Table of Contents- Section Links
Are you looking for a wonderful reading program to get your toddler/preschooler started? I have a great recommendation for you! Later in this post, I will also detail what I personally did for my youngest daughter in her Pre-K4 and Kindergarten years (after learning some things with my oldest daughter the first go around!).--- Feel free to copy me 😉! Just here for the answer to the question above?...you can skip ahead HERE.
First, the curriculum we love: All About Reading (AAR)! This was recommended to me by one of my trusted homeschooling friends. I am so glad I listened to her advice to look into it, and I only wish I had embraced it sooner. We tried other things for reading initially with my oldest (Reading Eggs, Easy Peasy All in One, Sight Words, etc.). I even tried using All About Spelling to teach reading 🤦(another stellar program by All About Learning Press btw, just not for reading skills, it is excellent for Spelling though, go figure 😏). I'll admit at the time I thought phonics is phonics whether presented for spelling or reading, but turns out Encoding Skills taught in spelling are very different than Decoding Skills taught in reading. All that to say: what we were doing wasn't working for her. Once we made the switch to AAR, I saw lightbulb moments one after the other for her. She just wrapped up 3rd-grade and is almost done with AAR Level 4, and she can read almost anything I put in front of her!
If you are considering using All About Reading (AAR), first, I highly recommend joining a couple Facebook groups that have been so very valuable to me. They provide so much guidance, support, and one in particular has great deals on used curriculum (another benefit of using this curriculum= amazing resale value!). Here are links to the 2 Facebook Groups I love:
All About Reading & All About Spelling Support Group (So many questions are answered on this page.. tip use the search tool once added to the group and search any question you have...it probably has been asked before 😁).
All About Reading & Spelling Resale/Discussion ONLY (Find great deals on full levels or pieces you may be missing...perk of buying the activity books used= most are already prepped and ready to use!)
[Small post interruption: Already in the midst of teaching All About Reading and/or All About Spelling (or have plans to use AAR or AAS) & Need a Helpful Digital "Movable Magnetic" ABC & Phonograms tool? > > > See This Awesome Resource! > > >
Now back to the post...
Q: Do you need the All About Reading Pre-reading program?
A: On the AAR groups I am a part of there are mixed reviews about the Pre-Reading program All About Reading offers. Some love it, and many others say it is not necessary. While I haven’t used it or even flipped through the material, based on LOTS of research (and my frugal mindset), I opted to not use it. Why? Because I felt comfortable and confident in providing the basics it covered (plus saving money is always my goal 😁). And I will tell you all about what I did instead a little further down👇 (Bonus: it's all free). You can click here to see All About Learning Press's explanation of what it covers, and you will also see the cost involved in going that route (The Scope and Sequence which you can download is especially helpful in seeing exactly what is covered).
Now, to detail what I did for my youngest daughter for her Pre-K4 and Kindergarten years for the all important Subject of Reading.
Here I list some goals I set for reading for each school year, with the main objective being to ready her for All About Reading Level 1.
PRE-K4- GOALS FOR THE YEAR- READING PREP
Teach Phonograms 1-26 (letters)- 1st sound of each letter (use the free Phonograms Sounds App from All About Learning Press available HERE). NOTE: This step of actually teaching the phonogram sound may be unnecessary since I found out later these things are done in AAR Level 1 too, BUT I actually would do it again the same way, and plan to do so with my son, because it made it painless to ease into Level 1 for us. So, mastery of every 1st sound may not be necessary to move on if you do incorporate learning the phonogram sounds. Want to know what a phonogram is exactly? See All About Learning Press's Video explanation HERE
Use the above in conjunction with Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool “Getting-Ready-1” (Free lessons that go over identifying each letter in the alphabet and has optional activities for each letter). Link HERE. NOTE: I went at my child’s pace, I didn’t go by the day schedule laid out on Easy Peasy– she was at the level where we could go over 2-3 letters each week for both learning the Phonogram (mentioned in the first bullet) and identifying letters on Easy Peasy.
P.S.- If you plan on incorporating links shared that use Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool website, I highly recommend bookmarking the pages---navigating their website can be cumbersome sometimes!
Other goals in line with the things mentioned above:
I.D. all Upper and Lower Case letters
Know Vowels
Introduction to Rhyme
Handwriting Letter Practice– can find loads of free sheets to print online, or use the plentiful workbooks geared to PreK and Kinder ages (think dollar store, half price books, etc.).
That’s it for PreK4 reading prep! And…I found it was a great foundation for her to be ready for the Kindergarten work we had in store (up next)...
KINDERGARTEN- GOALS FOR THE YEAR- READING PREP- BEGINNING OF THE YEAR BEFORE AAR1:
Review and master letter I.D. and 1st phonogram sound for all 26 letters as needed (AAR Phonograms Sound App etc. from PreK4).
Practice rhyming words (can include nonsense words). Great FREE rhyming resources from All About Learning Press HERE
We used the “Get out of the Wagon” activity and my girl loved it!
Practice Word Boundaries (i.e. separate sentences in word pieces: “I love pizza” = 3 words, etc.)
Clap syllables….another great FREE resource from All About Learning Press HERE
We loved the monkeys!
Blend sound by diction (i.e. sh…eep= “sheep”---said orally).
Practice 2 Letter Consonant Blends. We chose to use up to only LESSON 20 on EasyPeasyPhonics on the Easy Peasy All in One Homeschool website linked HERE. Lessons 1-20 worked up to vowels and blending 2 letters. Again, going at her pace, not the day suggestions (she went through fairly quickly and we moved on as I saw mastery).
Finally, START LEVEL 1 OF ALL ABOUT READING!
The steps above are exactly what I did, and I was very pleased with how these steps prepared my girl for starting All About Reading Level 1. There are many ways in which to prepare for reading, and lots of options out there...I hope this post provides you with a little (or a lot) of guidance and help on your journey.
What do you plan to use to Teach Reading? Are you an AAR user that has advice for others new to the program? Questions? Comment below!
P.S. I also recommend using All About Reading's Free Placement test they provide HERE Who knows? Your child may be ready for an upper level based on previously learned skills 😊.
Continue Reading: A Couple Related Blog Post...
Thank you for the helpful information! I am always trying to save too!