Thank you so much for taking the time to share this video. I’ve used AAR for my first two students and my third is struggling a little more. We are taking a slight break for the summer, but planning to jump in with Abeka and AAR as a combo. I’m so glad I found your video! It highlights the different curriculums and also gives me some extra confidence moving forward.
So very helpful! Thank you for posting this information! I am using Abeka but was looking for a curriculum to explain the “why”. I am going to to follow your advice and combine! Thank you!!
Thank you for posting this video. I used AAR with one of my children a couple years ago and after one year of taking it very slow, we still weren't reading any words with long vowels. I have a background with Abeka and decided to go with that and like you said, Abeka just helps their reading really propel into better fluency. However, I still really liked the "why" behind the phonics rules in AAR. So, I decided to use Abeka for phonics and grammar and All about spelling together. I've found the phonics rules help even more with spelling. So Abeka gets them reading the words really well and AAS helps them break apart the word to know how to spell it.
Thank you, thank you! My 7year old has done ABEKA for Pre-K to 1st and was debating whether to change his Grammer for next year. I'll stick to ABEKA and give all about reading a try.
This was such a great video. I love how you’re pulling out the strong pints from each program to help your children excel. Thank you so much for your videos. I really enjoy everything you share on your channel.
Thank you SO MUCH! I am having the exact same struggle with the AAR overwhelm mid-way through. It's so nice to know another mom has overcome this and given me a possible solution. I have never used Abeka but like the conciseness of the Abeka Reading Handbook. I have used AAR with 2 previous children (one had already taught herself to read). I slowed down AAR with my current beginner reading child but noticed it also brought more dislike for what used to be an exciting subject. It caused a crash of confidence. I hope to try Abeka as you suggested to bring the confidence back. There is a lot to like about AAR & AAS but I really appreciate your practical suggestions. I have a bright, highly-motivated (especially to learn on her own) child so it was sad to see her have a negative perspective. I suppose we will view this as a learning experience about perseverance and problem solving. I appreciate your clarity about the concerns and solutions that worked for your kiddos.
I had to pause this video and reply because you are the first person i have heard say the exact con about aar1 at the midway point with the special beginning and ending consonant blends. Yessss!! My daughter cannot do their pace and we just paused the program at lesson 26 and are looking at doing abeka. Thank you for articulating your specific con because its a big problem area for us too and I thought maybe its just my family.
Thank you for the video. I've been looking into A beka for my twins going into Kindergarten. We are doing a combination of AAR 1 and TGTB K right now, they are breezing through it at 4.5 yrs old. We found TGTB and AAR 1 do just about the same as A Beka, filling in the gabs when necessary. Another resource we absolutely have fallen in love with is This Reading Mama's free phonic readers. She has maybe 30 or so free books for learning readers with focus on one reading skill such as double e and so on.
I completely agree with the mastery style of AAR. I didn’t realize it was a problem until AAR2. I started adding in The Good and the Beautiful level 1 three days a week and AAR 2 two days a week and AAR is just flying now! His reading has really taken off since adding supplement to AAR.
Yes, I plan to use both next year with my youngest. He’s currently doing Abeka K4 so next he will do Abeka K5 with AAR1. I will probably slowly start working through AAR1 during the summer so he doesn’t lose what he’s learned in K4. Great video!
This is extremely helpful! I was teaching TGATB, then added in AAR. And did both, then dropped TGATB and just stuck to AAR. Later (when I got to those initial blend lesions you mentioned) I added a touch of explode the code to supplement. And then…. We put our daughter in a homeschool hybrid program and they teach Abeka. 🤦🏻♀️ I’m spinning. I want it all. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know what to do. Haha .I think for next year we’ll do as you’ve mentioned, a bulk of Abeka and supplement AAR. Thank you for speaking to this!
Angie, we're (my hubby & I) LOVING all of this so much! This is wild, I have quite literally just recently been looking into both of these programs. TY again & again for taking the time to be here & for always sharing such invaluable wisdoms. We live for vids & connection like this! THIS! is one of the many reasons why we homeschool...Finding out what truly works for our children, tweaking curricula and being able to implement it as a tool & educational resource as it should be. Rather than becoming overwhelmed and bogged down by it...getting stuck thinking that it can only be used the way it's written. We're looking forward to the next vid where you show the parts of the Abeka curricula that you're using. TY again...
Hi Angie, thanks for the video. Here we are combining TGTB Pre-K and AAR Pre-K and it works wonderful. I totally agree with you with AAR being a bit slow but since my toddler is a very young preschooler it's not a problem for us. I started the year using alpha phonics but I quickly realised that it was just not working for our family.
I love your videos and always learn and glean ideas from what you share. We are using AAR almost finished with level 1 and will start level 2 in Jan/Feb of kindergarten. I have also been pulling some other resources to supplement it. I looove AAR but have also found the need to supplement. Love these ideas!
I am using both A Beka K5 and All About Reading but for different children. It has been helpful for me to learn ways of teaching. I am also using the Good and the Beautiful with two other children as well as Sonlight readers grade 1 & 2.
I totally agree. My son is 5.1 yrs and I did AAR pre reading, it was great but it was way too slow. He started reading his Sonlight Readers on his own. Now I just got Sonlight LA level K, and will do that this next semester and see where he is in May or so. I love your channel!!
So interesting! Abeka K4 gave my son an amazing start before AAR 1. I have the abeka K5 and 1st grade stuff and it overwhelms me even though I know it’s super solid. I plan to give my youngest abeka K4 as well
Ok I’m back and loving this video because I feel like AAR is holding back my sons potential progress because each lesson takes us a week to get through all the fluency sheets (we are on level 1 in the exact place you mentioned with the initial blends just being thrown at you at once! He doesn’t have too much issue reading them but his attention span is super short (he’s a few months shy of 6). As you are doing the the two lessons of AAR at the end of the week do you skip the fluency sheets for the lessons? How are you altering AAR to make this work? Thank you I love your videos!
We’ve use different curriculum for phonics but we are yet to start it with a kid who is starting to read. We have older kids who struggle with reading but my 4 year old daughter sits in for the phonics work and she’s learning to read and the work is more age appropriate for her than my big kids. My big kids read fast yet didn’t fully retain it. Idk what they did as they were in school. I feel like they did sight words as they forgot the phonics work I did with them before school. We’ve watched videos of the mouth moving with my big kids before my daughter came to us and I feel like that helped. I doubt I would have done that at an earlier age. We love simply math but have specific cons with it. I feel like it’s as every kid is different. We are looking at doing all about reading where my older kids are struggling so we can just do the activities needed to help them get it!!! We use TGTB language arts from the beginning!!!
I have two students using A.B.R and I have loved using it, but I completely agree that it is slow. I ended up using a set of readers that use mother goose and Grimm type stories and that helped to catapult her to where she could pick up other readers and gave her a lot of confidence. We will continue to use A.A.R but I may look into abeka for some faster reading confidence for my second daughter. We used abeka's nath program at first, but it was not a good fit. We found it to be colorful and fun, but not enough depth or practice.
I haven't used Abeka Math ... so I'm not sure if has a similar amount of depth or practice as the phonics program. But, the one-vowel rule and the two-vowel rule have really helped both my kids read faster :)
We are about half way through AAR 1. I actually think we will be starting the initial and final blends when we come back from Christmas break. I definitely see the con of AAR being slow. My daughter is so eager to read. She is doing well with the program, but is definitely frustrated that she can't just pick up other books. I watched your video on other readers. I just ordered TGATB level a and b readers and will probably get the BOB ones as well. Hopefully it'll help with her confidence.
Hi! We have been loving TGTB readers, especially since we added in Abeka! The BOB books are great too! Sounds like she is excited to read, which is wonderful!
I have been doing the abeka k4 program with my daughter and I have been amazed at how much she has learned and retained. I love the spiral learning and all the things you said about abeka. I had tried the AAR pre-reading set and it just didn't stick with my daughter (letters and sounds and blends) in that format. But my co-op group I'm joining actually uses All About Spelling and I think I'm going to pair AAS with Abeka k5. Have you looked into All about spelling? It will break down more of the segmenting and other "why" concepts, while Abeka will keep her reading and building her confidence.
Our school uses Abeka but both the kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher use the AAR readers for supplement practice. One advantage in using the AAR readers for extra practice is they use so few sight words compared to other early readers. The children enjoy the stories too. I love to hear them laugh when they read them.
Thanks for doing this video, I found it fascinating and gives me a lot to think about. ☺️ We are about halfway through AAR level one and I am finding it a little slow as well. It seems like the last few lessons haven’t taught anything new.
This was very helpful! Are there some parts of Abeka that I don't need to buy since I already have AAR level 1? I'm having the same issue with blending and was wondering if I could get away with purchasing the blending cards and blending workbook only from Abeka. Or do I need to get the whole Abeka k5 program?
How has this been working for you and your kiddos? I was all set to go with AAR 1 but I keep going back to Abeka and you made some great points. I think I’m also going to combine. I’d love a follow-up video!
@@sciencemama Good to know! I know you mentioned you mainly use Abeka and then AAR one day a week. I’d love to hear how you condense the lessons. I’ve been looking at the scope and sequence of each and seeing how well they’ll overlap and I’m getting overwhelmed! I used to teach 2nd grade language arts and we used an OG approach so I’m very familiar with the Phonics approach. I just don’t know which one I want to use more!
Thank you for this video! I just saw someone else show Abeka’s Handbook for Reading (which I think is a part of the Kindergarten set) and I was so interested, but I was also already planning on doing AAR! So am I right in my understanding that you basically use Abeka primarily, and supplement with AAR? I know you said you do a few days of Abeka and a day of AAR, but I’m curious how. Do you match up your AAR day with what you’ve been learning in Abeka? For example when they learned “ee” in Abeka did you do the “ee” AAR lesson to go along with it, or do you just cover where you left off last in AAR regardless of if it corresponds? Maybe it’s obvious, but I’m just curious in your process! I’m sure there is no program that follows the same exact sequence of materials being taught, so I’ve been pondering how one would combine two different programs for a tailored fit. I appreciate your channel, thanks for putting your experience out there for us mamma’s just starting on this journey!❤️
Hi! No I don't try and match up Abeka and AAR ... I found that AAR acts a bit more like review after they have learned the concept in Abeka. Like for instance, there isn't a lesson on "ee" in Abeka because they have the two vowel rule to help the kids know that the first e is long and the second is silent.
Hi Science Momma, my name is Heidi and I am homeschooling my little with the Abeka K-5 Curriculum. We started out strong and then hit a major road block and it stalled EVERYTHING! We are beginning to get back into a rhythm but I have a few questions I would love to ask you and maybe get some advice on how to improve our struggle areas! Any help is so appreciated and needed as I want her to succeed in her academics and life in general! I honestly believe homeschooling is the absolute best option for a child when opportunity to do so is available! Please HELP this southern momma! 🥰
She just turned 6. We had a little bit of a late start due to delayed shipping.. 🙄 Then with the setback.. we are so very behind. I will email you shortly so I can go into more detail! 😉 Thank you so much for getting back with me! Have a wonderful day!
I have found AAR to be slow as well for us, but have not wanted to miss the thoroughness of how it's taught, so I resonate with this video. We are about to finish AAR 2. Just curious, do you do all of the phonics workbook pages with Abeka & all of AAR activities & fluency? Also, do you think a person needs the Abeka teacher guide or could just do the workbook for phonics?
Currently, I use all the Abeka worksheets (+lesson plans) and just the lesson and readers (+warmup sheets) from AAR (not too many activities and no f. sheets). I think you could easily do the opposite all of AAR and just the worksheets from Abeka!
Do you think I’d be ok cherry picking from AAR levels 2-4 as we teach a specific phonogram in abeka? For example, abeka teaches phonograms ow/ou at the end of kinder, but it isn’t in AAR until the end of book 2. I know the readers won’t line up easily but in terms of instruction and activities to support the concept, I think it may work.
We are using Logic of English and have always read that using another program would confuse them, because it may teach phonograms or rules differently. Do you find any contradiction between those programs or something that made your kids confused somehow?
It probably depends on how far your child made it through LOE. When I switched from LOE, I went a bit back to make sure we caught any differences in the two programs. As for this transition, we are still sticking with AAR, just adding Abeka. It is definitely hard to make the decision to switch, but both times my reason for switching was bigger than for staying and my kids have really benefited. Hope that helps!
Hi! Thanks for sharing all these resources they are very helpful. I was wondering how come you stopped using LOE. I’m having such a hard time deciding between LOE, AAR and Abeka.
Hi! At the time we stopped using LOE it was just moving too fast for my son and it didn't have enough review built in! I think it is a great program, it probably depends mostly on how confident you are in teaching (i.e. can you stop and redo things or present it in a different way if you child needs it), as well as you kiddos. Really I think all 3 programs are excellent, just for different reasons :)
Thank you for this video!! I used Abeka with my first daughter so I have the manuals but I thought that maybe my son would be missing out on something great if I didn’t do AAR. I need lessons to be quick and simple so I think I will stick with Abeka and perhaps add in AAR later. At what grade do you add in AAR? He will be starting K5 this year, should I wait to add AAR until he’s in Abeka 1st grade?
Thank you for making this video! We just finished AAR level 1. The progression was slow and I didn't know that when I bought it. I am thinking about switching to Abeka grade 1 next year. I would only like to use their reading and phonics. What would I need to purchase from Abeka in only using their phonics and reading- which charts, cards, etc? I would be overwhelmed using both AAR and Abeka. Do you think using Abeka alone is sufficient? Thanks for your help!
Hi! Yes, I would say Abeka alone is sufficient, that is my plan for next year for my daughter. I really liked the teachers guide, workbook, as well as the phonics charts, basic phonics flashcards and the clue word cards ... those were the things I used the most!
i didn't catch which levels you combined... my girls are starting AAR2 and i was considering abeka.. but im not sure which grade to get that would work well with AAR level 2
Thank you for this video. I totally agree with your pros and cons of these two programs. Could you tell me, in more detail, how you use both programs? Do you pair certain lessons together?
I am so happy I watched this video, I am currently searching for next years picks for 1st grade. We are completing K5 this year and I was curious did or do you incorporate the abeka readers or do you just use AAR readers?
We should be able to ... mainly because I do 2 lessons of AAR on our 1 day per week (there is only about 50-60 lessons per level). As for Abeka, we skip the assessment days and sometimes combine lessons if they seem short or is a concept that my kids understand from AAR. Hope that makes sense :)
I have taught 3 of my kids how to read with AAR but for the one I’m teaching right now I’m going to be mixing it up with Abeka. I love the reasons you are combining them. I have an 8 year old son (just turned 8) about 1/2 way though AAR2, for that level do you think I should get Abeka 1 or 2? He’s reading pretty well but I feel like he lacked the review he needs. He has had no grammar instruction, no cursive and he just finished AAS 1. I have looked at the samples for both and it seems he falls about the second half of grade 1 but I’m not sure if it would be worth it to just do the entire grade just to cover all basis. What would you suggest? Btw, we also use Sonlight!
My son was almost 8 when we switched him to Abeka 1 supplements with AAR2. I would say Abeka 1 is the meat of the phonics instruction ... and it would probably be a good place to start. You could always skip some lessons or double up and hit the high points, but I have really seen so much growth in him with Abeka 1. Good luck!
I’ve done a ton of reading and research on these two programs. I thought I had decided on Abeka, but it seemed like there was a lot of flash card work. Knowing my daughter, I wondered if she’d dislike this approach… so I purchased AAR1. But after reading through the instructions guide, AAR looks to me like it’s just lists of words that you get kids to read in various way… and like you’d have to work pretty hard to make it engaging. So I’m back to thinking about Abeka… and my question is… how much daily work revolves around flashcard work?
Yes, there are a lot of flashcards ... but, there are other things too like charts and clue word cards. So, in my opinion it takes the same information and uses a few different methods, which helps keep it more interesting!
Thank you so much for all this information! Your videos are extremely helpful since we’re homeschooling in preschool now and potentially kinder after that. Do you need all the materials from AAR to utilize it in this capacity?
It depends on which program you plan on using as your primary program. If you do like we did and use Abeka and supplement with AAR, than all I really used was the teachers guide and readers!
So you are using Abeka, AAR, and Sonlight Language Arts all at the same time? I'm asking because this year (kindergarten) I purchased AAR pre-reading and the Sonlight H/B/L - K (skipping the language arts curriculum). I'm wondering if I should go ahead and do AAR and Sonlight's LA program - but I'm concerned it would be overwhelming. Thoughts?
What would you suggest for someone who is 1/4 through AAR and feels the slowness of it and wants to move forward more quickly with Abeka? How and what would you add in? Thank you for this!
Hi! I would definitely add the Abeka workbooks ... which include some of the teaching (like the one-vowel and two vowel rules) on the workbook pages. Then I have found the special sounds resources to be helpful, but those might not work if you weren't planning on also picking up the lesson plans?
We are currently having the exact same issues with AAR. My 7 year old just hit the blend lessons in AAR1 and it's been a struggle. I just ordered Abeka K5 and plan to try both as well. When you started incorporating Abeka K5, did you start at the beginning or were you able to skip some of the lessons?
Hi! We skipped the first half because it was teaching the alphabet sounds … we started around the point where it was teaching the one vowel rule. That was also the point we’re the readers started so it was perfect for what we needed!
We struggled with AAR 1 for the same reasons at the beginning of the year then switched to Abeka K5. Around lesson 40 we stopped using it because I got really overwhelmed and burnt out with all the letter/picture/vowel cards the program used. Do you have any tips to help? At that point we were able to jump into Logic of English A (it seems to work better for my daughter than AAR for now), but if we hit a snag I'd like to fill in with Abeka.
I can see how the beginning of Abeka K5 can be a bit overwhelming with all the letter cards ... but I have really liked the second part which would probably be more similar to the end of LOE A as well as LOE B! The second half of K5 has focused more on the silent E as well as special sounds. I have a video coming out tomorrow all about Abeka!
I'm back again with another question :)! We added Abeka K5 to LOE Foundations A last month and love it! We finished A and went on to B after Christmas break and it is just too advanced or moving too fast with not enough review. The 1st 3 lessons covered sh, th (both sounds), and open syllables making long vowel sounds. I had AAR 1 on hand because we tried it before LOE and it is going well except for the Fluency Sheets. We absolutely loathe them! I am actually considering going back to LOE because of them! However, long term I think AAR is a better fit. Do you have any advice for dealing with the Fluency Sheets? I've been cutting them up and making it into a game, but I'm not very creative and that's getting exhausting, especially after using LOE which included the games and ideas. Maybe we should use Abeka solely for a few weeks/months then hop back into AAR? Thank you!
Yes! I don't think I will keep combining for my 3rd grader because he just took off with his reading, but I'm planning on using AAR2 + Abeka1 with my 2nd grader next year :)
Yes, we have done AAR1 with Abeka K5 and AAR2 with Abeka Grade 1 ... but at this point I am not combining, I'm just doing Abeka Grade 1 with my 7.5 year old.
So if I get this for my second grader can you tell me exactly what to order so I make sure to get everything you have? Do you also add in the HBL from sonlight bc I saw another video that you love that and are using that. So I was planning on getting that and I’ve already purchased Singapore primary for math. Is there anything else I should add in? We did tgatb mid year last year and she wasn’t very engaged. (I started homeschooling in Feb last year so I’m still very new).
Hi! I saw your other comment on the Abeka video. I would recommend picking either AAR or Abeka ... it just depends on your kiddo. If she is struggling a bit, then I would recommend AAR, it really goes at a slower pace and teaches the phonics a bit deeper than Abeka. Abeka is great for kiddos that have a bit of phonemic awareness and want to start reading as quickly as possible. As for Sonlight ... yes, we love the HBL! You would just need the Singapore, Phonics (AAR or Abeka), handwriting, and Sonlight HBL (since that covers your history, bible and read alouds). For a 1st/2nd grader, I would prioritize the phonics, handwriting, and math ... and then do your best with the rest. Good luck, you can do it!!
Hi! We prioritized the Abel’s readers over AAR but they really follow the Abeka program, so if you aren’t using it, they might be a bit tougher than what AAR is teaching.
I bought Abeka K5 handbook for reading, their workbook, & their readers. I also bought AAR but not their books. Do you think it'd be okay to do abeka 3 days a week and AAR 2 days a week but skipping the lessons with thier readers?
Thank you so much for taking the time to share this video. I’ve used AAR for my first two students and my third is struggling a little more. We are taking a slight break for the summer, but planning to jump in with Abeka and AAR as a combo. I’m so glad I found your video! It highlights the different curriculums and also gives me some extra confidence moving forward.
So very helpful! Thank you for posting this information! I am using Abeka but was looking for a curriculum to explain the “why”. I am going to to follow your advice and combine! Thank you!!
Thank you for posting this video. I used AAR with one of my children a couple years ago and after one year of taking it very slow, we still weren't reading any words with long vowels. I have a background with Abeka and decided to go with that and like you said, Abeka just helps their reading really propel into better fluency. However, I still really liked the "why" behind the phonics rules in AAR. So, I decided to use Abeka for phonics and grammar and All about spelling together. I've found the phonics rules help even more with spelling. So Abeka gets them reading the words really well and AAS helps them break apart the word to know how to spell it.
I agree with the compatibility of AAS and Abeka .... we are currently using AAS and are really liking it!
Thank you, thank you! My 7year old has done ABEKA for Pre-K to 1st and was debating whether to change his Grammer for next year. I'll stick to ABEKA and give all about reading a try.
This was such a great video. I love how you’re pulling out the strong pints from each program to help your children excel. Thank you so much for your videos. I really enjoy everything you share on your channel.
Ahh, thank you so much, that means a lot!
Thank you SO MUCH! I am having the exact same struggle with the AAR overwhelm mid-way through. It's so nice to know another mom has overcome this and given me a possible solution. I have never used Abeka but like the conciseness of the Abeka Reading Handbook. I have used AAR with 2 previous children (one had already taught herself to read). I slowed down AAR with my current beginner reading child but noticed it also brought more dislike for what used to be an exciting subject. It caused a crash of confidence. I hope to try Abeka as you suggested to bring the confidence back. There is a lot to like about AAR & AAS but I really appreciate your practical suggestions. I have a bright, highly-motivated (especially to learn on her own) child so it was sad to see her have a negative perspective. I suppose we will view this as a learning experience about perseverance and problem solving. I appreciate your clarity about the concerns and solutions that worked for your kiddos.
I had to pause this video and reply because you are the first person i have heard say the exact con about aar1 at the midway point with the special beginning and ending consonant blends. Yessss!! My daughter cannot do their pace and we just paused the program at lesson 26 and are looking at doing abeka. Thank you for articulating your specific con because its a big problem area for us too and I thought maybe its just my family.
I’m so glad that was helpful and thank you for commenting, glad I’m not the only one!!
I have used both of these programs and noticed EVERYTHING you said but never thought about combining them! Thank you!
Both are great programs! Haha, I'm glad you also noticed those things :)
Thank you for the video. I've been looking into A beka for my twins going into Kindergarten. We are doing a combination of AAR 1 and TGTB K right now, they are breezing through it at 4.5 yrs old. We found TGTB and AAR 1 do just about the same as A Beka, filling in the gabs when necessary. Another resource we absolutely have fallen in love with is This Reading Mama's free phonic readers. She has maybe 30 or so free books for learning readers with focus on one reading skill such as double e and so on.
I completely agree with the mastery style of AAR. I didn’t realize it was a problem until AAR2. I started adding in The Good and the Beautiful level 1 three days a week and AAR 2 two days a week and AAR is just flying now! His reading has really taken off since adding supplement to AAR.
Yes, I plan to use both next year with my youngest. He’s currently doing Abeka K4 so next he will do Abeka K5 with AAR1. I will probably slowly start working through AAR1 during the summer so he doesn’t lose what he’s learned in K4. Great video!
Love it, we sound like curriculum twins :)
This is extremely helpful! I was teaching TGATB, then added in AAR. And did both, then dropped TGATB and just stuck to AAR. Later (when I got to those initial blend lesions you mentioned) I added a touch of explode the code to supplement. And then…. We put our daughter in a homeschool hybrid program and they teach Abeka. 🤦🏻♀️
I’m spinning. I want it all. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know what to do. Haha .I think for next year we’ll do as you’ve mentioned, a bulk of Abeka and supplement AAR. Thank you for speaking to this!
Angie, we're (my hubby & I) LOVING all of this so much! This is wild, I have quite literally just recently been looking into both of these programs. TY again & again for taking the time to be here & for always sharing such invaluable wisdoms. We live for vids & connection like this! THIS! is one of the many reasons why we homeschool...Finding out what truly works for our children, tweaking curricula and being able to implement it as a tool & educational resource as it should be. Rather than becoming overwhelmed and bogged down by it...getting stuck thinking that it can only be used the way it's written. We're looking forward to the next vid where you show the parts of the Abeka curricula that you're using. TY again...
Ahh, this just made my day! Thank you so much for your encouragement! Excited to hear which program you end up going with :)
@@sciencemama
That’s awesome that they’re taking off! What works for one doesn’t always work for another. Congrats on finding your jam! 😂❤️
Agreed, thank you!
Hi Angie, thanks for the video. Here we are combining TGTB Pre-K and AAR Pre-K and it works wonderful. I totally agree with you with AAR being a bit slow but since my toddler is a very young preschooler it's not a problem for us.
I started the year using alpha phonics but I quickly realised that it was just not working for our family.
I'm so glad that TGTB is a good supplement for AAR for your toddler ... I can see how they would complement each other!
It is great to hear that you found something that is working for you and your kids!
I love your videos and always learn and glean ideas from what you share. We are using AAR almost finished with level 1 and will start level 2 in Jan/Feb of kindergarten. I have also been pulling some other resources to supplement it. I looove AAR but have also found the need to supplement. Love these ideas!
I agree, it needs supplements ... lots of people use the Explode the Code series!
I am using both A Beka K5 and All About Reading but for different children. It has been helpful for me to learn ways of teaching. I am also using the Good and the Beautiful with two other children as well as Sonlight readers grade 1 & 2.
It's wonderful you have found what works for each kiddo!
I totally agree. My son is 5.1 yrs and I did AAR pre reading, it was great but it was way too slow. He started reading his Sonlight Readers on his own. Now I just got Sonlight LA level K, and will do that this next semester and see where he is in May or so. I love your channel!!
Ahh, I love the SL readers ... we are still using them :)
Amazingly helpful! Thank you for sharing!
So interesting! Abeka K4 gave my son an amazing start before AAR 1. I have the abeka K5 and 1st grade stuff and it overwhelms me even though I know it’s super solid. I plan to give my youngest abeka K4 as well
I've heard of a number of people starting with K4/K5 before jumping into another program ... it sets a wonderful foundation!
Ok I’m back and loving this video because I feel like AAR is holding back my sons potential progress because each lesson takes us a week to get through all the fluency sheets (we are on level 1 in the exact place you mentioned with the initial blends just being thrown at you at once! He doesn’t have too much issue reading them but his attention span is super short (he’s a few months shy of 6). As you are doing the the two lessons of AAR at the end of the week do you skip the fluency sheets for the lessons? How are you altering AAR to make this work? Thank you I love your videos!
We’ve use different curriculum for phonics but we are yet to start it with a kid who is starting to read. We have older kids who struggle with reading but my 4 year old daughter sits in for the phonics work and she’s learning to read and the work is more age appropriate for her than my big kids. My big kids read fast yet didn’t fully retain it. Idk what they did as they were in school. I feel like they did sight words as they forgot the phonics work I did with them before school. We’ve watched videos of the mouth moving with my big kids before my daughter came to us and I feel like that helped. I doubt I would have done that at an earlier age. We love simply math but have specific cons with it. I feel like it’s as every kid is different. We are looking at doing all about reading where my older kids are struggling so we can just do the activities needed to help them get it!!! We use TGTB language arts from the beginning!!!
I'm so glad that TGTB has been such a good fit for your family!!
I have two students using A.B.R and I have loved using it, but I completely agree that it is slow. I ended up using a set of readers that use mother goose and Grimm type stories and that helped to catapult her to where she could pick up other readers and gave her a lot of confidence. We will continue to use A.A.R but I may look into abeka for some faster reading confidence for my second daughter. We used abeka's nath program at first, but it was not a good fit. We found it to be colorful and fun, but not enough depth or practice.
I haven't used Abeka Math ... so I'm not sure if has a similar amount of depth or practice as the phonics program. But, the one-vowel rule and the two-vowel rule have really helped both my kids read faster :)
We are about half way through AAR 1. I actually think we will be starting the initial and final blends when we come back from Christmas break. I definitely see the con of AAR being slow. My daughter is so eager to read. She is doing well with the program, but is definitely frustrated that she can't just pick up other books. I watched your video on other readers. I just ordered TGATB level a and b readers and will probably get the BOB ones as well. Hopefully it'll help with her confidence.
Hi! We have been loving TGTB readers, especially since we added in Abeka! The BOB books are great too! Sounds like she is excited to read, which is wonderful!
I have been doing the abeka k4 program with my daughter and I have been amazed at how much she has learned and retained. I love the spiral learning and all the things you said about abeka. I had tried the AAR pre-reading set and it just didn't stick with my daughter (letters and sounds and blends) in that format. But my co-op group I'm joining actually uses All About Spelling and I think I'm going to pair AAS with Abeka k5. Have you looked into All about spelling? It will break down more of the segmenting and other "why" concepts, while Abeka will keep her reading and building her confidence.
Yes, we are currently using AAS and I love it ... not sure if we will switch out next year, but only because it is pretty teacher intensive!
Thank you so much for detailing that for us!
You're very welcome!
Our school uses Abeka but both the kindergarten teacher and first grade teacher use the AAR readers for supplement practice. One advantage in using the AAR readers for extra practice is they use so few sight words compared to other early readers. The children enjoy the stories too. I love to hear them laugh when they read them.
That is a great idea!
Awesome, just like I was thinking of doing it year.
This was so helpful, this was exactly what I needed.
Thanks for doing this video, I found it fascinating and gives me a lot to think about. ☺️ We are about halfway through AAR level one and I am finding it a little slow as well. It seems like the last few lessons haven’t taught anything new.
I completely understand what you mean! I have a video coming out tomorrow on the resources I picked up for Abeka :)
This was very helpful! Are there some parts of Abeka that I don't need to buy since I already have AAR level 1? I'm having the same issue with blending and was wondering if I could get away with purchasing the blending cards and blending workbook only from Abeka. Or do I need to get the whole Abeka k5 program?
Thank you so much for sharing!
How has this been working for you and your kiddos? I was all set to go with AAR 1 but I keep going back to Abeka and you made some great points. I think I’m also going to combine. I’d love a follow-up video!
That is a great video idea, I am still liking it and considering it again for my 2nd grader next year (AAR2 &Abeka1)
@@sciencemama Good to know! I know you mentioned you mainly use Abeka and then AAR one day a week. I’d love to hear how you condense the lessons. I’ve been looking at the scope and sequence of each and seeing how well they’ll overlap and I’m getting overwhelmed! I used to teach 2nd grade language arts and we used an OG approach so I’m very familiar with the Phonics approach. I just don’t know which one I want to use more!
Thank you for this video! I just saw someone else show Abeka’s Handbook for Reading (which I think is a part of the Kindergarten set) and I was so interested, but I was also already planning on doing AAR!
So am I right in my understanding that you basically use Abeka primarily, and supplement with AAR? I know you said you do a few days of Abeka and a day of AAR, but I’m curious how. Do you match up your AAR day with what you’ve been learning in Abeka? For example when they learned “ee” in Abeka did you do the “ee” AAR lesson to go along with it, or do you just cover where you left off last in AAR regardless of if it corresponds? Maybe it’s obvious, but I’m just curious in your process! I’m sure there is no program that follows the same exact sequence of materials being taught, so I’ve been pondering how one would combine two different programs for a tailored fit.
I appreciate your channel, thanks for putting your experience out there for us mamma’s just starting on this journey!❤️
Hi! No I don't try and match up Abeka and AAR ... I found that AAR acts a bit more like review after they have learned the concept in Abeka. Like for instance, there isn't a lesson on "ee" in Abeka because they have the two vowel rule to help the kids know that the first e is long and the second is silent.
@@sciencemama makes sense!
Hi Science Momma, my name is Heidi and I am homeschooling my little with the Abeka K-5 Curriculum. We started out strong and then hit a major road block and it stalled EVERYTHING! We are beginning to get back into a rhythm but I have a few questions I would love to ask you and maybe get some advice on how to improve our struggle areas! Any help is so appreciated and needed as I want her to succeed in her academics and life in general! I honestly believe homeschooling is the absolute best option for a child when opportunity to do so is available! Please HELP this southern momma! 🥰
Hi Heidi, how old is your kiddo? Also, feel free to email me at angiesciencemama@gmail.com
She just turned 6. We had a little bit of a late start due to delayed shipping.. 🙄 Then with the setback.. we are so very behind. I will email you shortly so I can go into more detail! 😉 Thank you so much for getting back with me! Have a wonderful day!
I have found AAR to be slow as well for us, but have not wanted to miss the thoroughness of how it's taught, so I resonate with this video. We are about to finish AAR 2. Just curious, do you do all of the phonics workbook pages with Abeka & all of AAR activities & fluency? Also, do you think a person needs the Abeka teacher guide or could just do the workbook for phonics?
Currently, I use all the Abeka worksheets (+lesson plans) and just the lesson and readers (+warmup sheets) from AAR (not too many activities and no f. sheets). I think you could easily do the opposite all of AAR and just the worksheets from Abeka!
How do these two programs differ in their approach to decoding multi-syllable words?
Do you think I’d be ok cherry picking from AAR levels 2-4 as we teach a specific phonogram in abeka? For example, abeka teaches phonograms ow/ou at the end of kinder, but it isn’t in AAR until the end of book 2. I know the readers won’t line up easily but in terms of instruction and activities to support the concept, I think it may work.
I think that would totally work - then maybe just wait on the AAR readers until they have all the skills!
Could you do a lesson showing how you use the two programs together.
Hi, we stopped using both last year and just moved to Abeka because that was the program that worked best for my two big kids!
We are using Logic of English and have always read that using another program would confuse them, because it may teach phonograms or rules differently. Do you find any contradiction between those programs or something that made your kids confused somehow?
It probably depends on how far your child made it through LOE. When I switched from LOE, I went a bit back to make sure we caught any differences in the two programs. As for this transition, we are still sticking with AAR, just adding Abeka. It is definitely hard to make the decision to switch, but both times my reason for switching was bigger than for staying and my kids have really benefited. Hope that helps!
Hi! Thanks for sharing all these resources they are very helpful. I was wondering how come you stopped using LOE. I’m having such a hard time deciding between LOE, AAR and Abeka.
Hi! At the time we stopped using LOE it was just moving too fast for my son and it didn't have enough review built in! I think it is a great program, it probably depends mostly on how confident you are in teaching (i.e. can you stop and redo things or present it in a different way if you child needs it), as well as you kiddos. Really I think all 3 programs are excellent, just for different reasons :)
Thank you for this video!! I used Abeka with my first daughter so I have the manuals but I thought that maybe my son would be missing out on something great if I didn’t do AAR. I need lessons to be quick and simple so I think I will stick with Abeka and perhaps add in AAR later. At what grade do you add in AAR? He will be starting K5 this year, should I wait to add AAR until he’s in Abeka 1st grade?
We did K5 with my daughter this past year as well as AAR level 1 ... I found them to be very complementary!
Thank you for making this video! We just finished AAR level 1. The progression was slow and I didn't know that when I bought it. I am thinking about switching to Abeka grade 1 next year. I would only like to use their reading and phonics. What would I need to purchase from Abeka in only using their phonics and reading- which charts, cards, etc? I would be overwhelmed using both AAR and Abeka. Do you think using Abeka alone is sufficient? Thanks for your help!
Hi! Yes, I would say Abeka alone is sufficient, that is my plan for next year for my daughter. I really liked the teachers guide, workbook, as well as the phonics charts, basic phonics flashcards and the clue word cards ... those were the things I used the most!
@@sciencemama Thank you'
i didn't catch which levels you combined... my girls are starting AAR2 and i was considering abeka.. but im not sure which grade to get that would work well with AAR level 2
Hi! I'm combining AAR2 with Abeka 1 and AAR1 with Abeka K5 :)
Thank you for this video. I totally agree with your pros and cons of these two programs. Could you tell me, in more detail, how you use both programs? Do you pair certain lessons together?
Hi! We focused on following the Abeka sequence and using AAR to supplement and review because it progresses at a slower pace.
I am so happy I watched this video, I am currently searching for next years picks for 1st grade. We are completing K5 this year and I was curious did or do you incorporate the abeka readers or do you just use AAR readers?
I use both ... mostly Abeka readers, but on our 1 day per week of AAR, we do the assigned reader that day :)
This is very interesting! I love it! By using Abeka 3 days and All About Reading 1 day, will you get through the levels completely in one school year?
We should be able to ... mainly because I do 2 lessons of AAR on our 1 day per week (there is only about 50-60 lessons per level). As for Abeka, we skip the assessment days and sometimes combine lessons if they seem short or is a concept that my kids understand from AAR. Hope that makes sense :)
I have taught 3 of my kids how to read with AAR but for the one I’m teaching right now I’m going to be mixing it up with Abeka. I love the reasons you are combining them. I have an 8 year old son (just turned 8) about 1/2 way though AAR2, for that level do you think I should get Abeka 1 or 2?
He’s reading pretty well but I feel like he lacked the review he needs. He has had no grammar instruction, no cursive and he just finished AAS 1. I have looked at the samples for both and it seems he falls about the second half of grade 1 but I’m not sure if it would be worth it to just do the entire grade just to cover all basis.
What would you suggest? Btw, we also use Sonlight!
My son was almost 8 when we switched him to Abeka 1 supplements with AAR2. I would say Abeka 1 is the meat of the phonics instruction ... and it would probably be a good place to start. You could always skip some lessons or double up and hit the high points, but I have really seen so much growth in him with Abeka 1. Good luck!
I’ve done a ton of reading and research on these two programs. I thought I had decided on Abeka, but it seemed like there was a lot of flash card work. Knowing my daughter, I wondered if she’d dislike this approach… so I purchased AAR1. But after reading through the instructions guide, AAR looks to me like it’s just lists of words that you get kids to read in various way… and like you’d have to work pretty hard to make it engaging.
So I’m back to thinking about Abeka… and my question is… how much daily work revolves around flashcard work?
Yes, there are a lot of flashcards ... but, there are other things too like charts and clue word cards. So, in my opinion it takes the same information and uses a few different methods, which helps keep it more interesting!
Thank you so much for all this information! Your videos are extremely helpful since we’re homeschooling in preschool now and potentially kinder after that. Do you need all the materials from AAR to utilize it in this capacity?
It depends on which program you plan on using as your primary program. If you do like we did and use Abeka and supplement with AAR, than all I really used was the teachers guide and readers!
So you are using Abeka, AAR, and Sonlight Language Arts all at the same time? I'm asking because this year (kindergarten) I purchased AAR pre-reading and the Sonlight H/B/L - K (skipping the language arts curriculum). I'm wondering if I should go ahead and do AAR and Sonlight's LA program - but I'm concerned it would be overwhelming. Thoughts?
Currently I'm using Abeka and AAR ... but I'm thinking of switching to Abeka and Sonlight, at least for my 3rd grader who is reading really well now!
What would you suggest for someone who is 1/4 through AAR and feels the slowness of it and wants to move forward more quickly with Abeka? How and what would you add in?
Thank you for this!
Hi! I would definitely add the Abeka workbooks ... which include some of the teaching (like the one-vowel and two vowel rules) on the workbook pages. Then I have found the special sounds resources to be helpful, but those might not work if you weren't planning on also picking up the lesson plans?
We are currently having the exact same issues with AAR. My 7 year old just hit the blend lessons in AAR1 and it's been a struggle. I just ordered Abeka K5 and plan to try both as well. When you started incorporating Abeka K5, did you start at the beginning or were you able to skip some of the lessons?
Hi! We skipped the first half because it was teaching the alphabet sounds … we started around the point where it was teaching the one vowel rule. That was also the point we’re the readers started so it was perfect for what we needed!
We struggled with AAR 1 for the same reasons at the beginning of the year then switched to Abeka K5. Around lesson 40 we stopped using it because I got really overwhelmed and burnt out with all the letter/picture/vowel cards the program used. Do you have any tips to help? At that point we were able to jump into Logic of English A (it seems to work better for my daughter than AAR for now), but if we hit a snag I'd like to fill in with Abeka.
I can see how the beginning of Abeka K5 can be a bit overwhelming with all the letter cards ... but I have really liked the second part which would probably be more similar to the end of LOE A as well as LOE B! The second half of K5 has focused more on the silent E as well as special sounds. I have a video coming out tomorrow all about Abeka!
@@sciencemama that's great to hear, thank you! I am really looking forward to your Abeka video tomorrow!
I'm back again with another question :)! We added Abeka K5 to LOE Foundations A last month and love it! We finished A and went on to B after Christmas break and it is just too advanced or moving too fast with not enough review. The 1st 3 lessons covered sh, th (both sounds), and open syllables making long vowel sounds. I had AAR 1 on hand because we tried it before LOE and it is going well except for the Fluency Sheets. We absolutely loathe them! I am actually considering going back to LOE because of them! However, long term I think AAR is a better fit. Do you have any advice for dealing with the Fluency Sheets? I've been cutting them up and making it into a game, but I'm not very creative and that's getting exhausting, especially after using LOE which included the games and ideas. Maybe we should use Abeka solely for a few weeks/months then hop back into AAR? Thank you!
Hey, Angie! How is this going? Are you still combining?
Yes! I don't think I will keep combining for my 3rd grader because he just took off with his reading, but I'm planning on using AAR2 + Abeka1 with my 2nd grader next year :)
Are you doing all about reading level 1 with Abeka k5? I’m really looking into doing this next year for my student.
Yes, we have done AAR1 with Abeka K5 and AAR2 with Abeka Grade 1 ... but at this point I am not combining, I'm just doing Abeka Grade 1 with my 7.5 year old.
How long does it take you to do a lesson with Abeka? I have never used it before but I have used AAR 4 times thru.
Abeka is honestly pretty fast - I'd say about 15 minutes for the parent, then extra for the worksheets!
Could you possibly add a link for the Abeka you are using, please?
Interested in this also.
I have a video coming out tomorrow!! Let me know if you have any questions afterwards :)
So if I get this for my second grader can you tell me exactly what to order so I make sure to get everything you have? Do you also add in the HBL from sonlight bc I saw another video that you love that and are using that. So I was planning on getting that and I’ve already purchased Singapore primary for math. Is there anything else I should add in? We did tgatb mid year last year and she wasn’t very engaged. (I started homeschooling in Feb last year so I’m still very new).
Hi! I saw your other comment on the Abeka video. I would recommend picking either AAR or Abeka ... it just depends on your kiddo. If she is struggling a bit, then I would recommend AAR, it really goes at a slower pace and teaches the phonics a bit deeper than Abeka. Abeka is great for kiddos that have a bit of phonemic awareness and want to start reading as quickly as possible. As for Sonlight ... yes, we love the HBL!
You would just need the Singapore, Phonics (AAR or Abeka), handwriting, and Sonlight HBL (since that covers your history, bible and read alouds). For a 1st/2nd grader, I would prioritize the phonics, handwriting, and math ... and then do your best with the rest. Good luck, you can do it!!
@@sciencemama thank you
What about spelling you see? Do you have videos on that?
We have never tried spelling you see. I do like All About Spelling!
Hi, I like AAR but I'm not too crazy over their readers. May I use their curriculum while using abeka readers? Thanks!
Hi! We prioritized the Abel’s readers over AAR but they really follow the Abeka program, so if you aren’t using it, they might be a bit tougher than what AAR is teaching.
I bought Abeka K5 handbook for reading, their workbook, & their readers. I also bought AAR but not their books. Do you think it'd be okay to do abeka 3 days a week and AAR 2 days a week but skipping the lessons with thier readers?
Did you go on to use All About Reading Level 3 at all?
No, we never did! With the combination of AAR Level 2 and Abeka my son is reading really well!
There is no way I can afford both curriculum. Which would you go with if you had to choose?
Abeka!
@@sciencemama thanks!