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It is challenging for homeschool families to find the right curriculum. There are so many options to choose from. Plus, all kids learn differently, which adds to the challenge. So, it’s no wonder our heads are spinning when we start thinking about curriculum. It is so hard. For us, finding a spelling curriculum was especially hard.
It took me a while, but I found one curriculum that has not let me down. I’ve been using this for a few years now, and I wish I had found it sooner.
What is it?
All About Spelling!
We love All About Spelling! Yes, even my son LOVES this spelling curriculum.
I have never been so happy to find a curriculum. It is a great program that can benefit all kids. I wish I had it when I was a classroom teacher. I would have used it in my fourth-grade classroom and when I taught special education.
All About Spelling is a spelling curriculum published by All About Learning Press. I want to share with you WHY I like All About Spelling. Then, maybe I can help a few other homeschoolers that are struggling with spelling, too.
Why I Love All About Spelling for Our Spelling Curriculum
I sat down and thought about why I liked this program. There are many reasons, but they can be broken down into five main reasons. Here they are.
Reason 1: Kids Use Multiple Senses
All About Spelling uses a multisensory approach to spelling.
What does that mean?
It means kids use more than one of their senses to learn. Kids:
- Build words with letter tiles
- Write the words
- Read words
- Listen to letter sounds
- Say letter sounds
- And more
Kids don’t use their sense of taste or smell, but I’m sure creative mamas could incorporate that, too.
What Makes This Spelling Curriculum Hands-on?
Kids have many different types of tiles to manipulate (move around). They have:
- letter tiles
- suffix/prefix tiles
- consonant/vowel teams
- sounds of /er/
- and more
Students move the tiles to help them learn. It is an excellent approach for kids who learn actively.
What Makes This Spelling Curriculum Visual?
The tiles are different colors depending on their function. For instance, consonants are blue while vowels are red. As a result, kids get clear visual cues on the different parts of a word.
Students are also asked to label words. For example, a child may be asked to mark the word “like” to show their understanding of the vowel, consonant, and silent e pattern. Another day, they might be asked to label if a word is an open or closed syllable. The lessons build over time.
Kids read words and word lists every lesson. Plus, words that are considered rule breakers are put in “Jail.” So when they do so, they can SEE it is a rule breaker.
I have to say putting a word in jail is one of my son’s favorite things to do. The best part is he doesn’t forget it. It works.
What Makes This Spelling Curriculum Auditory?
All About Spelling uses listening skills to practice letter sounds and words. For example, a child is given a sound and needs to identify what letter or group of letters makes that sound. There is also an app to help.
Reason 2: Strong Understanding of Spelling Rules
I was very impressed when I saw that All About Spelling teaches ALL the possible sounds a letter can make. I was hooked!
Kids don’t learn the letter u only makes the long and short sounds. They learn the letter u makes the /oo/ sound as in ‘put.’ They also learn things like the letters ed can make the /ed/, /d/, and /t/ sounds. Kids learn all this from the start, so there isn’t any confusion about what sounds a letter or letter combination makes.
Students also learn the many rules you find in spelling. Then, they continue to practice a rule or sound until they master it.
All About Spelling also spends time on Syllable Division Rules, Spelling Strategies, and other important parts of spelling, such as homophones and the purpose of the silent e.
By completing this spelling curriculum, your child will have an excellent understanding of spelling.
Reason 3: Mastery
With this program, students will master the spelling rules and spelling strategies. Once a skill is mastered, it is filed away. Until it is mastered, though, students continue doing a quick review before each new lesson.
Each lesson also provides dictation exercises to ensure mastery. The program offers multiple sentences to choose from. The parent reads the sentence, and the student writes the sentence down from memory. The sentences practice skills for the current week and previous weeks, too.
Reason 4: Easy to Follow
All About Spelling has easy step-by-step lessons. Parents can open up the lesson and get to work with their children. The lessons are scripted and provide teaching tips. You don’t have to be a spelling expert to teach the program.
Reason 5: This Spelling Curriculum Works
The best part of this spelling program is IT WORKS! My son struggled with spelling. He’d barely learn a word for the test and then forget it. So I was always trying something new to find what would work.
This was it!
All About Spelling provides a strong foundation for spelling skills. Kids don’t learn lists and move on. Instead, kids can apply the sounds, rules, and strategies they have mastered throughout life.
If you are looking for a program to help your children become strong spellers, All About Spelling is what you are looking for. It is a program you can easily adjust to meet your child’s needs. Look into it today.
Updated After Using This Spelling Curriculum from Level 1 to Level 7
So, I guess you can tell that we believe in the effectiveness of this spelling curriculum. After all, we are finishing Level 7 of All About Spelling. We have used it from Level 1 until the end.
Honestly, my son was asking what All About Spelling had next. He really likes this spelling curriculum and knows it has helped him greatly over the years. My guy has become a more confident speller.
Upper Levels of All About Spelling
The upper levels of All About Spelling are similar to the lower levels. However, kids now have a “Writing Station” section with upper Levels.
With the lower levels, kids would write sentences on a given set of words. But in the upper levels, kiddos choose words or phrases from the categories seen above, and write a paragraph and use at least one spelling word.
My son loves doing “Writing Station” like this.
Another difference with the upper levels is the addition of Latin and Greek word parts.
So far, we have been working on Latin roots. It is a nice way to segway into vocabulary words. Kids learn the meaning of the Latin roots or Greek word parts to help build an understanding of the meaning of words while working on spelling.
I love this!
I remember learning Greek and Latin roots, suffixes, and prefixes in English class and hating it. However, when I went to take my SATs, I was never so happy that I had learned them. Plus, it helped with high school and college reading.
It is great to see All About Spelling’s upper levels begin working on these skills for older kids.
Do you want a sneak peek into the program? Check out the video below.
So What Happens When You Finish This Spelling Curriculum???
So, your kiddo has worked for seven years or so on spelling, and it is all done.
What next?
All About Spelling answers this question in its last lesson of Level 7. The lesson is titled “A Plan for Lifetime Learning.”
In this lesson, you learn how to choose spelling words and keep up with all the strategies and skills you’ve learned over the years. I’ve never seen a spelling program do this before, and I love that they do this.
So, after all these years of using All About Spelling from All About Learning Press, I can say I only have one regret.
I wish I would have used this with my daughter, too. At first, I was like, “She’s a good speller. She doesn’t need to learn all the rules and strategies.”
However, I have learned that this isn’t the case. Sure, my girl was a good speller, but she didn’t have all the rules and strategies to help when words got tougher.
At times, my girl would ask how to spell something. Her little brother would recite a rule to her to help. And he’d be correct.
So, even if you have a good speller, I have since learned that all the skills kids learn in All About Spelling can benefit ANY child, a good speller or struggling learner.
This all leads us back to Reason #5 for using this spelling curriculum: It Works!
You should really check it out for yourself. It is definitely worth looking into.
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Happy Homeschooling!
