My daughter was really easy to teach with this program too! Not much extra practice required. We often skipped most of the practice sheets, but I am glad they are there just in case my next kiddo needs more repetition. Each kid can be so different. 😊👍🏻 I used to teach reading when I taught Kindergarten, and after all the different programs I looked for or used previously, this was a winner! 🏆
Yes, I know that the next learning to read journey will look different, and I'd rather have more review materials than what we need in comparison to too few and the need to add in a lot more.
Great thorough review! I have one child in level 2 and one child in level 3. We love it. We plan to finish out the whole program through level 4- it gives me peace knowing that they have been taught all the phonics rules and my kids are still learning new things. But it is a huge investment if time and money for sure.
There are a lot of great skills taught in levels 3 and 4 and I have heard good things about them from friends...if I owned 3, I think I'd go ahead and use it, but since I don't, I feel comfortable enough in just progressing with giving him more practice in reading early readers and teaching any new phonics concepts as we go.
Thanks as always for your thorough reviews! We’ve done all 4 Levels of AAR with my oldest, who did need that explicit instruction. I think Level 3 is the one level that intuitive kids could skip; it’s a lot of vowel teams and some kiddos pick that up easily. It did seem to be the easiest level of the four. I love how you use discernment for your kiddos and don’t just follow the guided path. 🙂 AAR Level 4 has really helped my oldest move from easy chapter books to long novels like Harry Potter; it has a TON of practice decoding 4- and 5-syllable words, which he needed. A lesson about halfway through Level 4 had him decoding words like accessible, irresponsible, and plausible. Not all kids would need it, but it has been a blessing for my kiddo who did!
That's awesome to hear your experience with the higher levels! If I already owned them, I would probably roll right into Level 3, but since I don't, and it's a good bit of challenge and expense to get resources here, for now I'm pretty comfortable just using early reading books to continue having him practice and gain confidence and skill.
My 2nd grade son just started level 4 and we will finish it this year. He finished kinder not reading fluently, then over summer break his reading switch flipped on and he took off. We then soared through the AAR levels. I probably could have stopped with him but I wanted to go ahead and capture any skills in the other levels he may not have had. He also enjoys the activities in each lesson, so it’s a subject he looks forward to every day. It’s not much work for me to keep his lessons going because we move through them very quickly. My 1st grade daughter has not had her reading switch go off yet. So we are moving at a slower pace and we are currently in level 2. She’s made slow but steady progress with some little jumps in skill along the way. As with her (and my other 2 kids) I plan to complete all 4 levels. If it went on for 7 levels like AAS does I might reconsider that lol… but I don’t think 4 levels is too much.
That's awesome that it's worked so well for you! I've heard a lot of great things about levels 3 and 4. The activities from the student book are fun, for sure.
I enjoyed this! I just finished AAR 2 with my 1st grader. I look forward to the video sharing the books you plan to have him read for 1st grade. That's the stage my youngest is in too.
Very helpful thank you! 😊 I feel like once we complete level 2 there will be no need for another level. Like your son, my guy is taking off in reading. Even level 2 seems unnecessary for him but I’ll finish it just in case! This makes me feel so much better. ETA we will still move through explode the code too.
Yes--he'll still be getting explicit practice with phonics rules through Explode the Code as well as through spelling so I felt like we're "close enough" on reading well to not invest the money into another level. 😃
I used all four levels! We breezed through them because my daughter picked it up so quickly as she became more confident. But I am glad we used it because I didn’t want any phonogram gaps. She completed all four levels in Kindergarten and 1st grade and has been a voracious reader ever since! We moved on to a level up of the Sonlight readers once we finished. 😊
Great review. I was moving from a curriculum we didn’t like for reading instruction to one more advanced. I used AAR2 at the end of first grade to bridge the gap. The first reader accomplished that and now mid 2md grade with the new curriculum she can read any chapter book she wants to and is so happy.
Thank you so much for this review! I searched all over to find if and when level 3 was necessary. There isn’t much information out there about it at all. My kiddo has taken off with reading. We are completing level 2 very soon. Now I feel more confident in the decision to move on to other things with him.
So glad that it was helpful! Yes, with a child who takes off in reading, as long as you're pretty confident with teaching further reading skills, I don't think AAR level 3 would be necessary. Many really appreciate the program, I've heard lots of good things! But for me, I feel pretty comfortable moving on with this student.
Is your plan to do the explode the code levels instead? I live overaeas as well, and I'm trying to look down the road a little as i need to organize withy shipping visitor IYKYK
Yes, I do plan to continue with Explode the Code--although because we use that as more "independent work", his Explode the Code level is more of practicing the phonics he knows vs. teaching new concepts. I also use spelling resources that integrate spelling rules (which are really just phonics concepts but framed for spelling vs. reading). My video with my complete 1st grade LA plan is coming out in early Feb. And yes, I understand the necessity of planning ahead to coordinate with visitors! If you want to chat about what combo of resources you're planning on--I'm also just a dm or email away!
This was helpful, thank you! Do you happen to know the dimensions of the box you put the cards in that you just got from the store? If I can save money that would be great, lol 😆
We love this curriculum and prefer the hands tiles!!! We do have the app as well!!! I use the tiles for other things as well!!! My kindergartener don’t use the practice sheets but my 2nd grader does and I made sure I scanned them for travelling!!! I love that the readers are mauture and not babyish but age appropriate!!! I find we need to go to the end of the reading programs whatever we use especially wiv dyslexic kids!!!
We're getting to the end of level 2 and my son has gone thru it pretty quickly (still first grade) was thinking of switching of LA to just spelling you see level b and reading readers he picks. He covers some LA in our unit studies as well but second guessing if this is enough for the rest of the year
After my son finished AAR Level 2, we have been just doing daily reading, and I have him do a "reading notebook" which is completely DIY for me--as I listen to his reading I'll jot down a couple of difficult words for us to discuss and him to copy, or I'll jot down a sentence that he read and have him copy it and find the nouns, or verbs, or quotation marks, etc. Sometimes I'll ask him to tell me what happened and I'll write down his description and have him copy it. That has been working very well for us for first grade.
@SevenInAll yeah that sounds like a doable idea without too much extra. He's not a workbook kid if we can avoid it and has been so quick with reading but reluctant to write. I found Grammer galaxy used I was thinking I would save for second grade but considered trying it sooner. Just a delicate balance with him between enjoying school and fighting me hard so thinking lighter is better
I did not, we started with Level 1 last year. I've heard good things about the Pre-Reader level from other who have used it, but with a child who picked up letters and the basic idea blending pretty naturally, I didn't feel like we needed such a "big" curriculum. For my son, we used my Alphabet Adventures for alphabet mastery: ruclips.net/video/o8iyvfK6pW4/видео.htmlsi=XA4BNeK7EBSNKuIh Although, full disclosure, we didn't fully finish it because he ended up mastering letters very quickly, and then I just used a notebook to practice some basic blending: s-a-t, m-a-n, etc until he was solid on that, and then we jumped into Level 1 of AAR.
I have a video here on how to plan LA for 1st-4th grades and pull the age-appropriate elements together: ruclips.net/video/zNxPOu0TSQM/видео.htmlsi=zSwv2NBy5V3mYa5L The short answer is that it really depends on what grade level you're doing. I.e. With a child who is doing AAR2 in kindergarten, I would add handwriting, and make sure we were reading lots of good books for literature in other parts of our schoolwork, but I wouldn't add in any grammar or other elements of LA because that's not needed at that level. In higher grades, the answer will look different--hopefully that video is helpful.
I’ve actually never seen anyone else address if level 3 is needed. My son got through the first two levels and is an excellent reader. He asks to do a lesson of level 3 on occasion (I had already purchased) but we just skip around to different phonograms that could be tricky and slow him down. I agree, though, as a whole that level 3 may not be needed in all cases.
If I already had purchased Level 3, I probably would have used it, but since I don't own it, I think it'll work well for us to just keep practicing reading and we can always stop to break apart trickier words and talk about how to decode them.
Why is it necessary to put them in page protectors? Why can't we just straight use the book? Im starting level one. With my 7 and 5 year old next week.
You certainly can just use them and toss the pages when you're done--I have multiple children and I live overseas so I wanted to be able to re-use the activity book and not have to replace it for each student.
@SevenInAll okay, I just wasn't sure it was worth the time to do all of that, I feel like it will take me a couple days honestly 🤣 but I do have 4 kiddos...
My little girl knows all her letter sounds, can blend words together, read simple sentences. Knows sounds like ch, th, sh, etc. She did teach your child to read in 180 lessons in Kindergarten and did well with learning to read. I am just not sure if level 1 is too easy, but level 2 seems a little hard. So not sure which one to go with but thinking 1 and just skip stuff in the beginning. Shes going into 1st grade. She does need more help with handwriting she is a resistant writer and can write her name and some letters on her own, but still tracing most things as she wants the letters to look perfect or she gets frustrated. Any tips for that? We use Handwriting without tears. ❤
I feel like Level 1 might be too easy for an incoming 1st grader who is reading short sentences already. Can she read words like "stand" that have consonant blends at the beginning and end, and short vowel compound words like "handstand"? Those seem to be the more challenging types of words in level 1. If she can, I would probably be more likely to hop in at level 2, but be willing to take it slow in the beginning and teach a couple of extra phonograms if she hasn't covered everything taught in level 1 (you can check their scope and sequence). I have an older video on battling perfectionist tendencies which might have some ideas on encouraging her to work on challenging herself practice and grow vs. getting frustrated about letters not looking perfect: ruclips.net/video/q8u4TV32NQ4/видео.htmlsi=d7_1nXFvTqar4F0V
@@EnglishwithGabby I love that homeschool allows us to move at a child's pace of mastering each subject, whether it's a little slower or a little faster than expected! ❤
This may be a silly question, but hopefully someone else has the same doubt and can benefit 🤪 what is the advantage of using something like AAR which seems to be a more intensive multilevel program vs some more basic ways like using bob books or other things like “100 lessons” to teach reading? I think knowing the advantages will help in talking me into doing this and investing more time vs just checking off “learning to read” 😅 -- and I don’t mean to offend any mamas who’ve done other methods because I have seen and heard many kids learn to read quickly and effectively with other “simpler” methods. I hope this makes sense! Obviously I want my child to have a strong reading foundation as I feel like it is the core of all learning and we love to read! Also just to get an idea - how long did it take you to complete AAR level 1 and 2? I keep reading/ hearing to only do 20 mins a day. My son is almost 4.5 and I have learned a lot from your videos and comments on how to tell-ish if he’s ready to start something like this, so thank you!!!
AAR is designed to be an oroton gillingham style programme with a multi sensory approach targeting dyslexia, it’s exceptionally thorough and very expansive. It is a very effective programme for kids with dyslexia. We found the programme very very overwhelming for my dyslexic child as lessons tend to be super long and don’t have distinct beak downs into smaller segments. There are way too many moving parts in it. If your child has already memorised letters and their sounds without a problem, you can use any phonics programme whether it is Learn to read in 100 lessons, or primary phonics, my youngest used memoria press phonics and it’s been sensational and is now reading at first grade level after 3 months. So for an average child AAR could be a bit over the top.
For the short answer to your more simple question, I started AAR 1 during our Pre-K year when he was about 4.5 and we're finishing up AAR 2 shortly before he turns 6...so about 1.5 years in real time for us--but I think that will very much vary based on the child and how ready they are. At the beginning, we were probably only doing 10-15 minute reading lessons, 20 minutes would have been too long for him early on. I think there are many great options for phonics programs out there. Some of the advantages I'd say that AAR specifically has is 1) variation in activities - some activities will motivate or capture a child's imagination more than others and 2) the readers manage to actually be interesting (no offense to Bob books...but they are the type of early reader that I DON'T love as a teacher because I find them boring). I do see benefit to phonics programs that go very in depth into learning lots of phonograms or "special sounds" or whatever terminology is used. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, at least in my memory, covers all the basics of reading but doesn't go in as much depth in how to break apart a word into different syllable type. I.e. How to read the word "dinosaur"? Well, di - no - saur. The first two are open syllables that have long vowels, the third syllable has the au phonogram ending in an r. I do think it's helpful for kids to be able to explain and know the rules that help us to break apart and decode word (it will also help them in spelling later on). So...with a fairly typical learner, you could pick probably any reading curriculum and make it work, but something I would do as a teacher is make sure to give the child regular practice in having THEM explain why a word is sounded out the way it is - oh this word begins with an open syllable, that's why it has a long vowel sound in the first syllable, etc.
Basically different kids need different levels of instruction. Some kids almost teach themselves. Some need really detailed instruction and review. My kids have needed AAR. We started with a less intensive method and had to find more intensive instruction.
@@SydneynewbornphotosAuvp thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is very helpful in helping me decide. My kiddo is 4.5 and knows all letters and sounds and is ready for the next step I won’t know whether he’s dyslexic or going to need more support until we start 🤪so I think I just have to give any program a go and learn as we go.
@@SevenInAll you are always so thorough ! I truly appreciate you using specific examples like “dinosaur” because it helps this new to homeschool mama understand what is to come 🤪 I have never taught a kiddo to read so watching your videos on more advanced levels helps me understand everything as a whole! I like the idea of him learning things in a more comprehensive manner so I don’t want to just check off that he’s “reading” You’re amazing , thank you!
Do you feel like this program is best for those who are first being introduced to reading? My nephew is a "natural" reader, in that he went into Pre-K reading CVC words already. We homeschool him for Kinder and I'm considering getting him a reading program for 1st but not sure if it's necessary if he's already reading books. He may struggle with some words but can breeze through most. However, I want to make sure that we don't skip over anything essential.
With a more "natural" reader...I don't think I would use this, especially if they are already reading books on the "Frog and Toad" or higher level. If he's already reading "Frog and Toad" or short chapter books, you could look at All About Reading Level 3 if you want to have a curriculum for reading skills--that one does cover several more advanced phonograms as well as reading & comprehension skills. Alternatively, you can just teach as you go if you feel comfortable with that--have him read books aloud to you and teach about what's going on with any trickier word that trips him up, and ask good questions to make sure he's comprehending what he's reading.
Have you used the All About Spelling curriculum before? Thoughts on it if you have? If not, curious on if you looked into it and why you decided against it. Thank you for the review.
I have not used All About Spelling. I have looked into it. My philosophy/experience on spelling thus far is that spelling 'clicks' fairly easily for some kids while for others, it's a much more intensive learning journey. (Two of my younger sisters have found spelling to be very challenging, for the rest of us, it was always a simple matter). My sons are a little too young to say for sure whether spelling will come easily or not, but for now I decided to start from the assumption that spelling will hopefully 'click' relatively easily. I think All About Spelling is a more intensive and thorough approach, probably better suited for kids who struggle to retain spelling skills and need a variety of opportunities to practice vs. kids who remember how to spell words easily. Without any evidence (yet) that they will struggle with spelling, I didn't feel like All About Spelling would be worth the investment of time and money vs. a more inexpensive and simple spelling workbook. For this Kindergarten year, I've used Spelling You See Level A--I really like that particular level for an introduction to spelling at a very basic level. Will be sharing my complete plan for 1st Grade LA in my upcoming curriculum picks video in February!
All About Reading, the teacher's guide, is fully scripted, and has clear explanations of all phonics concepts, so even if English is not your native language, it should work well when you read the teacher's guide. What's important is to start your child at the correct level. This is level 2--if they know the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, and are just beginning to blend, they can start in Level 1. By the time they start Level 2, they will already be able to read quite a few words.
I plan to go by readiness vs. a specific time, but my guess will be sometime in the middle or toward the end of his PreK year (2024-2025 school year) he'll be solid enough with alphabet sounds and basic blending skills that we will be able to begin AAR Level 1. He has a late fall birthday, so he'll be 5 for most of the 'official' PreK school year.
The readers are a huge asset to the program. It can be tough to find other readers that are designed for children beginning phonics instruction, so many "early readers" contain so many advanced phonograms. So, I would say it is essential to have early readers that your child can read, and it's probably easiest to use the AAR readers if you're using this program, but if you have a different set of readers that do a good job of gradually introducing phonograms, you could use those instead.
My daughter was really easy to teach with this program too! Not much extra practice required.
We often skipped most of the practice sheets, but I am glad they are there just in case my next kiddo needs more repetition. Each kid can be so different. 😊👍🏻 I used to teach reading when I taught Kindergarten, and after all the different programs I looked for or used previously, this was a winner! 🏆
Yes, I know that the next learning to read journey will look different, and I'd rather have more review materials than what we need in comparison to too few and the need to add in a lot more.
Great thorough review! I have one child in level 2 and one child in level 3. We love it. We plan to finish out the whole program through level 4- it gives me peace knowing that they have been taught all the phonics rules and my kids are still learning new things. But it is a huge investment if time and money for sure.
There are a lot of great skills taught in levels 3 and 4 and I have heard good things about them from friends...if I owned 3, I think I'd go ahead and use it, but since I don't, I feel comfortable enough in just progressing with giving him more practice in reading early readers and teaching any new phonics concepts as we go.
Thanks as always for your thorough reviews! We’ve done all 4 Levels of AAR with my oldest, who did need that explicit instruction. I think Level 3 is the one level that intuitive kids could skip; it’s a lot of vowel teams and some kiddos pick that up easily. It did seem to be the easiest level of the four. I love how you use discernment for your kiddos and don’t just follow the guided path. 🙂
AAR Level 4 has really helped my oldest move from easy chapter books to long novels like Harry Potter; it has a TON of practice decoding 4- and 5-syllable words, which he needed. A lesson about halfway through Level 4 had him decoding words like accessible, irresponsible, and plausible. Not all kids would need it, but it has been a blessing for my kiddo who did!
That's awesome to hear your experience with the higher levels! If I already owned them, I would probably roll right into Level 3, but since I don't, and it's a good bit of challenge and expense to get resources here, for now I'm pretty comfortable just using early reading books to continue having him practice and gain confidence and skill.
My 2nd grade son just started level 4 and we will finish it this year. He finished kinder not reading fluently, then over summer break his reading switch flipped on and he took off. We then soared through the AAR levels. I probably could have stopped with him but I wanted to go ahead and capture any skills in the other levels he may not have had. He also enjoys the activities in each lesson, so it’s a subject he looks forward to every day. It’s not much work for me to keep his lessons going because we move through them very quickly. My 1st grade daughter has not had her reading switch go off yet. So we are moving at a slower pace and we are currently in level 2. She’s made slow but steady progress with some little jumps in skill along the way. As with her (and my other 2 kids) I plan to complete all 4 levels. If it went on for 7 levels like AAS does I might reconsider that lol… but I don’t think 4 levels is too much.
That's awesome that it's worked so well for you! I've heard a lot of great things about levels 3 and 4. The activities from the student book are fun, for sure.
I enjoyed this! I just finished AAR 2 with my 1st grader. I look forward to the video sharing the books you plan to have him read for 1st grade. That's the stage my youngest is in too.
That will be coming out soon, in February with my 1st Grade curriculum picks! 😃
Very helpful thank you! 😊 I feel like once we complete level 2 there will be no need for another level. Like your son, my guy is taking off in reading. Even level 2 seems unnecessary for him but I’ll finish it just in case! This makes me feel so much better. ETA we will still move through explode the code too.
Yes--he'll still be getting explicit practice with phonics rules through Explode the Code as well as through spelling so I felt like we're "close enough" on reading well to not invest the money into another level. 😃
I used all four levels! We breezed through them because my daughter picked it up so quickly as she became more confident. But I am glad we used it because I didn’t want any phonogram gaps. She completed all four levels in Kindergarten and 1st grade and has been a voracious reader ever since! We moved on to a level up of the Sonlight readers once we finished. 😊
Glad you had a great experience with the 4 levels!
Great review. I was moving from a curriculum we didn’t like for reading instruction to one more advanced. I used AAR2 at the end of first grade to bridge the gap. The first reader accomplished that and now mid 2md grade with the new curriculum she can read any chapter book she wants to and is so happy.
It's so exciting when kids reach that stage of reading confidently and independently! ❤
Thank you so much for this review! I searched all over to find if and when level 3 was necessary. There isn’t much information out there about it at all. My kiddo has taken off with reading. We are completing level 2 very soon. Now I feel more confident in the decision to move on to other things with him.
So glad that it was helpful! Yes, with a child who takes off in reading, as long as you're pretty confident with teaching further reading skills, I don't think AAR level 3 would be necessary. Many really appreciate the program, I've heard lots of good things! But for me, I feel pretty comfortable moving on with this student.
We have loved All About Reading!
Great to hear!
Is your plan to do the explode the code levels instead? I live overaeas as well, and I'm trying to look down the road a little as i need to organize withy shipping visitor IYKYK
Yes, I do plan to continue with Explode the Code--although because we use that as more "independent work", his Explode the Code level is more of practicing the phonics he knows vs. teaching new concepts. I also use spelling resources that integrate spelling rules (which are really just phonics concepts but framed for spelling vs. reading). My video with my complete 1st grade LA plan is coming out in early Feb. And yes, I understand the necessity of planning ahead to coordinate with visitors! If you want to chat about what combo of resources you're planning on--I'm also just a dm or email away!
This was helpful, thank you! Do you happen to know the dimensions of the box you put the cards in that you just got from the store? If I can save money that would be great, lol 😆
We love this curriculum and prefer the hands tiles!!! We do have the app as well!!! I use the tiles for other things as well!!! My kindergartener don’t use the practice sheets but my 2nd grader does and I made sure I scanned them for travelling!!! I love that the readers are mauture and not babyish but age appropriate!!! I find we need to go to the end of the reading programs whatever we use especially wiv dyslexic kids!!!
The letter tiles have been so useful for us, we love them!
We're getting to the end of level 2 and my son has gone thru it pretty quickly (still first grade) was thinking of switching of LA to just spelling you see level b and reading readers he picks. He covers some LA in our unit studies as well but second guessing if this is enough for the rest of the year
After my son finished AAR Level 2, we have been just doing daily reading, and I have him do a "reading notebook" which is completely DIY for me--as I listen to his reading I'll jot down a couple of difficult words for us to discuss and him to copy, or I'll jot down a sentence that he read and have him copy it and find the nouns, or verbs, or quotation marks, etc. Sometimes I'll ask him to tell me what happened and I'll write down his description and have him copy it. That has been working very well for us for first grade.
@SevenInAll yeah that sounds like a doable idea without too much extra. He's not a workbook kid if we can avoid it and has been so quick with reading but reluctant to write. I found Grammer galaxy used I was thinking I would save for second grade but considered trying it sooner. Just a delicate balance with him between enjoying school and fighting me hard so thinking lighter is better
Exactly what I needed!!
Glad to hear that!
Great review. Did you start with the Pre-Reader AAR?
I'm considering starting there, but unsure if it's worth the money.
I did not, we started with Level 1 last year. I've heard good things about the Pre-Reader level from other who have used it, but with a child who picked up letters and the basic idea blending pretty naturally, I didn't feel like we needed such a "big" curriculum. For my son, we used my Alphabet Adventures for alphabet mastery: ruclips.net/video/o8iyvfK6pW4/видео.htmlsi=XA4BNeK7EBSNKuIh
Although, full disclosure, we didn't fully finish it because he ended up mastering letters very quickly, and then I just used a notebook to practice some basic blending: s-a-t, m-a-n, etc until he was solid on that, and then we jumped into Level 1 of AAR.
If you are using AAS and AAR, what other things do you add to make it a full LA curriculum?
I have a video here on how to plan LA for 1st-4th grades and pull the age-appropriate elements together: ruclips.net/video/zNxPOu0TSQM/видео.htmlsi=zSwv2NBy5V3mYa5L
The short answer is that it really depends on what grade level you're doing. I.e. With a child who is doing AAR2 in kindergarten, I would add handwriting, and make sure we were reading lots of good books for literature in other parts of our schoolwork, but I wouldn't add in any grammar or other elements of LA because that's not needed at that level. In higher grades, the answer will look different--hopefully that video is helpful.
I’ve actually never seen anyone else address if level 3 is needed. My son got through the first two levels and is an excellent reader. He asks to do a lesson of level 3 on occasion (I had already purchased) but we just skip around to different phonograms that could be tricky and slow him down. I agree, though, as a whole that level 3 may not be needed in all cases.
If I already had purchased Level 3, I probably would have used it, but since I don't own it, I think it'll work well for us to just keep practicing reading and we can always stop to break apart trickier words and talk about how to decode them.
Why is it necessary to put them in page protectors? Why can't we just straight use the book? Im starting level one. With my 7 and 5 year old next week.
You certainly can just use them and toss the pages when you're done--I have multiple children and I live overseas so I wanted to be able to re-use the activity book and not have to replace it for each student.
@SevenInAll okay, I just wasn't sure it was worth the time to do all of that, I feel like it will take me a couple days honestly 🤣 but I do have 4 kiddos...
My little girl knows all her letter sounds, can blend words together, read simple sentences. Knows sounds like ch, th, sh, etc. She did teach your child to read in 180 lessons in Kindergarten and did well with learning to read. I am just not sure if level 1 is too easy, but level 2 seems a little hard. So not sure which one to go with but thinking 1 and just skip stuff in the beginning. Shes going into 1st grade. She does need more help with handwriting she is a resistant writer and can write her name and some letters on her own, but still tracing most things as she wants the letters to look perfect or she gets frustrated. Any tips for that? We use Handwriting without tears. ❤
I feel like Level 1 might be too easy for an incoming 1st grader who is reading short sentences already. Can she read words like "stand" that have consonant blends at the beginning and end, and short vowel compound words like "handstand"? Those seem to be the more challenging types of words in level 1. If she can, I would probably be more likely to hop in at level 2, but be willing to take it slow in the beginning and teach a couple of extra phonograms if she hasn't covered everything taught in level 1 (you can check their scope and sequence).
I have an older video on battling perfectionist tendencies which might have some ideas on encouraging her to work on challenging herself practice and grow vs. getting frustrated about letters not looking perfect: ruclips.net/video/q8u4TV32NQ4/видео.htmlsi=d7_1nXFvTqar4F0V
Thanks for this review! Do you plan on using an official Language Arts curriculum for your son next year?
Yes! I will release my 1st grade curriculum picks video in February, and will share my LA plan.
@@SevenInAll great thank you! Wow your son is in K using Level 2? That’s impressive 👏🏾👏🏾
@@EnglishwithGabby I love that homeschool allows us to move at a child's pace of mastering each subject, whether it's a little slower or a little faster than expected! ❤
This may be a silly question, but hopefully someone else has the same doubt and can benefit 🤪 what is the advantage of using something like AAR which seems to be a more intensive multilevel program vs some more basic ways like using bob books or other things like “100 lessons” to teach reading? I think knowing the advantages will help in talking me into doing this and investing more time vs just checking off “learning to read” 😅 -- and I don’t mean to offend any mamas who’ve done other methods because I have seen and heard many kids learn to read quickly and effectively with other “simpler” methods. I hope this makes sense! Obviously I want my child to have a strong reading foundation as I feel like it is the core of all learning and we love to read! Also just to get an idea - how long did it take you to complete AAR level 1 and 2? I keep reading/ hearing to only do 20 mins a day. My son is almost 4.5 and I have learned a lot from your videos and comments on how to tell-ish if he’s ready to start something like this, so thank you!!!
AAR is designed to be an oroton gillingham style programme with a multi sensory approach targeting dyslexia, it’s exceptionally thorough and very expansive. It is a very effective programme for kids with dyslexia. We found the programme very very overwhelming for my dyslexic child as lessons tend to be super long and don’t have distinct beak downs into smaller segments. There are way too many moving parts in it. If your child has already memorised letters and their sounds without a problem, you can use any phonics programme whether it is Learn to read in 100 lessons, or primary phonics, my youngest used memoria press phonics and it’s been sensational and is now reading at first grade level after 3 months. So for an average child AAR could be a bit over the top.
For the short answer to your more simple question, I started AAR 1 during our Pre-K year when he was about 4.5 and we're finishing up AAR 2 shortly before he turns 6...so about 1.5 years in real time for us--but I think that will very much vary based on the child and how ready they are. At the beginning, we were probably only doing 10-15 minute reading lessons, 20 minutes would have been too long for him early on.
I think there are many great options for phonics programs out there. Some of the advantages I'd say that AAR specifically has is 1) variation in activities - some activities will motivate or capture a child's imagination more than others and 2) the readers manage to actually be interesting (no offense to Bob books...but they are the type of early reader that I DON'T love as a teacher because I find them boring).
I do see benefit to phonics programs that go very in depth into learning lots of phonograms or "special sounds" or whatever terminology is used. Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, at least in my memory, covers all the basics of reading but doesn't go in as much depth in how to break apart a word into different syllable type. I.e. How to read the word "dinosaur"? Well, di - no - saur. The first two are open syllables that have long vowels, the third syllable has the au phonogram ending in an r. I do think it's helpful for kids to be able to explain and know the rules that help us to break apart and decode word (it will also help them in spelling later on).
So...with a fairly typical learner, you could pick probably any reading curriculum and make it work, but something I would do as a teacher is make sure to give the child regular practice in having THEM explain why a word is sounded out the way it is - oh this word begins with an open syllable, that's why it has a long vowel sound in the first syllable, etc.
Basically different kids need different levels of instruction. Some kids almost teach themselves. Some need really detailed instruction and review. My kids have needed AAR. We started with a less intensive method and had to find more intensive instruction.
@@SydneynewbornphotosAuvp thank you so much for sharing your experience! This is very helpful in helping me decide. My kiddo is 4.5 and knows all letters and sounds and is ready for the next step I won’t know whether he’s dyslexic or going to need more support until we start 🤪so I think I just have to give any program a go and learn as we go.
@@SevenInAll you are always so thorough ! I truly appreciate you using specific examples like “dinosaur” because it helps this new to homeschool mama understand what is to come 🤪 I have never taught a kiddo to read so watching your videos on more advanced levels helps me understand everything as a whole! I like the idea of him learning things in a more comprehensive manner so I don’t want to just check off that he’s “reading” You’re amazing , thank you!
Do you feel like this program is best for those who are first being introduced to reading? My nephew is a "natural" reader, in that he went into Pre-K reading CVC words already. We homeschool him for Kinder and I'm considering getting him a reading program for 1st but not sure if it's necessary if he's already reading books. He may struggle with some words but can breeze through most. However, I want to make sure that we don't skip over anything essential.
With a more "natural" reader...I don't think I would use this, especially if they are already reading books on the "Frog and Toad" or higher level. If he's already reading "Frog and Toad" or short chapter books, you could look at All About Reading Level 3 if you want to have a curriculum for reading skills--that one does cover several more advanced phonograms as well as reading & comprehension skills. Alternatively, you can just teach as you go if you feel comfortable with that--have him read books aloud to you and teach about what's going on with any trickier word that trips him up, and ask good questions to make sure he's comprehending what he's reading.
Have you used the All About Spelling curriculum before? Thoughts on it if you have? If not, curious on if you looked into it and why you decided against it. Thank you for the review.
Thanks for this video! We have just started AAR2. I also had the same question about All About Spelling 😊.
I have not used All About Spelling. I have looked into it. My philosophy/experience on spelling thus far is that spelling 'clicks' fairly easily for some kids while for others, it's a much more intensive learning journey. (Two of my younger sisters have found spelling to be very challenging, for the rest of us, it was always a simple matter).
My sons are a little too young to say for sure whether spelling will come easily or not, but for now I decided to start from the assumption that spelling will hopefully 'click' relatively easily. I think All About Spelling is a more intensive and thorough approach, probably better suited for kids who struggle to retain spelling skills and need a variety of opportunities to practice vs. kids who remember how to spell words easily. Without any evidence (yet) that they will struggle with spelling, I didn't feel like All About Spelling would be worth the investment of time and money vs. a more inexpensive and simple spelling workbook.
For this Kindergarten year, I've used Spelling You See Level A--I really like that particular level for an introduction to spelling at a very basic level. Will be sharing my complete plan for 1st Grade LA in my upcoming curriculum picks video in February!
@@SevenInAll Thanks for your thoughtful response
@@SevenInAll, thank you! This is really helpful - and looking forward to your curriculum picks video, of course :)
Will this work for a non native English speaker mom? Both my kids have speech delays
All About Reading, the teacher's guide, is fully scripted, and has clear explanations of all phonics concepts, so even if English is not your native language, it should work well when you read the teacher's guide. What's important is to start your child at the correct level. This is level 2--if they know the sounds of the letters of the alphabet, and are just beginning to blend, they can start in Level 1. By the time they start Level 2, they will already be able to read quite a few words.
When do you think you will start Level 1 with your second little boy?
I plan to go by readiness vs. a specific time, but my guess will be sometime in the middle or toward the end of his PreK year (2024-2025 school year) he'll be solid enough with alphabet sounds and basic blending skills that we will be able to begin AAR Level 1. He has a late fall birthday, so he'll be 5 for most of the 'official' PreK school year.
Do you believe purchasing the Readers are a must have inorder to be successful with All About Reading program?
The readers are a huge asset to the program. It can be tough to find other readers that are designed for children beginning phonics instruction, so many "early readers" contain so many advanced phonograms. So, I would say it is essential to have early readers that your child can read, and it's probably easiest to use the AAR readers if you're using this program, but if you have a different set of readers that do a good job of gradually introducing phonograms, you could use those instead.
Early readers are definitely easy to have be mind numbing 😅
Yep!