If you have used AAR 3,

[Meriwether]

could you tell me if it would be worth it in this case? My daughter has finished level two. She likes AAR, but she is my only child to have used it. My others have all started with the HOP yellow book and then moved on to Phonics Museum. At least one of them also did Turbo Reader or Pathway Readers in addition to Phonics Museum. After Phonics Museum, they read the picture books in First Favorites and then easy chapter books. My daughter finished AAR 2 in February, and I have dragged my feet on buying the next one mainly due to cost. I can buy it, I am not sure I should buy it. She has about 5 more Phonics Museum readers left and will then start reading the picture books.

I have the Pathway Readers which she could start now. I have about 3 linear feet of easy readers that I have mostly accumulated from garage sales, as well as McGuffey's and other sets. I have the First Favorites books. I can give her enough practice reading without AAR, but she likes AAR and is fully expecting the next book to come any day. She continues to ask about it and has requested that they be given to her for her to use with her kids. Are the exercises in the book worth buying the whole program? Would the readers be worth getting on their own? 

[ByGrace3]

I have been through AAR twice now through level 4. With my ds (first time through) I really questioned buying AAR 4 because he was already "reading well' at that point. I am very glad I did. I think the program is very worth it. 

[Moncha]

If she LIKES it and is looking forward to it that much, I would strongly encourage you to finish it! It's an excellent program and the resale value is good.  Any program that is good quality and that my kiddo really buys into I think is a win. (and make sure you ask for box art 🙂! ) 

[Momto6inIN]

I just finished my 2nd time all the way through AAR and yes, I think it's worth it. They were both reading fairly fluently by the end of AAR 2 but learning the rules in 3 and 4 was very very helpful.

[PeachyDoodle]

I agree that it's worth it, and that the program holds its value and is easy to resell if you take care of it. I've recouped almost my entire cost for every level we've used. 

There really are a lot of rules in levels 3 and 4 that help kids decode longer and more complicated words.

[MomN]

I love AAR 3.  My son would complain every time we had a story to read, but then he would love the plot and laugh the whole way through.  AAR 3 was different from level 2 because the stories were much longer and it really forced my son to work on his perseverance skills as a reader.  He would get tired but slowly he worked to reading 15-20 minutes at a time.  I absolutely love AAR 3!

AAR3 was my intro to AAR.  My third child had trouble with reading and I bought it for some summer work.  It helped a lot, but I didn’t continue.  Later, I did buy AAR4 and it had a lot of good material that I am glad we didn’t miss.  My youngest started with AAR1 at 3 and he really liked it.  He was an early reader and he saw his older brother do it all, he knew there were four levels, and was very clear he wanted to fill in all the sticker charts.  I liked that there was lots of practice if needed, but my youngest took it quite quickly.  It would have been tempting to just let him read, but there were phonics rules that I might have skipped over.  It has helped me draw connections with spelling now.  If your child likes it and is willing to do it, I would vote to take the plunge.  It is nicely laid out and for me it was nice not to have to come up with a plan.  I always have aspirations to put stuff together from items I already have to save the money only to find out that I should really have stayed the course that was working.  I didn’t resell, I donated it to a friend that needed it, but it does seem to have high resale value.  I second the advice to be sure to request box art.  It is so cool!

[MerryAtHope]

There are also extensive samples online--maybe looking inside would help you decide?

[Crimson Wife]

I bought a bargain version of the previous edition TM from Rainbow Resource last month. I didn't purchase the student materials because I own AAS 1-6 and didn't feel there was enough difference to justify the costs. I definitely feel that the TM from AAR 3 was worth what I paid for it. 

[MomN]

I just looked up the box art.  That is sooooo cool.  Will have to request that next time for sure!

[PeterPan]

On 4/15/2020 at 3:39 PM, MomN said:

I love AAR 3.  My son would complain every time we had a story to read, but then he would love the plot and laugh the whole way through.  AAR 3 was different from level 2 because the stories were much longer and it really forced my son to work on his perseverance skills as a reader.  He would get tired but slowly he worked to reading 15-20 minutes at a time.  I absolutely love AAR 3!

Not the op, but your comments here were so persuasive, I went and ordered the AAR 3 and 4 readers to see what they might do for my ds. 

On 4/13/2020 at 1:03 AM, Meriwether said:

I have about 3 linear feet of easy readers

LOL I know...

On 4/13/2020 at 1:03 AM, Meriwether said:

Would the readers be worth getting on their own? 

Well my ds' has already been through Barton 4, parts of 5, and all the games for all the levels. He can read, he just has more issues (stamina, ASD, language comprehension, etc.). But for your dd, sounds like you're going to be happier if you continue doing the levels the way you were. You hate to mess up a good thing when it's going well. But I get that the money is real. Just thinking you're going to want the instruction paired with them, not the readers alone.