When we brought my daughter home mid-year from 1stgrade to begin homeschooling one of the areas she seemed to be struggling with was spelling. We realized later that the words she was being taught were high 2ndand 3rd grade level words which explained her struggle, but I didn’t know that at first. So I sought to figure out how to teach spelling. I was a horrible speller because I do not memorize well and that was the strategy I was taught in school. I was given a list of 10 words, tried to memorize them by Friday, only miss two or three, but struggled with retention. 
I had seen All About Spelling mentioned on several blogs and websites, so I discussed the situation with a veteran homeschooling mom and asked about the curriculum. She told me a lot of parents she knew used it and that it was very rule oriented. Bingo! I knew it would be perfect from my rule-oriented daughter!
I received the box after just a couple of days and was thrilled to get started! The brightly colored tiles intrigued my daughter and she eagerly asked when we could start. It is suggested that you start at the very beginning in level 1 to make sure their foundation is laid strongly. Because she was already devouring books on a 3rd grade level the beginning seemed too easy, but after having been through half of the second level I am extremely glad I followed the advice to start in Level 1. There are somany things which are built on from that level which seem insignificant at the time but are truly stepping stones to upcoming levels.
We have a beautiful white board hanging on the wall. We also have a young preschooler! Add in brightly colored letter tiles and you have an enormous mess and the possibility of some missing letters! I opted to purchase 2 cookie sheets and 2 small platters from the Dollar Tree. One cookie sheet holds the basic phonemes which I use with both girls. The second sheet holds the letter combinations I use with Rose. we use the small platters for the girls to do their tile work. This has worked really well for us so far. One day we may switch to the white board, but for now this is a better solution!**Confession**
I didn’t buy the box that you can purchase from the website. In hindsight I wished I had! I have one that is working, but it definitely won’t continue to hold all the cards!
Because the beginning lessons were basically review I did about 1 lesson a day until we reached something new to her, about lesson 14. To be honest, my daughter was done with the tiles after about a week. So I tweaked. We use the tiles to learn a new concept, but everything else is done on paper. This has worked well for her. Once we reached the “new concept” point we now take about 1 lesson a week.
Although spelling is not her favorite part of the day, it is certainly more enjoyable now that she is learning rules and succeeding. I have once again started with level 1 with my next daughter. She just started kindergarten, but has completed her phonics program and is reading on a 2nd grade level. I would highly recommend waiting to begin spelling until after finishing a year of phonics. From my experience it seems to work best if done in this order.
Since she was younger at the start I took the whole program slower. She took about 2 weeks to memorize the initial yellow phonograms. She didn’t have any trouble with the consonants and already memorized the basic long and shorts sounds of each vowel, but remembering the new sounds for those was harder for her to remember. She mastered them this past week and was able to quickly review all the sounds. I accidentally included sounds taught later in the book like /th/ and /sh/, but she breezed through those without a second thought! Beth has currently been working on segmenting the words and she really likes sliding the colorful circles!
The only portion of the program I have not used as much are the green index cards with words on them. It is a good way to keep track of which rules and words she has mastered, but I think I would prefer a checklist that I could look at easier.
I didn’t quite get the need for so many colored letters, but now that I’m well into the second book I appreciate the various colored tiles for different phonograms. This is a huge bonus for visual learners and my daughter quickly recognizes letter patterns because of them.
**Secret Bonus**
I finally figured out why I wasn’t a good speller…I never learned the rules. Why oh why wasn’t I taught these very clear and helpful rules when I was in school? I had no idea there was actually a rule for when c says /s/ and when it says /k/ or how to know whether to use c, k, or ck to make the /k/ sound. Now that we are learning the rules we are all spelling better!
I finally figured out why I wasn’t a good speller…I never learned the rules. Why oh why wasn’t I taught these very clear and helpful rules when I was in school? I had no idea there was actually a rule for when c says /s/ and when it says /k/ or how to know whether to use c, k, or ck to make the /k/ sound. Now that we are learning the rules we are all spelling better!
To find out more about All About Spelling click on this link!
And NOW for the giveaway! There are a few ways to enter, but nothing too painful! Our giveaway will run until September 24th. Good luck!
*I received Level 4 for this review
gracefilledwriter.com 
Thanks dear friend!
LikeLike
Would love to use this to begin teaching spelling rules….just working on basic phonics now. Thanks for offering the giveaway and looking forward to learning more from your blog! 🙂
LikeLike
For me spelling in school was, \”here's the list. The test is on Friday.\” We love AAS. My kids are learning spelling from the ground up.
LikeLike
My biggest challenge is consistency . . . oh, and all the rule breakers . . .
LikeLike
I need a good spelling program. I'd love to start this one.
LikeLike
Love these stories about kids succeeding! so exciting as a teacher!
LikeLike
We started with AAS last year and our biggest challenge was consistency in doing the lessons. This year I started filling a box with all the materials my kids need to complete each day. I just wrote \”spelling\” on an index card and include in their box. Then each child hands me the card when they are ready to do the lesson. They like being able to pick what we do next and AAS is getting done everyday now!
LikeLike
My biggest challenge is that while I'm a great speller myself, I have no idea how to go about teaching my kids how to spell well. And after reading your post, I don't recall learning the why's of spelling either!
LikeLike
It is really a great follow up for basic phonics instruction. I've saw greatly improved oral reading skills when we first started using it with my oldest.
LikeLike
Me too! I'm so glad I have a better tool for them than I did!
LikeLike
Sometimes it feels like the rule breakers outnumber the rule followers!
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLike
It is encouraging! I love finding things that are proven successes!
LikeLike
That's a great idea! I made magnets for my daughters with each subject and they move a magnet to the \”done\” side when they finish it. You can see pictures of our system at the bottom of this page: http://gracefilledhomeschooling.blogspot.com/p/organization.html
LikeLike
I really love the scripted nature of these lessons! I don't have to worry if I'm doing it right!
LikeLike
We love AAS/AAR. This is our first year, but we are loving it. It makes sooo much sense.
LikeLike
My biggest challenge to teaching spelling is explaining why a word is spelled the way it is.
LikeLike
You have to love curriculum that makes sense! We struggled with math last year for that reason and found curriculum this year that, \”makes sense\” 🙂 Those were my daughter's exact words!
LikeLike
Knowing why is the ENTIRE battle for me! Spelling never came natural so I NEVER knew why 🙂
LikeLike
My biggest challenge is remembering the rules!
LikeLike
One of the great things about AAS is that I don't feel like I have to remember them! There is so much review built into the program that it really takes care of itself!
LikeLike
My challenge? Teaching all the rules and making it easy to understand and remember…for BOTH of us!!!
LikeLike
It can be really intimidating! That's why I like the scripted lessons of AAS. I don't have to worry about either of those!
LikeLike
My biggest challenge is getting myself to do it. My daughter is 5 and just starting spelling. She has found spelling very easy so far. We are starting ending blends. So I just need to make myself teach it
LikeLike
It's always hard to start out, but having a curriculum you like really helps. I have that problem with science. I just have to force myself to do the experiments with my daughter because I know it's good for her even though it isn't my favorite part of the day!
LikeLike
Self-discipline to teach spelling is my biggest obstacle.
LikeLike
My challenge is that spelling seems dry and tedious to my children, who love history, science, bible etc.
LikeLike
I think any subject we either find difficult or uninteresting adds that much more self-discipline we need!
LikeLike
I understand completely! My girls are just like your kids and LOVE those other subjects! Now that we are farther into the program my daughter sees spelling as more of a game.
LikeLike
I would say teaching them why certain words like kit starts with k and not c. I am just starting homeschooling, and like you when I read the reason I was like well that makes a ton of sense. Thanks! leslierose at gmail dot com
LikeLike
our biggest challenge is rule breakers
LikeLike
Have fun as you begin your journey! The best thing about homeschooling are the amazing variety of resources available to help teach!
LikeLike
My daughter LOVES putting the rule breakers in jail! It really helps cement them in her mind. 🙂
LikeLike