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We received this product at no cost in exchange for our honest review. All opinions expressed are solely mine.
You all ~ the wait for All About Reading Level 1 program has been so amazingly worth it. We loved the All About Reading Level Pre-1 program and this is a wonderful next step in the reading process with Kaleb!
All About Reading Level 1 is a program for beginning readers. It picks up where the Pre-1 reading program ends ~ when children know their uppercase and lowercase letters as well as letter sounds and are ready to put the sounds together to make words. If you aren’t sure where to start your child, you can use the Reading Readiness Checklist to help you decide.
All About Reading focuses on phonological awareness, decoding skills, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and lots and lots of reading practice. Similar to the other programs from All About Learning Press, the Teacher’s Manual includes step-by-step directions, so there is no guesswork in what you need for each lesson or how to teach the concepts covered.
Each of the 49 lessons include hands-on practice using letter tiles, word cards, fun games, and activity sheets to go along with the day’s lesson. Lessons can be tailored to meet the needs of your child ~ review concepts as often as you need to in order to know that they are being retained.
{playing letter sound bingo}
Each lesson takes about 20 minutes to work through and then another 20 minutes of reading to your child is recommended. We usually divide up our time and read at different points during the day, instead of doing it all in one block of time.
Sight words are incorporated in to the program {so far Kaleb has learned ‘the’ and ‘a’}. They are treated as ‘Rule Breakers’ and given special treatment. :) Kaleb has loved this part of the program, to the point that he came running into my bedroom early one morning and woke me up when he found ‘the’ on something that he was playing with ~ ‘It’s a rule breaker!!!’
And the moment you want to do a happy dance {and actually do??}. When your child picks up a book, sits down with you and reads a real, honest-to-goodness story to you for the very first time. It just makes a mommy’s heart happy and there is much rejoicing to do!
I have also been using the reading program with Zachary {2nd grade} to help increase his reading fluency. Reading has never been a favorite part of his day, but his fluency has already greatly improved in the weeks that we’ve used it and it’s also built up his confidence in his reading abilities. He’s on the ‘fast track’ through the program, but part of his motivation has been seeing his younger brother start doing things that he was more recently complaining about {grins}.
Quick tip: Not sure if you should start out with All About Reading or All About Spelling? While the two programs go hand-in-hand, children generally move ahead more quickly in reading, so I recommend starting with All About Reading first.
Teacher’s Manual- Student Packet {includes word cards and an Activity Book}
- Run, Bug, Run! reader
- The Runt Pig reader
- Cobweb the Cat reader
You will also need a Reading Interactive Kit to complete the program. Choose between the Deluxe Reading Interactive Kit {$48.95} or the Basic Reading Interactive Kit {$28.95} ~ or buy the pieces individually. The reading kits are a one-time purchase and will be used in all levels of the program.
Quick Tip: If you currently use any of the All About Spelling programs, the letter tiles are the same, so you may only need a few additional components to complete the kit.
A Few More Thoughts…
One thing that we all look at is the initial price of this children’s reading program, and while it is a bit more, it truly is worth it. Here are a few of my thoughts on it:
- The bulk of the components are non-consumable {only the Activity Book and the smiling star stickers cannot be used again}. This means that you can use the program with children coming up through the ranks or eventually re-sell it to another mom.
- The program is completely laid out and lessons are scripted, so you can just relax and not worry about planning!
- Minimal prep-work. The word cards are perforated, but need to be torn apart and the letter tiles need to be assembled with magnets. Once that is done, you can grab your manual and go.
- The ‘Go Ahead and Use It One-Year Guarantee’. You and your child have a full year to try out the program! If you find that the curriculum does not meet your needs, simply return the materials at any time within one year of purchase for a full refund of your purchase price.
I can honestly tell you all that we have all of the products from All About Reading and All About Spelling, use them daily, and love them tremendously. Their curriculum is one of the first that really got me excited about teaching and I KNOW that they are getting solid teaching using the programs!
The printables shared on this site are FREE of charge unless otherwise noted, and you are welcome to download them for your personal and/or classroom use only. However, free or purchased printables are NOT to be reproduced, hosted, sold, shared, or stored on any other website or electronic retrieval system (such as Scribd or Google docs). My printables are copyright protected and I appreciate your help in keeping them that way.
If you download and use some of my printables and then blog about them, please provide a link back to my blog and let me know - I'd love to see how you are using them! Please be sure to link to the blog post or web page and not directly to the file itself. Thank you!
I so wish I could afford that program. I think it wold be a perfect fit. Oh well…. glad you are enjoying it! I’ll be sure to suggest it to others.
We were planning on doing the pre-1 for kindergarten next year, but he already knows all of the things on the checklist except sylables, Should we start in the level 1 in the fall instead?
Absolutely! If he knows all of his letters and letter sounds than look at level 1 for him. :) The Pre-1 is focused more on learning the upper and lower case letters and the sounds they make. It sounds like the Level 1 would be more of a challenge for him {but you may still want to get a Ziggy puppet ~ he always attends our lessons}. That was one of Kaleb’s FIRST questions when we sat down to do it ~ where’s Ziggy? That puppet can get more done than I can somedays! :)
Michelle ~
Not sure my first reply went through since I did it from my phone. :)
My answer is ~ Absolutely! If he knows all of his letters and letter sounds than look at level 1 for him. :) The Pre-1 is focused more on learning the upper and lower case letters and the sounds they make. It sounds like the Level 1 would be more of a challenge for him {but you may still want to get a Ziggy puppet ~ he always attends our lessons}. That was one of Kaleb’s FIRST questions when we sat down to do it ~ where’s Ziggy? That puppet can get more done than I can somedays! :)
Thank you for your feedback! We are really looking forward to using the program in the fall. We let our little guy choose his own puppet pal over the weekend and has been having a blast with him ever since. My husband even knitted his puppet some bitty sized chainmail so they could play knights together for knight week. Here is the blog post if you want to check it out I also have some super fun game pieces for your preschool board games : )
http://morganbubble.blogspot.com/2012/01/homeschool-fun-knights.html
I agree we love All About Learning!!!!!! ANYTHING!! We are almost finished with the Pre level 1 and its been wonderful! Looking forward to the Level 1 soon!
You’ve convinced me! I just bought All About Reading Level 1 and I can’t wait for it to come. I began using All About Spelling after reading your recommendation and I am so glad I did. Thank you for sharing these.
Have fun with it!! :)
Thank you for the thorough review. We are into our second year using All About Spelling and it’s been wonderful! I am not doing any official reading program for my 2nd grader but would love to look into Level 1 for my daughter for next year. She’ll be 4 in June but has pretty much completed the check list for Pre-1. Now I know what we need to focus more on the rest of this year…she wants to read on her own so badly…it’s so exciting to see when it clicks!
Oh, and we have the Level 1 readers…love them!
Hi,I’ve awarded your blog the Versatile Blogger Award!Stop by my blog to receive it!
http://learningtable.blogspot.com/2012/01/la-las-home-daycare-graciously-bestowed.html
What if you already have a reader? My son will be starting K in the fall and he has very much been a “natural reader” and while I’ve taught him a little, it’s not been anything formal. We’ve been using BOB books. He HATED “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Lessons”. I want him to have a strong base though. Right now he’s got CVC, blending, and compound words and we’re working on long vowels and silent e. How far does Level 1 go?
Jamey ~
The program covers blends such as th, ch, ck, ng, nk, as well as early sight words {the, a, do, etc..}. Toward the end of the program, your child learns plurals, long vowel sounds, and the difference between open/closed syllable words.
My best advice?? Call the company directly and talk to them. They are amazingly wonderful and will be able to answer specific questions you have that relate to where your son already is. :)
Do you like this program better than anything you used for your older kids? We struggled through 100 Easy Lessons with my first after hearing so many good things about it, but it was not a good fit and doesn’t really teach phonics. We already use All About spelling, but $100 seems steep for a reading program, especially when you still have to buy level 2 for another $100. Is there anything else you like, or do you really believe this is superior enough to be worth the price tag?
Ease of use is a big factor for me and compared to the other programs that we’ve used ~ YES!! I love too that it ties in with AAS. The readers are fabulous and it’s something that both Kaleb and I are enjoying together. It really is one program that I can 100% recommend with no hesitation. :)
Thank you for your information on All About Spelling and All About Reading!!! We’re starting homeschool this year, so I have some questions. Do both of those programs cover all of language arts or do I need a grammar and writing curriculum as well? I have a 6 year old who would be needing to start on grammar and writing this year…does the all about spelling program include handwriting? Sorry, I’m confused…I’ll go to their website as well. Thank you,
Shanna
We use a separate grammar and writing program {we’ve used First Language Lessons for grades 1 and 2 and then Easy Grammar for grades 3 and up and then WriteShop as our writing curriculum}. We also have a separate handwriting workbook for each kiddo – although they do have to use their neatest handwriting during spelling too! :) I hope that helps some.