School in 'R Home

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All About Spelling

Jan. 3, 2009 • 11:08 AM

Posted in Reviews

Recently I read an article in an educator’s magazine saying how “texting” (the cool way to communicate amongst students in this generation), is actually hurting their spelling skills. If a child spends a good bit of their time communicating with their “BFF”s using chopped up text and extreme abbreviations, it really could hurt their spelling, especially if they are not a strong speller to begin with. In some cases, children use texting more often, on a regular basis- than they actually write things out in reports or journals. It makes sense then that texting certainly wouldn’t help. I found this article interesting but wasn’t too concerned for my own children. Being that my children are all homeschooled students and the majority of their friends are within their special activities our church’s youth group, they haven’t gotten into texting yet. They simply have no need for a cell phone at this point because they can just use our home phone or mom or dad’s cell! J

But with this popular fad right now though, I was glad to find such a wonderful spelling program out on the market.

All About Spelling is a really great spelling program we were given the opportunity to use for review. It was created by Marie Rippel. I was especially impressed with how organized it is and that the teacher’s manual is so easy-to-use.

There are four levels to All About Spelling. Each level builds off of the previous level however you do not have to start with level one. Start where it currently fits your child. The levels are not set up as a grade level but ability level. AAS has guidelines in place on their website to help you access where your child should begin.

The program has spelling word cards, letter tiles, games, and a certificate of completion that you can award your child at the end of each level. Also we received the phonogram audio CD-Rom which helps both teacher and student to identify the sound of each phonogram properly. I would say that this CD is an optional part but it was nice to have.

The teacher’s instructional Manual is easily understood. The hint boxes are filled with useful hints. The whole program is user-friendly.

Kids learn to think about spelling the right way so they can navigate increasingly complex spelling with confidence.

AAS begins with you teaching students the phonogram sounds with the phonogram cards. The sounds are reviewed every day and filed away. If your student is past this stage then you simply start with the appropriate level but the learning process is the same. The program is very well thought-out and organized. Simply use the index card sized tabbed dividers to file the cards to be reviewed or mastered in the correct spot. We used an inexpensive index card box from Wal-Mart.

The hands-on cards, tiles, and games make learning much easier especially for the creative student that struggles with boring book work.

You must assemble your magnetic tiles upon receiving them. This is a bit tedious because of all the cutting and gluing but the pieces are laminate and should last. Because of our TOS reviews, AAS is now making the pieces perforated so cutting should be easier. We kind of skipped this part as we already have a very nice magnetic letter tile set with board and are using that with this program.

AAS gets and A! If you are looking for a GOOD spelling course, check out All About Spelling. You can also try some sample lessons here! See what other TOS Crew Members think about this program!

All About Spelling Level 1 or 2 Set: $29.95
All About Spelling Level 3 or 4 Set: $39.95
Additional Material Packet Level 1 or 2: $12.95
Additional Material Packet Level 3 or 4: $17.95

Letter Tiles: $9.95
Magnets for Letter Tiles: $5.95
Phonogram Audio CD-ROM: $14.95

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Jan. 3, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Anonymous

I'm glad you reviewed this as I was already looking at it. Do you think it could be used as a phonics program in the beginning? Or at least a supplement to a weak phonics program?

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School in 'R Home

Welcome to our Homeschool Blog: SchoolinRHome (School in Our Home!). We are in our 7th year of home schooling! About Me: I am a wife of 15 years to my high school sweetheart and I am the mother of our 5 children The Peas in our Pod are PANDA: 12 year old daughter, PRINCESS: 10 yr. old daughter, PILGRIM: 8 year old son, PEANUT: 4 year old son, and PRECIOUS: 2 year old daughter! We home school and home (cyber) charter school. No matter what you call it, we educate and train our own children under our own supervision, with God’s guidance and strength! They do not “go” to school unless you count the field trips, co-op classes, music lessons, drama touring company, 4-H (in the past), outings, fun day trips, and real life experiences!