As part of the Old Schoolhouse Magazine’s Review Crew, I’ve been working on a review with Spelling You See‘s Level A:Listen and Write with Ruby for the past few months. She’s doing kindergarten work this year in our homeschool, and this was right up her alley. As the only “student” who didn’t have spelling – because when you are learning to read, spelling is somewhat irrelevant – she was feeling a bit left out. Spelling You See to the rescue…
From the makers of Math-U-See and Demme Learning, Spelling You See is has been thrilling for Ruby. The hesitant reader, copying down the words and letters and sounding out short words has been a perfect fit for where she’s at, and has provided a stress-free introduction into the world of spelling. No tests (and while she would have loved them, that would have been overwhelming, I think) and one short page to work on each day, Ruby had a great time with the curriculum and was thrilled to add this to her school day. (Yes, thrilled. No exaggeration.)
Listen and Write is a workbook and teacher’s guidebook 2-book set with 36 lessons, with worksheets A-E for each lesson. Ruby did one page per day, although she often begged for another worksheet. It didn’t require prep work from me (major bonus in this busy world with a brand new baby!) and was super easy to jump into with both feet right when we got our materials.
Spelling You See: All Levels
Currently, Spelling You See offers five levels, A-E. While this can be momentarily frustrating for me, new to the curriculum, I quickly saw how helpful it could be – it removes the competition between siblings who may or may not be at “grade level”. It’s worth having to figure it out, I’m thinking. Level A was perfect for the beginning reader that knows letter sounds, but didn’t require much beyond the ability to sound the letters out for short words. We have yet to hit any long vowels, even. It’s built confidence and excitement for school – much appreciated, with a kindergartner who frustrates easily and gives up even easier. She has yet to have tears over this book – something I can’t say about any other subject this year. That’s a major accomplishment! While it hasn’t provided any major challenges for Ruby at this level, building confidence is worth so much, so I’m very glad I started her right where I did.
Student Workbook
Spelling You See is based on the philosophy that “Research has shown that students spell correctly when words are imprinted on the visual memory. This happens with repeated reading and repeated writing.” With a first grader who has proven that (If you’ll recall, Sterling spelled ‘pass’ ‘pas’ after seeing it – and entirely different word, but spelled ‘pas’ – in French.) I’m convinced Spelling You See is on the right track in their approach. While time will tell with Ruby as her spelling abilities improve, she’s off to a fun, frustration-free start.
Instructor’s Handbook
Spelling You See Listen and Write is $20 for Student Pack, and the Instructor’s Handbook is $14. Both can be purchased on the Spelling You See website.
To read the reviews of fellow Crew members on this level and all other levels offered from Spelling You See, head on over to the Review Crew Blog.
