Is AAS worth the price tag?

[hsmom27]

I'm considering purchasing this for my 7yo boys. One is a rising 2nd grader and has been using both McRuffy Spelling and SW. I love SW, and he does really well on reviews. But then he continually misspells the same words in his writing. So it seems he's not retaining/ transferring the spelling he's learning. My other DS is a rising 1st grader, but he has severe autism. I'm thinking the multisensory approach might work better for him than SW. And I really think he needs a lot more work in the phonics department. He's a great sight reader, but can't decode new words at all.

 

So does AAS sound like it might work? I think I could get by with the Level 1 packet and 1 tile packet. I can't teach them both together anyway, and that would save some money. Any other ideas or suggestions for us? Thanks!

 

 

 

Katherine

DSs 7yo & DD 1yo

[Sew happily ever after]

If your boys have had any experience with phonics at all they might be able to breeze through level 1. if you can afford it, you might consider getting level 2 also.

 

Is it worth the price tag? I do think it's a bit pricey for spelling, a subject that seemingly should be inexpensive, BUT it does have excellent results. And while my children don't necessarily LOVE the curriculum, it is presented in such a way that makes spelling EASY, which I think is key to their understanding. So, yes, I do think it's worth the cost. i hesitated over purchasing level 4, so I bought SW D and E for my oldest. She took one look at them and thought how boring (and I thought how disjointed and so little explanation), so it looks like i'll be reposting those for sale. i ordered level 4 yesterday. Also I feel like this is a curric that is totally reusable. i don't have to purchase additional student materials or workbooks. So while level 4 cost me $40, I will use it for 4 children which brings the cost down to $10 per kid. A workbook approach would cost at least that or even more!

[Jules]

How do you do this without ordering extra student materials? I thought each student and each level needed there own student materials....is that not right?

[arcara]

No, it's totally non-consumable. There are a few things, like the Silent E book in Level 3 that would consumable, but I just have my girls make their own book. We don't use the one provided. My girls have been using the program this year. They are not on the same steps. I teach them separately. I have one set of tiles and one set of cards. The phonogram and rule cards are marked with their Level and Step number, so it's easy for me to quickly see which ones are appropriate for each student. I typed up the words for each level to review these separately for each student. I like having them on one sheet instead of dealing with the cards for this. I make a mark next to each word, noting if we've reviewed it and if it was mastered or not. I also have a place on the sheet for the rule-breakers and other trouble words for each student. I feel that this program has taught me how to teach my kids!!

[Pata]

Have you looked at Word Attack? It's similar to AAS without all the bells and whistles. The first level covers most of what is covered in the first three levels of AAS and the price is much better. I think AAS is a wonderful program, but with only one child, I just couldn't justify the expense of continuing it. Hope that helps.

[Johanna]

hmmmm, I like what I see with the preview of word attack. How do you space the lessons out? What sort of schedule do you use??

 

ETA: I clicked preview on Lulu and I think that it gave me a preview of the whole book? ??

Edited April 20, 2009 by Johanna

[Sandy in Indy]

I'm using it with my youngest. Even though I won't have another child to pass it to, I think it's worth the cost. I've seen huge leaps in ds's abilities in both reading and spelling. I just ordered Level 3 and plan to complete the program. Would I prefer that it was less costly? Sure! But I'm willing to make the investment in something that is well-written and working for my child.

 

I will save it for my dd(21) who hopes to marry and homeschool her own children. I have great faith that some day I'll have grandchildren who are homeschooling.

[Pata]

Somehow this posted twice, sorry about that!

Edited April 20, 2009 by Pata

[Pata]

hmmmm, I like what I see with the preview of word attack. How do you space the lessons out? What sort of schedule do you use??

 

ETA: I clicked preview on Lulu and I think that it gave me a preview of the whole book? ??

 

That's right, if I remember correctly Hannah had a problem with the preview and ended up just making the preview the whole book available. She was trusting that if people liked what they saw, they would pay the money for it. As for our schedule, we just recently started using it. The first few lessons we did in a week. Normally we will intro the list and copy the rule on day 1, then copy the list on day 2, do a studied dication on day 3, test the list on day 4 and finish it up by dictating another sentence on day 5. If she does well, we move on to the next list, if not we repeat the pattern with the additional words and dictation sentences provided. Hope that helps!

[classicHSmom]

Are there other levels of Word Attach other than level 1?

[MerryAtHope]

I'm considering purchasing this for my 7yo boys. One is a rising 2nd grader and has been using both McRuffy Spelling and SW. I love SW, and he does really well on reviews. But then he continually misspells the same words in his writing. So it seems he's not retaining/ transferring the spelling he's learning. My other DS is a rising 1st grader, but he has severe autism. I'm thinking the multisensory approach might work better for him than SW. And I really think he needs a lot more work in the phonics department. He's a great sight reader, but can't decode new words at all.

 

So does AAS sound like it might work? I think I could get by with the Level 1 packet and 1 tile packet. I can't teach them both together anyway, and that would save some money. Any other ideas or suggestions for us? Thanks!

 

Katherine

DSs 7yo & DD 1yo

 

Hi Katherine,

 

Have you visited the AAS message board, The ChatterBee? There is a special needs group there and at least one other mom with a child who has autism on there. She might have some helpful info for you on how it is working out for them.

 

For me it has totally been worth the money to use a product that is effective (after trying so many that didn't work for us) and that my kids enjoy. Spelling is an important skill that kids use all their lives (and spell checkers are not a cure-all for bad spelling). I tried cheaper routes and they were not effective for us (and wasted a lot of our time). This is still less per year than I spend on math, and it's helped my kids with reading speed/fluency/accuracy/word-attack skills, spelling, handwriting, alphabetizing, and writing fluency (as well as confidence in writing). I wrote more on my blog.

 

I hope you find what will help your kids!

 

As far as what to order, should you decide to use AAS: you should be fine with one set of tiles. One materials packet will work out if your children will be working at different levels (ie, if one works in level 1, while the other works in level 2, or if you start one first, get him through level 1, and then start the other child). The material packets are made so that you can customize review for each child, and that would be hard to do if you have two children using the same pack at the same time, unless your plan is to have both children review all of the words and cards that either of them miss. I started out with one pack for both kids, but switched to two packs about half-way through so that I could customize for each one. Otherwise one masters something but the other needs more review & you have to have some way of marking on the card if you can't file it behind the mastered tab. In the beginning it wasn't hard to keep everything straight, but as I got into it, it was more confusing.

 

I wasn't sure from your post if you meant you were only going to buy the materials packet & tiles--you'll need the book that goes with it too, as that's where all of the teaching is.

 

HTH! Best wishes as you figure out what will work for you and your children, Merry :-)

[hsmom27]

Thanks everyone for responding. I really like the look of Word Attack, too. Do you know if she is planning more levels? I'm having to buy a whole separate curriculum for DSs, because they seem to need very opposite things. So money really is becoming an issue.

 

Also, what exactly are the word tiles like for AAS? Are they actual tiles or just laminated card stock? I guess I was thinking maybe I could just make tiles to give my one DS the hands-on approach that he needs. Then I could use a less expensive program like Word Attack for the spelling rules.

 

There are just too many choices!!!!!!!!!!:)

[Jen500]

The AAS tiles are laminated card stock. You have to cut them apart yourself.

[In the Rain]

Yes, the letter tiles are laminated card stock.

 

For me, AAS is worth the money. I enjoy teaching it, and dd is making steady progress. It is so easy to use that I am very consistent in using it.

[mamaof2andtwins]

After trying various spelling programs, I am very, very pleased with AAS and believe it is definitely worth the money.

 

Jennie

[Lovedtodeath]

AAS is like having a program like WP or Sonlight all scheduled out and in a box for you with additions. AAS is no doubt better, but is expensive when your child can or should go through 4 or 5 levels in two years.

 

There are programs (like How To Teach Spelling) that can get the job done for much less for a teacher or student who doesn't need as much help. If you or your student needs it, then it is an excellent program and worth the money.

[Pata]

Thanks everyone for responding. I really like the look of Word Attack, too. Do you know if she is planning more levels? I'm having to buy a whole separate curriculum for DSs, because they seem to need very opposite things. So money really is becoming an issue.

 

Also, what exactly are the word tiles like for AAS? Are they actual tiles or just laminated card stock? I guess I was thinking maybe I could just make tiles to give my one DS the hands-on approach that he needs. Then I could use a less expensive program like Word Attack for the spelling rules.

 

There are just too many choices!!!!!!!!!!:)

 

I don't know for sure, but several months ago, Hannah said that she was going to put out one more level. She has a yahoo group here and you can ask her more questions there or start a separate thread, I know that she hangs out on these boards sometimes.

 

I loved AAS, but my dd wasn't to attached to it and money was a real issue here, so Word Attack fits the bill much better for us.

Edited April 20, 2009 by Pata

[alegnab]

When ds#1 was doing Spelling Power, he would ace the tests, but SP didn't carry over into his daily writing. His spelling was awful. Finally, in 7th grade, I put him into Spell to Write and Read/Wise Guide for Spelling. :thumbup1: It worked wonders. One year of that, and he was finished with a spelling curriculum. The spelling skills of ds#2, who was in 4th grade at the time, also improved immensely with SWR/WG.

 

I found out about All About Spelling last summer. I hadn't been using SWR/WG with dc#3 much, because it's just not very easy to implement. When I looked over AAS, I knew I'd love it. :thumbup: It is very similar to SWR/WG in what it teaches, but it's so much easier to use. I think AAS is worth every penny (although it would be nice if it were cheaper). I have the first four levels. Dd started in Level 1 in September, and she's now in Level 3. Ds#3 is in Level 1. I don't ever plan to get rid of AAS. I hope to tutor public school students in reading and spelling sometime in the future, and AAS will be invaluable for that. Plus, I want to save it for my grandkids.