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Angel
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I see that several people in the Yearly Product review thread listed All About Spelling as a success. I'm thinking about using this program next year, primarily for my 12 yo ds who has what I can only term a spelling disability. (Kids with Tourette Syndrome often do have spelling problems, but I don't think anyone knows why.) My thought was that maybe my 10 yo and 6 yo could sit in at the same time. But I am worried that my 12 yo will think it's a "little kids" program. I'm not sure what he'll think of the magnets. (Plus I also have this lovely Montessori movable alphabet!)
Has anyone been using this program with a spelling-impaired tween/teen? (Amy, I am hoping you'll chime in!)
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Angela
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mom3aut1not
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Angela,
Does an autistic 9 yo count as a tween? If so, I am using it with a 9 yo with a severe language delay. My 9 yo is much, much younger than his siblings so everything he has is a "little kids" program by comparison. However, I do see on the Chatterbee forum that people are using it with older kids with great success.
I suggest you look at the Chatterbee forum and ask questions there.
In Christ,
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Deborah
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Becky Parker
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Hi Angela,
I bought the program primarily for my ds in 2nd grade who struggles with spelling. It has been a big hit with him. He has dysgraphia, so writing is a chore. Using the magnets has allowed him to concentrate on the spelling instead of working so hard on the writing. I think the way the rules are taught makes a lot of sense and makes it easy to apply to other writing situations. I also use it with my dd who is 10. We skip most of the magnet part because she really doesn't need or like it. She does benefit from the way the rules are taught and the cards though! I think you can buy the book without the magnets. You could use the moveable alphabet to teach the concepts. There are other magnets besides the letters that are helpful, like the symbols for open or closed syllables, but you could probably make something to use for that. Just some thoughts.
I will say that I am going to continue using AAS for my ds, but my dd doesn't really struggle much with spelling, so I will either use it in a modified form (just the cards) or choose something more independent for her for next year.
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Becky
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cvbmom
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Angela,
You really don't NEED to use the magnets if it doesn't fit the child. My 10 year old thinks they are babyish, so I have a printout of the phonograms as a visual reference if needed and then she spells either on paper or on a white board.
The All About Spelling website has a pretty good FAQ and as Deborah said, the Chatterbee forum can be a good place to ask specifics. I've been using the program for a full year now with multiple ages and have used all 4 levels, so if you have any other questions, I'll be glad to try to help as well.
God bless,
Christine
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stellamaris
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Becky, do I understand from your post that you can use the AAS program without the need for the child to write? Can the magnets be used for all the spelling work? That would be so great here, as we also have a ds who is reading just fine, but has the fine motor skills of a two-year old. I'm struggling with how to teach spelling and composition. Some people have suggested typing, but he can't really even isolate his figures well yet. I'd really appreciate any insight, suggestions, etc. that have worked for your ds.
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Caroline
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amyable
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My ears are burning. 
Yes, we are using AAS with our 11.5 yo DD. She has dyslexia/adhd/slow processing/memory issues...all on the mild/moderate side (just so people who read this know where we're coming from).
You *can* do the program either without the tiles OR without writing, although that is not how it is scripted and you will lose some "practice" time doing it that way. My dd sometimes complains that she feels the tiles are babyish and she much prefers writing on the magnadoodle instead (which I find ironic ). I've told her, though, that even adults using this program to help their spelling use the tiles - I gave her a nice scientific-sounding explanation of why moving the tiles with her fingers from their spaces helped her cement the spelling in her memory, and she seems much more willing to use them now. 
The program has different times in each lesson to use first the tiles and then spelling things "on paper" (or magnadoodle, whiteboard, etc), so if you are not doing one of those things, you are losing some of the sometimes necessary practice of the spelling words/rules. I think AAS would work absolutely FINE that way for the average learner. For the dyslexic? I'm not so sure. And so I'm not sure for the any other learning issue either (Tourettes, etc). Now, if the child CAN'T write, well, you've got to do what the child can do, so spelling with the tiles would be a way to go. But I would warn you that starting in level 2 there are full sentences to spell - you would probably not have enough tiles to spell them since there are at most 3 of the common letters like "s" and only one of some other things like dipthongs.
I find even when we do AAS NOT as scripted (i.e. she doesn't want to use tiles that day) it is still the only program that has made a dent in her non-existant spelling ability - but I'm finding it's much better as written, OR with even more practice, because she needs it. Life gets in the way, though...
Um, did I answer your questions? 
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amyable
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Oh and you can tell him it's NOT a little kids program (which I kind of alluded to, above) - it's a lot like the Barton Reading and Spelling program, which is an Orton-Gillingham program (could I use that word any more ) that was initially developed for work with ADULTS. Tell him that. 
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stellamaris
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Thank you, Amy. Your answer does really help me. And may I encourage you and all the younger moms here? One of my dd's could not spell at all in her younger days (until she was about 15). Her spelling appeared to have no relationship with the word, just random letters thrown in among correct letters (for example, store might have been spelled stcowkrkhxe) It was totally strange! We did not even use a spelling program, but by some invisible process now she can spell very well, scored very high on the SAT writing test, and is doing great in college composition. Go figure! The longer I homeschool, the more mysterious the process of learning seems. Your dd may always struggle with spelling, or she may one day "get it" and surprise you. Either way, it's a relief to know that St. Peter will NOT ask her to spell "Czechoslovakia" to get into heaven (did I spell that correctly )
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Caroline
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Becky Parker
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Caroline,
Amy answered your question about how the program is set up, and I agree, by not doing any writing you will miss out on a component of it. Writing was so difficult for my ds I didn't make him do any writing at first. We only used the magnets and I bought two sets. (I'm calling them magnets because I choose to use them on a magnetic white board. They actually slide better if you get them without the magnets and do the work on a table.) Then we went to writing in sand on a tray and on the chalkboard (big). (Lately, he enjoys writing his words with sidewalk chalk outside. I just put the chalk and his word cards in his workbox.) Now, for the "tests" he is using a small white board slate. The thing that was so great in the beginning is that he realized he was able to spell just fine when we took the writing struggle out. This boosted his confidence. We've slowly added the writing component in. The sentences or phrases Amy referred to are for dictation and they actually start in the last 1/3 or 1/4 of level one, but they are mostly just 2 or 3 word phrases. My ds does write these. If we're having a really good day he will write the words and the sentences. If he's having a bad day, I only make him write the sentences (or we skip that part until the next day.)
The way I see it, even if a lesson takes longer than a week he is still learning so much better than he was before. I'm even learning! I'm a good speller, but I didn't know there was even a rule about ck at the end of a word! And I wish my 3rd grade teacher had taught me about open and closed syllables!
I'm sorry if this post is a bit disjointed. My 1yo is trying to help me type.
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Becky
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stellamaris
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Thank you, Becky. My ds spells fine..he actually will spell words aloud and has been doing so since he was about two. We are using HWT, but he is only on the preschool book. He wants to write, but he is not able to do so. I can tell what he is writing when he tries to copy or write something, but I don't think anyone else could decipher it. Can you answer two more questions regarding AAS? What is the size of spacing of the lines (like 1/2", 1") in the workbook? Or do you use your own paper? Also, is it possible to order a second set of magnets to use with the sentences? I'm wondering if this is the way to go until his fine motor improves. I hope I'm not hijacking this thread too much, but maybe there are other moms with similar problems.
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Caroline
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Becky Parker
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Caroline,
You use your own paper. Or, as I mentioned my ds uses the chalkboard or a white board.
Yes,you can buy more sets of the tiles (magnets). I have two sets. Each set comes with 2 of each letter. I sometimes wish I had 3 sets! They would probably be pretty easy to make.
The tiles were actually the reason I went with AAS. As I mentioned, it allows me to seperate the writing from the spelling. It reminds me a little of how Montessori uses the Moveable Alphabet. In this case it is all laid out for you though. The lessons are scripted. The first lesson actually takes you through the process of organizing the tiles. It seems very common sense, but I don't think I would have thought to teach my ds how to arrange them. The benefit of the magnets is that we store are tiles, in order, write on the top of our white board.
Finally, I just wanted to say that using the tiles eliminates my ds's reversals. I realize he needs to practice writing correctly, but if he's concentrating on the spelling, the reversals and incorrectly formed letters abound. If he's concentrating on the handwriting, he doesn't spell words correctly.  The tiles allow him to spell the words without practicing incorrect handwriting, if that makes any sense. I would have never thought of that with my other dc, but for this one it's all about concentrating on writing correctly. (I used number stamps and stickers for math until he was in 2nd grade.)
I wanted to mention also that we use HWOT too, and we are making progress. The newer teacher's manuals have some good ideas in them. We do alot of the "wet dry try" thing and the door writing. It has made a difference here.
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Becky
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Kristie 4
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I ordered this, but when I recieved it I found my daughter could spell everything easily up until the end of Level 2  I don't know where to start with her now (and I spent a heap of time on the phone with the consultant)...
Should we still do a run through review of 1 and 2 and move onto three? (Hope I am not hijacking the thread  )
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Kristie in Canada
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Becky Parker
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Kristie,
I know the website suggests that everyone start with level 1 to learn the rules. I started my dd in level 2 and while she did learn rules that she is applying to longer words, I felt the words were really easy. I just told her she needs to think of applying these rules to longer words, breaking them into syllables. I guess I could have made up lists of words that were more challenging, but I didn't.
However, she is doing a good job of applying what she learned in her regular writing which is what I was going for with her. I don't know if that helps. i understand it must be very frustrating after spending the money. Does she spell well in her regular writing? That, to me, is the real test.
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cvbmom
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Kristie 4 wrote:
I ordered this, but when I recieved it I found my daughter could spell everything easily up until the end of Level 2 I don't know where to start with her now (and I spent a heap of time on the phone with the consultant)...
Should we still do a run through review of 1 and 2 and move onto three? (Hope I am not hijacking the thread ) |
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I had the same issue with my daughter. What I did was start her in Level 2 to get comfortable the rules and phonograms. We literally finished a 2 steps per day, usually, and only did about 5 words and 2 sentences per step following the lesson to be sure that it was understood. We finished Level 2 in less than a month. She breezed through Level 3 the same way, though sometimes we did one step per day instead of 2. I just made sure she knew the blue cards and the phonograms. She had no trouble spelling any of the words. Level 4 was a bit more difficult, and we slowed to only 1 step per day and did a lot more review. Now she is waiting for Level 5. Now, once a week, we review rule cards and phonogram cards to keep it fresh. Her spelling is great and she can apply the rules she knows to words she doesn't know. It's carrying over to her writing, not just spelling for the test and knowing only the words we have studied in the past 
Does that make sense? I think I was rambling
Hope this helps,
Christine
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Angel
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So you've convinced me.  Now - does every student really need his/her own student material pack (or whatever it's called) or can they share? I mean, it doesn't look like there's anything consumable there...
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Angela
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amyable
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Angel wrote:
| So you've convinced me. Now - does every student really need his/her own student material pack (or whatever it's called) or can they share? I mean, it doesn't look like there's anything consumable there... |
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We have one and share. Only if you are working with two kids at the same time might you want two ...or if you are going to be spelling everything out with the tiles instead of using paper.
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Amy
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Kristie 4
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Thanks...that is what I thought we would do. (Just spent the morning setting up the letter tiles et.)
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amyable wrote:
We have one and share. Only if you are working with two kids at the same time might you want two ...or if you are going to be spelling everything out with the tiles instead of using paper. |
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I agree. We have only 1 set and share. Now, I think more would be nice sometimes, it is totally not necessary!
God bless,
Christine
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Nearly 18 months after this thread stopped, I'm wondering if you are all still using ASS, and what you think about it now?
I'm considering it for ds 12 who really struggles with spelling, but I'm reluctant to try another programme that might not live up to expectations.
We are currently using Phonetic Zoo which I like, but he just isn't retaining much of it.
So what do you think now?
Thanks,
Tricia.
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Tricia
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Becky Parker
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Hi Tricia,
I've discovered that spelling is one of those subjects that can be very difficult for a child whose learning style doesn't fit the learning style of the materials! Since this post originally started I have moved my dd, a very auditory learner, to Phonetic Zoo and she is doing really well. My ds, who is very visual and still doesn't write well is still using AAS and he is doing well. I had fully intended to have all my children use the one program, AAS, but then I realized that it just wasn't going to work that way.
I will admit, the one struggle I am having this year with AAS is the amount of mom time it takes. I still believe it is an excellent program, especially for a visual or hands on learner, but it does take a chunk of time each day.
With a 12 yo you will find that the words are much more simple than what he was getting with Phonetic Zoo. But, I think the point is that they are getting the spelling rules down, with the simpler words, and they can then apply them to longer words. You might have to add some harder words for a 12 yo if you feel he is not being challenged enough.
Another thought is that you might be able to see the table of contents of the books at the website to determine which level to put your ds into. I think they usually recommend level 1 to start, but that just might be too simple for him.
I did email the company to ask a question once and got a very quick and thorough reply. Speaking to someone from the company might help you to make your decision.
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Becky
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: All About Spelling
