Anyone use AAR and NOT like it?

[Psshh03]

I'm considering using level 1 with my K age DD next fall and have been reading lots of reviews. Everyone seems to love it, but I would like to read all kinds of experiences. Any thoughts you'd be willing to share will be incredibly helpful to me!

 

Thanks!

 

First post!!!

[Arboreal TJ]

I bought it when I was at my whits end with struggling readers. We are 9 lessons in to AAR 2 now and I can honestly say I love it more with every lesson. I'm a college graduate and my decoding skills have improved.... I think it's wonderful especially for brains more geared toward math and science not language.

 

I could see how a natural reader would find it boring and slow but for average or struggling readers it's great!

 

FYI we tried Bob Books, 100 EZ Lessons and Funnix before AAR.

[SeeSchells]

We have used preK and level 1. I am bad at implementing it, but when we do I see its benefits. We are fans of AAS too. They work well together. My kids are all struggling readers/spellers, but excel with math. AAR and AAS make language/reading/spelling more concrete for them.

[SeeSchells]

Having said that, it is expensive and I don't think we will be continuing on with it after this year. :(

[Esse Quam Videri]

:lurk5: Wondering the same. I don't think I've ever read a "bad" review of AAR, but I have heard parents who felt it was great but not necessary. This is why I've been hesitant to purchase it. We have The Reading Lesson, which worked well for my son, and also have McGuffey's Primer & all of the Bob Books. I've also read some posts on using AAS as a reading program, and since we already have AAS I was thinking of trying that as well. DD will be 5 in May and she is plugging along just fine with The Reading Lesson... but AAR looks so fun! The $100 is worth it to me if it helps her become a better reader. But perhaps she'll be a great reader using the programs we already have? UGH... it's a hard call.

[prissygirls]

I used it and I actually thought it moved to fast for my 5 year old. He knew this letters and letter sounds but just could not get it. I have Dancing Bears now and it is working better. I like the price better on Dancing Bears.

[PentecostalMom]

I just purchased AAS to improve spelling for my dd and hopefully help with reading as she struggles a bit as well. I was convinced to dive in to AAS because of the one-year guarantee. I am seriously considering AAR as well, despite the cost. What have I got to lose? If I hate it, or don't use it, I can send it back for a refund and have a full year to do so. If I love it, I have four dc to use it with and then would possibly still have components to resell. I figure either way it's worth a try.

[MistyMountain]

I brought a used copy and started using it with ds but have stopped for now. I didn't go through the whole thing but I wasn't as in love with it like I thought I would be. The fluency practice sheets were hard for ds to work through and it wasn't improving his fluency. He was still painfully sounding out every word. I stopped it for now and switched to phonics pathways to teach him. I like how phonics pathways starts out with 2 letters blends and how you can do spelling too. I prefer to work on more phonograms and approach reading from a faster moving spelling curriculum.

[kdownie]

I have used/am using AAR Pre and 1. I do love them and will continue to use them with my other children. They are fun, and dd ask for the lessons frequently. However, my first dd learned using OPGTR and a couple other little things, and she is a fabulous reader now. If the cost is prohibitive, then by all means know that there are lots of other, less expensive options.

 

The fluency pages are too much for my dd right now, but she enjoys the rest of the pages in the activity book. We just do a line or two per fluency page. We also have just started reading the first couple of books in the set of Bob books.

 

Also, keep an eye out for a used set. I did that and paid about half of the new price. If it doesn't work for you, you can resell it and pretty much be out almost no money. Or buy it new from the AAR website and have the option to return it if it doesn't work.

[alisoncooks]

I ended up returning AAR 1. There were just more components than I wanted to juggle for each lesson: teacher's guide, letter tiles, word cards/box system, activity page, fluency sheet, book. And -- perhaps my brain just doesn't work that way -- but I'm not a fan of the self-paced guide. Like, I need to know how to break down the lesson per day, when and how to progress over the course of the year, etc. I was constantly 2nd-guessing our pace or what we were doing. (ETA: and most people say they feel the guide is very hand-holding and simple to understand, LOL, so take my opinions there with a grain of salt!)

 

Also, a consideration: there are only 2? 3? levels out now. How many will there be ultimately? I want to say I'd read several (so just something to think about -- if your child progresses quickly, the program may not be fully available for him/her to complete).

 

That said, while DD didn't like the tiles or review cards -- or fluency sheets -- she loved the activity pages. They felt very game-like & fun. I'm tempted to purchase them for youngest DD b/c I think they could go with most any program, with a little creativity...

[Marie131]

I did not like AAR (or AAS for that matter)! I was rather shocked at how much I disliked the program considering how much we love RightStart math, I thought AAS with all it's manipulatives would be such a good fit. It was not. Even my tactile boy did not like it.

 

For AAR specifically, my 5 y/o ds was very eager to learn with it but I did not enjoy it, I found there were many things that I did not like. First of all, the tiles. Oh the tiles... The tiles were a major distraction for my little people. They were too busy blowing them up and not paying attention to lessons so I had to adapt that out. Second, I found the pace way too fast for my Ker. We spent about 2 months trying to use AAR and never got past lesson 6. My ds could not blend to save his life. Couldn't get it. Reading was painful (for me!). Third, I thought all the cut and paste stuff was cute, but un-necessary. Busy work, if you will. I also didn't like how scripted it was.

 

I couldn't get it to work for my child. Maybe he just wasn't developmentally ready for it, I don't know. We dropped it in favour of Phonics Pathways and his reading has taken off. PP is very dry but it's short, sweet and effective.

 

I know I am probably one of the only people who did not like this program, and the fact that it gets such good reviews indicates that it probably will work fine for most families. But it just wasn't for us. The readers are lovely, though.

[Mandylubug]

Well, we have tried several other programs. We tried 100EZ, then PP. I did have some success with PP but we got to a brick wall with the long vowels and just could not bust through. We started AAR1 and was able to skip many lessons due to our progress with PP. We are currently on lesson 26 and doing swell. They seem to like the flash card review more than anything. We use the tiles when discussing the new words, we do cut out the activities and do them once or twice. They don't really care for the fluency sheets but I have found letting them highlight while they read them to help greatly. They LOVE the books that come with AAR because they look like nice quality chapter books. They hated using BOB books and easy readers. They actually are eager to try to read anything. I like that AAR provides multiple ways to learn it because they aren't always receptive only one way!

[nurse_kris]

I tried many other programs, and AAR (and AAS) have worked great for us! 2 of 3 my kids have used it. My oldest, I didn't use an actual program with. He was a natural reader. Learned on his own and was reading at a 4th grade level in K. I then couldn't understand why my other 2 weren't "getting it". AAR helped tremendously when I felt like I was failing with the other programs. I agree though that it isn't for everyone. It would have bored my eldest son to tears. Some kids don't need this thorough of reading instruction, and some parents wouldn't like the manipulatives. Phonics Pathways is also good and doesn't have the tiles, etc. to mess with. AAR would be my first choice though.