l&r'smom Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 First, a little background is in order. We began homeschooling mid-year after Christmas break. My girls are 8 and 6 and in second and first grades. We completely dropped spelling this year. We tried SWO with much resistance. Dd 8 hated it! And dd 6 quickly followed suit. Both are ok at spelling but not great. I am trying to decide what to do about spelling for next year. I am attracted to AAS but wonder where to begin. I don't want to waste alot of money on starting at the beginning and my eldest becoming bored before we get to things that will be useful to her. In the same breath my youngest could probably use the phonics instruction. Would it be better just to start with something like sequential spelling for dd8. Then go with R&S spelling with dd6 to reinforce some phonics??? Any other ideas? Is there anyway to combine their spelling? Blah! I am dreading even starting another spelling program. Is that bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 I wouldn't worry about "dropping" spelling for the time being. Y'all are just getting used to actually homeschooling, and your dc are little, so it's all good. :-) You could consider Spalding instead of AAS. You would start both of them at the same place, and you'd use the same materials for both, for as long as you continue with Spalding: the manual (Writing Road to Reading) and a set of phonogram cards. Your older dd would keep a spelling notebook next year; your younger dd would not. And you'd also be getting penmanship, capitalization and punctuation, and simple writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l&r'smom Posted April 12, 2013 Author Share Posted April 12, 2013 Ellie, thank you so much for your suggestion. Does it matter which edition of WRTR and can I make the phonogram cards myself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dahliarw Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 The big "spend" for AAS, IMO, are all the tiles and such that you need for any level. I don't think the materials for each level are all that bad. We personally LOVE the program. It really is best to start at the beginning as there are a lot of rules taught. I would expect your 8yo to work through it way faster than your 6yo. It is really good phonics review too, definitely helped my 8yos reading as well as spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 12, 2013 Share Posted April 12, 2013 Ellie, thank you so much for your suggestion. Does it matter which edition of WRTR and can I make the phonogram cards myself? Any edition of the manual is fine. You can make the phonogram cards yourself, but the ones you buy from Spalding Education International are laminated, and just worth the money. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esse Quam Videri Posted April 13, 2013 Share Posted April 13, 2013 We also LOVE AAS for my gifted readers/average spellers. And even I learned things in level 1 (I was a self-taught sight reader) so I would definitely start there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l&r'smom Posted April 13, 2013 Author Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks to all who posted. I am a little timid about WRTR because it seems more independent, and since I am new to all of this the scripted style of AAS is more comfortable to me. I will get a used copy of WRTR and decide from there. Thanks again and wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwiesman Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 We use Spell to Write and Read. It is cheaper that WRTR I believe. Just 2 books and phonogram cards and rules. I have a friend who uses WRTR and she spends an hour watching the video and taking notes. I don't have time to spend on that. That is her personal take on it but really likes the program. Wanda Sanseri wrote SWR and my daughter has done well this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamindy Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Just FYI - I do think that WRTR is the cheapest route. You do NOT need to watch a video to teach it. I have the 4th Edition. You just read the book to get an overview and read it again if you're confused. (It is short.) The phonogram cards are around $15 maybe... (That may be including shipping.) And I bought the book for $4. Pretty cheap. If I understand correctly (I have NOT used, or even seen, all of them) but most Orton-Gillingham spelling methods are going to be teaching intensive. That would include Spalding, SWR, AAS, etc. All that said, my oldest daughter does not need very much spelling instruction at all (perhaps none), and we are at a very busy time in our lives right now, so I chose to use Rod & Staff Spelling. It is independent, requiring very little of me. And she loves workbook stuff anyway. Just thought I'd throw that out there as a suggestion. I think the books are around $5 per grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 We use Spell to Write and Read. It is cheaper that WRTR I believe. Just 2 books and phonogram cards and rules. I have a friend who uses WRTR and she spends an hour watching the video and taking notes. I don't have time to spend on that. That is her personal take on it but really likes the program. Wanda Sanseri wrote SWR and my daughter has done well this year. :confused1: Spalding doesn't have videos that the parent watches. That is, there seven DVDs which you can buy, as a set or for individually for a specific grade level, but they are completely optional. Everything you need to know is in the one manual (WRTR), which you can get from Spalding Education International for $20, and a set of individual phonogram cards for $14. That's all you need. The core kit for SWR is $105 (on the publisher's web site). That makes it more expensive than Spalding. :-) Are you sure you aren't thinking about the Phonics Road to Reading and Spelling? Phonics Road comes with DVDs and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Just FYI - I do think that WRTR is the cheapest route. You do NOT need to watch a video to teach it. I have the 4th Edition. You just read the book to get an overview and read it again if you're confused. (It is short.) The phonogram cards are around $15 maybe... (That may be including shipping.) And I bought the book for $4. Pretty cheap. If I understand correctly (I have NOT used, or even seen, all of them) but most Orton-Gillingham spelling methods are going to be teaching intensive. That would include Spalding, SWR, AAS, etc. Well, I don't think anyone can learn to teach Spalding after reading the book once for an overview and then once again if she's confused. You need to read the whole manual cover to cover at least two or three times, making notes and whatnot. A beginning Spalding workshop is almost 40 hours, after all. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwiesman Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Yes Ellie you are correct. I had the wrong spelling program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Sometimes an older student can start with Level 2. Check out this article to help you decide. If your 8 yo does need some concepts from level 1, you probably will only need a few weeks to fill in some gaps, and then can move on to Level 2. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PentecostalMom Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 We tried Spelling Workout (bleh), then Rod & Staff (didn't change her spelling at all - we did almost all of 2nd grade), and finally ordered AAS. I chose to start with Level 1 because I hoped that it would reinforce phonics rules and I do have more dc to teach after all. It was a great choice. My 7yo dd is really enjoying it, it really only takes a few minutes per day (10-15) and we are both learning a lot! It reinforces rules she has already learned and while she will go quickly through Level 1, I am so glad I did not start with Level 2. The initial investment is more costly than other programs, but their return policy is fabulous and after the initial purchase of the Interactive Kit, it really isn't that bad. Most of it is reusable with a 2nd student. There are also usually some listed on the classifieds here on the forums and on homeschoolclassifieds.com. I decided to buy new directly from the publisher because of the return policy. I figured if we liked it, then I could look for used Level 2 stuff. If we didn't like it, I could send it all back with nothing to lose. Questions? Ask Merry above. She answered questions from me for 2-3 months before I ever took the plunge. She in no way pressured me to buy, simply answered questions. Just my $.02! ETA: We have only been working on this about a week but so far it is better than anything else I have tried at the elementary level and that includes BJU and Abeka. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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