melaniehice Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 My daughter is finishing up 1st grade, and next year I'm completely changing our curriculum. I've realized throughout this year that she's very much a hands on learner. As part of the switch up, I'm looking into AAS & AAR. Anyone have any thoughts/opinions/personal experiences? Thanks! Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I love both. Would she like spelling with the magnetic tiles? Or using them to understand phonics? The tiles are really the only hands on part of AAS unless writing is hands on. Both programs incorporate word cards too that are reviewed. Other than that AAS has a lot more writing involved than I had expected which has been great for DS to work on. Generally there is a concept to learn, followed by the word cards, then phrases and finally sentences all on the same topic. AAR is a lot more hands on. Each lesson generally has a little activity on the concept. He always cuts it out and then does it. Like feeding words to an animal or flipping over word cards like pancakes. There are also lots of word sheets to practice or to warm up before a story. Their readers are really great too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsWeasley Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'm using AAS with my kindergartener and third grader. I had gone through several spelling programs with my oldest: this is the first one where she's actually retained and applied her spelling lessons to her writing. I really love it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 AAS was the only thing that worked for my kids. I wish AAR had been around when I was teaching them to read! Here's a review and update that I did awhile back. (I keep meaning to update again--both kids have since finished the program!) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage81 Posted April 26, 2016 Share Posted April 26, 2016 I've been using an all-in-one curriculum for the past 4 school years (preK-2nd grade), but it's no longer working for me and my girls (Kinder and 2nd grade) are not really having much fun. So, I decided to switch things up and change everything for our next school year. For my soon-to-be 1st grader, I'm going to do AAR Level 1. They recommend to complete AAR 1 before you begin AAS 1, so that's my plan. To round out language arts for her, I'm going to do IEW PALS Writing. It covers handwriting, basic grammar, copywork, and then composition. The PALS Writing package comes with AAS 1, but I'll save it for after we get through AAR 1. (I'm actually switching my 2nd grader to AAR and AAS too, so I'll use the AAS 1 with her over the summer and then AAS 2&3 during her 3rd grade school year.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamoose Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 AAR is pretty fun. There are fun activities and the tiles make it stick in their head. I like that vowels are a different color, and it teaches word decoding. AAS is pretty boring, in comparison, but still necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadowlark Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 We use both. I've taught AAR 1-4 and AAS 1-5. What specific questions do you have? I think the incremental, hands on approach with the tiles (however annoying) is genius. Never say never, but I plan to use these with the last 3 in line for sure. I'm 100% content (and a former teacher). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stratford Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 We used AAR 1 with my K'er this year and it has been a huge success. I plan on using AAS 1 with AAR 2 for first grade. We had tried AAR a while back with one of my older kids but it was a flop; he's my dyslexic kiddo and it wasn't a good fit for him. The tiles are the bane of my existence, however. When we tried it with my oldest, we lost about 50% of the letter tiles in just a few months. (Blame it on having too many littles around and nowhere really secure to store the board.) This time, I downloaded a letter tile app for the ipad that is similar enough, at least for the reading program. It's been a lifesaver. Plus, he loves using the ipad. I'm hoping the app works well for AAS, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniehice Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 We use both. I've taught AAR 1-4 and AAS 1-5. What specific questions do you have? I think the incremental, hands on approach with the tiles (however annoying) is genius. Never say never, but I plan to use these with the last 3 in line for sure. I'm 100% content (and a former teacher).My daughter is heading into 2nd grade next year and her reading is pretty good, but I would like to see better fluency and understanding of all the phonics rules. Do I have to start with level 1 before I start spelling? Or can I start them both at the same time? And if she's ready for level 2, can I start her there, or is best to fly through 1 then move onto 2? Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Are you thinking of using AAR and AAS? If so have you looked at the placement test for AAR? It might give you the best idea where she would be with it. AAS is recommended to start with the first one and it would probably go pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melaniehice Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) Are you thinking of using AAR and AAS? If so have you looked at the placement test for AAR? It might give you the best idea where she would be with it. AAS is recommended to start with the first one and it would probably go pretty quickly. I was planning on doing both, and I did have her do the placement test. I think she would be ok with level 2. I just thought they recommended starting both on level 1. Maybe I'm thinking of the spelling. Thanks for your help! I'm fairly new to homeschooling, (finishing up 2nd yr) and haven't heard of AAS/AAR until recently and got super excited when I looked into it. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Edited April 28, 2016 by melaniehice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExcitedMama Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 No problem, I know how overwhelming it can all be! AAS they definitely recommend starting at 1 and you can just move quickly at first until you hit a new concept which might take more tme and slow it down. AAR they recommend based on the placement test. They have amazing customer service too if you wanted to call and ask for advice or post your question on their forum. If she's going to do AAR2 than you could definitely do AAS at the same time, they don't recommend starting AAS until after AAR1. Both programs are really easy to modify for the child so you can move fast or slow in either as needed. Have you checked out their samples? They are pretty long and would give you a great idea what to expect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 My daughter is heading into 2nd grade next year and her reading is pretty good, but I would like to see better fluency and understanding of all the phonics rules. Do I have to start with level 1 before I start spelling? Or can I start them both at the same time? And if she's ready for level 2, can I start her there, or is best to fly through 1 then move onto 2? You don't need to do AAR 1 unless she needs fluency practice at that level. She should be fluently reading most of the words at the AAR 1 level before you move on to AAR 2, and before you start spelling. If she's still sounding out most CVC words, then even though she's had exposure to all of the phonics, you would want to start with AAR 1. If she can read the words pretty easily and does well with the level 1 sample story, then she'll be fine in AAR 2, and you can also start spelling at that point. Here's an article on AAS: The Right Time to Start. HTH! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TriciaT Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 The tiles are the bane of my existence, however. When we tried it with my oldest, we lost about 50% of the letter tiles in just a few months. (Blame it on having too many littles around and nowhere really secure to store the board.) This time, I downloaded a letter tile app for the ipad that is similar enough, at least for the reading program. It's been a lifesaver. Plus, he loves using the ipad. I'm hoping the app works well for AAS, too. What app are you using for tiles? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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