters or something. He's only K though, so he's writing his math and handwriting, and that's about it. I sometimes scribe if his math lesson is long. Most are doable, but sometimes they throw in a gazillion problems out of nowhere.

 

Anyway, utilize the white board for spelling, whatever you choose. It should help with the stamina. At least your dd writes! DS1 feared writing so much because he couldn't spell the words (perfectionism). Now he understands that I'm a human dictionary, we'll edit misspelled words - that is what rough drafts are for, and he's at the age where spelling and writing are coming together anyway. DS2 isn't currently afraid of misspelling words. He loves to write lists and stories that only he can read. Spelling will come later. I'm hoping R&S will work for him because it is so ready to use, and it just gets done.

[matrips]

I'm not familiar with Apples and Pears, but we are almost finished with AAS 3 and like it. Mom and kids. My second graders are good spellers; whether that would be true with another program I don't know. But they are, and when we get a new word - they know how to break it into syllables (based on rules) and sound it out and figure out the phonogram that will spell that sound. They can spell so many very long and tough words this way. AAS (and mom of course!) taught them that; it was not just a list of words to memorize.

 

I like the way it is laid out with the review, new lessons, words, sentences etc. Very pick up and go and easy to understand. They enjoy the Silent E book, homophone list, and the Jail for rule breakers. And Writing Station is new in this level and they always look forward to that. We do a lesson a week. We used Levels 1 and 2 before this, and plan to keep using it. It really only takes us about 10 minutes a day (3 times a week).

[swainsonshawk]

We're using Apples and Pears with my DS7 and I have tried and sold AAS in the past--it was too time consuming to teach for my busy family. The problem with both of those spelling programs is that they cover the common spelling patterns, and the words you chose to highlight her spelling challenges were irregularly spelled words with no easy rules. If you want her to learn the irregularly spelled words, I'd work from a 1st grade/2nd grade word list (dolch?) and just study them.

 

This is what I do with my older kids (DS9,11,14). They are using spelling power. We use it like this: I read words from the word list by grade to him and he spells them out loud or writes them on the white board. When we come to a word he can't spell, he writes in on anther list to study from. We keep going until he has 3-5 more words each day to write on his study list. Then he studies/copies the list again and that's it for spelling! We stop adding words when he has about 15 words on his list. I test him on it after he has practiced all the words at least 3 or 4 times. Any words he misses on the test go onto the next week's spelling list.

 

Apples and pears is easy for me because it is open and go. It covers the basic spelling patterns in an easy way that doesn't require extra memorization (that's build in) or preparation on my part. It is kind of expensive, though. Also, it moves at a scripted pace, so if you child is moving quickly through spelling, it would be sort of hard to jump ahead. I think AAS covers more of the rules explicitly, which Apples and Pears covers only by word families.