All About Spelling Level 1 Review
Have you heard about or been interested in the All About Spelling program from Pre-Reading Program (Level Pre-1)? I was blessed with the opportunity to review the Level 1 Student & Teacher set for the Hip Homeschool Moms along with the Deluxe Interactive Kit; today I’d like to take a minute to share my opinions of the product with you.
My seven year old son, Devin, has a very difficult relationship with spelling. He’s a bright young man with strong reading skills and an ability to understand most things quickly. Spelling skills, however, are not among those things. It had been a frustrating, tear-streaked, “I give up” kind of year in our house where spelling and Devin were concerned. I’d chosen to use the same program with him that had and continues to work well with his older brother. If I needed a reminder that every child is different and not every program will work well for them all, I got it during our spelling lessons this last year! It was a breath of fresh air to have the opportunity to try something new.
Being active in the blogging/homeschool community I’d heard of All About Spelling before but hadn’t ever spoken to anyone that had used it or done enough research to decide how I was going to approach spelling skills for Devin’s upcoming 2nd grade year. I don’t set out to love everything I’m given the opportunity to review, but Marie Rippel (All About Spelling’s author) has made a believer and faithful customer out of me!
So, why do I love it?
Multi-sensory approach – This program uses a creative blend of sight, sound and feel in each of it’s lessons, allowing this method to work with a wide range of children and learning styles.
No word lists or weekly spelling tests – My middle guy is very wiggly and the more traditional program we’d been using left him frustrated and in tears on a daily basis. Not so with this program! He actually enjoys doing the lessons and is excited each time I say it’s time to do some spelling work.
Phonogram CD-Rom – Dev and I both really enjoyed listening to the proper pronunciation of the phonograms. I didn’t realize how easy it is to inadvertently add the ‘uh’ sound to many of the letters when trying to teach the phonograms; this made easy work of working through the proper sounds.
Spelling & reading are taught seperately – I appreciate that spelling and reading skills are attacked seperately because the brain has to work differently to do each of them well! My son is a strong reader and has learned to decode words with ease but he is an abysmal speller, not ever having learned the actual sounds the letters and letter blends make. We have only finished a few of the lessons as of yet but my boy’s progress is impressive!
Progress celebration – Devin’s favorite part of the lesson is being able to color the sections with the lesson or skill(s) he mastered in that day’s work. I appreciate a program that gives my child the tools to be proud of his hard work and accomplishment.
Tote bag & program organization – The deluxe interactive kit includes a well-made, nicely designed tote bag. I do love a tote bag! We keep everything we need to work on the lessons right there inside the bag, it’s very convenient!
Lightly scripted teacher’s manual – I like that I can open the teacher’s manual and read the lightly scripted but laid-back lessons. I have three kids and anything that makes my life a little easier with preparation is a welcome addition.
The long and short of it is that we love this program! Devin is learning to spell, he’s enjoying himself while he does it and I’m not stressed in the teaching. It’s worth mentioning that the program can seem pricey when you factor in the initial purchase of the interactive kits. Keep in mind that many of the components are used from year to year and passed student to student. The consumables and other individual pieces can be purchased separately as needed. Honestly, I’ve bought a few spelling programs, and this one blows anything else I have tried so far out of the water, I believe it to be worth each and every penny.
This program was created by a homeschool mom who needed a program that didn’t exist and she created a powerhouse. All About Learning Press stands behind their products with a pretty unheard of money back guarantee, fantastic customer support and an impressive collection of sample lessons and sneak peaks into the materials. It’s a solid program with pages and pages of testimonials on numerous curriculum review sites and I’m thankful our family has found it! Could this be the answer for your new or struggling speller? It is for mine!
Come back this Saturday for a review from a veteran user of All About Spelling and a giveaway!
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Excellent. We have been looking to switch to something less boring. LOL
Thanks for this review! I’m looking into the program for the coming year and trying to get a sense of how well it fits with my family.
Just a note, normally I don’t point out misspellings, but as this post is about spelling, I wanted to let you know that “separate” was spelled above with an extra “e”. I was taught “there’s ‘a rat’ in separate”.
Oh, thank you, Amy, for pointing that out! 🙂 I think it was probably a type-o since she spelled it correctly in one of the paragraphs toward the end of the article, but the first one definitely needs to be corrected! I’m glad the review was helpful to you! And thanks for your comment!