Talk me out of AAR (or into it)

[ktgrok]

Background: DD is 5, February birthday. Can read some short vowel words, first few bob books, etc but tends to still sound out each letter. Not fluent.

 

I have LOE Foundations A, got it a year ago,  and we only used the first third maybe, for phonological awareness. I didn't like the handwriting style, and instructions (all the breaking it down into swoops and slants and what not) and she wasn't ready for handwriting anyway. However, the phonological stuff was spectacular, and made all the difference. Then we backed off for a while, until she wanted to try Bob books. We did a bit of OPGTR but it was boring and had too much reading. And she wasn't getting it. We did a few lessons of Phonics Pathways with the same issue. Dropped it again. Now I've done a few lessons of Alpha Phonics and that is going fine. She likes writing stuff now although she spends so much energy making the letters she is not thinking about making the word, if that makes sense.  I have WRTR on my shelf, but not that intrigued by it. The marking, and the handwriting instructions don't work for me. 

 

So, I'm either going to stick with Alpha Phonics, or I could go back to LOE foundations A and skip the handwriting or just teach it my way, or do CLE Learn to Read (but I'm cautious about all the sight words, seems like a lot) or........I'm intrigued by AAR. (maybe because it's the only one I don't have, lol). I want her to learn spelling rules, and the hows and whys of language. AAR does that. And it doesn't require handwriting, so we could work on that separately. Unless it's better NOT to work on it separately. But again, i felt like she's not ready to be spelling words when she's still concentrating on making letters, if that makes sense. She does have good fine motor control for a 5 year old, MUch better than her cousin, her older brother at that age, etc. But still, she doesn't know how to do it properly yet and I REFUSE to let her make letters improperly, as I saw what happened with my oldest in public school kindy. They didn't supervise and he picked up awful habits, and to this day makes his letters "wrong". (He's a teen now!). 

 

So...would I love AAR? I go back and forth about teaching all the letters sounds or starting with just short vowels to be less confusing, etc. It looks like AAR starts with just the initialssounds but then does formally introduce the other sounds pretty quickly, so maybe best of both worlds. And it gets to reading actual words much faster than LOE. The letter tiles would be fun, and would leave handwriting separate. she also LOVES cut and paste, which I see AAR has. 

 

We have the money, although of course, not spending it is always better. I also have another little one coming up, that I could save things for. (2 year gap)

[ktgrok]

Reading the samples, and love the way the box is set up, with reviewing phonograms AND then words. I like that, and think it would help with fluency. Darn it. 

[PeterPan]

If you sell the LOE, OPGTR, PP, and Alpha-Phonics, you'll come out ahead when you buy AAR.  You can't afford not to.  :D

[ktgrok]

If you sell the LOE, OPGTR, PP, and Alpha-Phonics, you'll come out ahead when you buy AAR.  You can't afford not to.   :D

 

wait...one can SELL curriculum? I don't know how I feel about that. What if I NEED one of the 5 different phonics programs, lol?

[BusyMom5]

I'm considering using both LOL.  Someone here has a blog that compares both, and I think she uses both?  Lextin Academy?  I used LOE w/ my rising 2nd graders last year, and will switch to AAR3 this year.  From looking at them, it looks like they will mesh well together.  LOE has less actual reading, but more fun games and it's in color- bright and fun!  AAR (from what I can see, haven't actually used yet) goes a little slower, not colorful but does have worksheets- my child may find them a bit boring.  I thin the fluency sheets are genius! 

[PeterPan]

I don't know, lol.  I've sold a lot of different things over the years, and usually I find something new to buy to keep me excited.  My kids are 10 years apart, like your kids, and I find myself reusing almost nothing.  So yeah, sell.  Sell it all before it loses value.  Go buy the hot new thing and keep your life peppy.  the AAS/AAR materials really are as organized as you're thinking, the Rippell has a solid background in the subject to be fully qualified.  Our options are actually getting better as the years go on.  Granted, we have this profusion of lower end, homemade kind of stuff, but that's not what AAS/AAR is.  She actually teaches at a college and has tons of experience, highly qualified.  I used AAR pre with my ds and was going to suggest it to you for your younger, but then I thought maybe your youngest might be a bit too young.  Anyways, when the time is right it's really adorable.  I paired it with the MFW K5 for a really easy to implement letter of the week experience.  My ds didn't take off reading with that and struggled with aspects, but it turns out he's crazy dyslexic and has 3 SLDs and a bunch more going on.  But still it was fun, organized, adorable, all the things you're thinking you're seeing there.  I used AAS 1-6 with my dd after her VT (age 11/12?) and it too was well-organized.  

 

You've been around the block long enough, I think if your mother gut says AAR would be a good fit, it probably would be.  And since it's just the other stuff guilting you, sell and move on.  Ebay it.  Doesn't take long and the stuff will sell.  

[PeterPan]

Btw, on the fluency, you might try loading the words into Quizlet.  When my dd was young and I was doing SWR with her, I put her words on handwritten index cards.  Now, with ds I use the Quizlet app on his Kindle fire.  I don't know if all kids need flashcards or if there's some other way, but it certainly worked for my kids.

 

If it's bugging you, you can also do RAN/RAS dots to work on rapid naming speed.   Here's a link to a file of free pages https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4rcl6f0uo70esmv/AAAaGAHw3_YTMEQZSw_WI-t_a?dl=0

[ktgrok]

Thanks!  I just ordered it...well, I got the basic kit then added the box, as I don't need yet another totebag. So, level one and the basic kit are on their way. I even paid for expedited shipping, because I'm impatient that way, lol!

 

My oldest two are 10 years apart, so yes, I sell or give away his old stuff, but hers I'm holding on to, to see what works for the younger. Plus I do sometimes refer to other things. But you are right, I could sell a few things at least. Although...I DID like the phonological awareness of LOE...may use some of that with my youngest when he gets a bit older. But I could sell the flash cards and such, i never used those really anyway. They are just taking up room. Probably should sell Phonics Pathways too, as I prefer Alpha Phonics over that anyway, and Alpha Phonics is free on kindle unlimited. 

[PeterPan]

The Ziggy puppet for AAR pre is so cute and the games so fun, you might decide you like it just as well.  :)

[lexi]

I'm considering using both LOL. Someone here has a blog that compares both, and I think she uses both? Lextin Academy? I used LOE w/ my rising 2nd graders last year, and will switch to AAR3 this year. From looking at them, it looks like they will mesh well together. LOE has less actual reading, but more fun games and it's in color- bright and fun! AAR (from what I can see, haven't actually used yet) goes a little slower, not colorful but does have worksheets- my child may find them a bit boring. I thin the fluency sheets are genius!

Hi! I did use both for a time. My son struggles hugely with reading. He did LOE A and part of B. It is colorful and has more active kinesthetic activities. However, it moved a little too quickly for my son. It introduced beginning and ending blends way too fast for him.

So we are now back with AAR and making steady progress. He needs the very incremental approach. The fluency pages help him a ton even though they are not fun. The cards are great. We practice about 15 cards each day. I don't try to get him to memorize the card. But he sounds them out when needed. So it's extra practice sounding things out. We just pick the next 15 in the box for each day. I don't stress him out about mastery. We also re-read the stories in the reader a lot. Some of them are long so we read short segments each day. For us AAR was necessary because there is more opportunity for review.

 

I have tried several things to help my son. AAR seems like it is working. He can now read simple things. And he doesn't mind doing the program. I found that with LOE he got too wild with some of the games and he didn't retain things as well. But it is also a good program. I really believe in the phonics-based approach.

 

And in making a full confession-I think I own 4 or 5 phones programs.

 

I just stuck with AAR because it has tons of practice and is easy for me to use. And my son tolerates the review cards and little games. The fluency pages have helped him get to where he can read a full sentence with some comprehension so I really believe in those pages even if they aren't fun.

 

I use the chart provided in the program and we put stickers on it to see our progress. My kids can also earn 1 audiobook for every 5 readers (Frog and Toad and I Can Read type books) that they read to me. This has really motivated them.

 

My dd is struggling less with reading and I'm using AAR with her as well. She is getting a great foundation but she moves through more quickly. The reader stories don't seem too long for her right now. I'm just letting her go at her pace but she's doing well.

[lexi]

All that to say that if it was jut my dd, LOE would have probably worked great. For my son, it was too much too soon.

 

After using both I prefer AAR with all of its pieces and papers because it has so many opportunities for review.

 

I should really blog about my decision. A comparison post would probably be helpful.

 

I think I feel like AAR introduces the phonograms in a more logical and incremental way. And it's easy to slow down for a struggling kiddo or accelerate for my dd who is a stronger reader.

 

This upcoming year I think I'm going to even do AAS to see if I can further help my son. (We were doing Phonics Road). I think he needs more help and review. I think I might even out my older dd in AAS too. The method is just working really well at my house so I thought we would try the spelling too.

[strawberryjam]

AAR is one of the best buys I've ever made, curriculum-wise. My son improved his reading four grade levels between level 2 and 3 of AAR. He's flying through the lessons now, I'm not sure level 4 will be necessary. We always did the Explode the Code books too, he's currently on book 6. We did most of the half level books in Explode the Code as well. Together with AAR it was a winner combination for my late reluctant reader! I also love that both programs are very phonetic and introduce very few sight words. That's so important IMO. (I guess both are folllowing a Orton-Gillingham phonetic approach... I'm friends with a school teacher who specializes in this approach and she's also a big fan of Explode the Code).

[RKWAcademy]

AAR is working for my kids but in your situation I'm not sure you need to jump ship. For mine, it took a lot of practice for fluency to build. Mine were in no way early readers. I will say that I resold my AAR for nearly what I paid. So, if you get it, you can get most of your money back, if you so desire.

 

Oh, I went back and see you ordered it. I hope you like it. My kids enjoy it. The readers are very good.

[Chelli]

Just in case you decide to use LOE instead. I did the program without using their handwriting. I taught handwriting the way I wanted her to learn (italics) and she did the writing as copywork.