Is All About Reading “Enough”?
Heads up: This post contains affiliate links. That just means, if you use one of my links to a product, I may earn a commission on that purchase, but it won’t cost you any extra money. Learn more.
All About Reading is about Phonics
I am a huge fan of the All About Reading series from All About Learning Press. My oldest child started in the Pre-Reading program and is now in level 3. I am now doing their Pre-Reading level with my second child. See my full review of AAR here.
Many parents online mention that AAR is not a complete Language Arts curriculum. And, I agree. It is predominantly a PHONICS curriculum -- and in my opinion, an excellent one. But, in order to round out our kids' education, most parents want to include a few other components to this. We could go down a rabbit-hole of "what all is included in language arts education" but sticking with the basics, here are my recommendations...
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is actually built into the AAR program. If you read the notes & apply their suggestions, your child will cover a wide range of reading comprehension skills. These skills are often embedded in the readers provided with the curriculum. Remember…even though they aren't filling out worksheets, your kids are learning - and probably much more quickly than their classroom-educated peers because they are getting one-on-one coaching from you!! (Sure, they probably need to learn how to read a passage and answer questions…but in the early years of elementary that may not be necessary.) AAR encourages parents to read 20 minutes a day outside of the time you spend doing AAR. They often include suggested questions or reading skills to discuss.
Daily Reading Practice by Judith Holbrook
If you REALLY want to use something separate - but very quick and easy to implement alongside AAR - check out “Daily Reading Practice” by Judith Holbrook. You can purchase it from various sites, including christianbook.com and rainbowresource.com. There is a VERY brief activity each day of the week for 30 weeks, and throughout each level the student covers a wide range of reading skills.
Handwriting
Depending on the age of your child, you may wish to have them do a handwriting curriculum. AAR does not include any handwriting within it, however you could always use the word lists to create a handwriting practice list for your student.
And…there are many excellent handwriting curricula out there that can be purchased from websites like christianbook.com or rainbowresource.com, or you can even find free resources for handwriting by doing an internet search.
Grammar
AAR does not include Grammar (AKA “English” as I grew up calling it). Nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. are not covered here. However, I have found a program that jives nicely with AAR and fills that need.
First Language Lessons (from The Well-Trained Mind Press)
I used First Language Lessons Level 1 from Well-Trained Mind Press during Kindergarten and First grade and am continuing with level 2 in Second grade. It is fantastic, has fairly short lessons, and it is almost completely an oral program. So, my very beginner reader/writer wasn't being overwhelmed by too much additional writing throughout the day. Again, I spread this book over the course of two grades. It even includes poetry memorization!! So check off that speaking component.😉 (NOTE: You could even use this curriculum as your writing/handwriting curriculum if desired. I usually skip the writing assignment parts.) The only “con” some might consider is that it is parent-led. The kids can’t complete this on their own.
Spelling
All About Spelling (from All About Learning Press)
At some point your children will need to learn how to Spell. Go figure! 😉 All About Learning Press has a Spelling program that they recommend starting AFTER your child has completed book one. Listen to them!! This is totally fine - and much less frustrating if you wait. DON'T sweat the spelling right now!!! Seriously. Focus on helping your reader learn to READ before pressuring them to spell everything.
And even if you are starting a kid in a later level, consider getting going with the Reading curriculum before you try to add on Spelling. They are so inter-twined that an older kid is going to pick up spelling tips as they are learning phonics.
Written Work
Explode the Code
I like to include a written phonics component in my children’s reading curriculum. I chose to use the Explode the Code series of workbooks and correlate them to what they have studied in AAR. This has been a fantastic way to reinforce the phonics concepts my children already have learned, practice writing answers to questions, practice handwriting, and give them something to do independently.
I do not use ETC consistently. We have taken months off at a time before returning to it when I felt my kid was ready for more review. Again, I have used it primarily as a reinforcement of what they have ALREADY studied in AAR rather than to teach new concepts.
Explode the Code is a phonics curriculum in and of itself with teacher books to go with it. I have never used it like this nor do I own any of the teacher guides. However, I find that the ETC workbooks are a great way for my kids to start off the school day with some independent work while I am working with a sibling.
To read more about how I integrate this curriculum with All About Reading, check out this article.
In Summary
All About Reading is a phonics curriculum that includes comprehension and fluency elements. Their All About Spelling curriculum complements All About Reading, with the same game-based format that kids love. Although handwriting, grammar, and written work (like composition) are not “included,” you can easily find other solutions to fill these gaps. OR just consider letting your child focus on learning to read. Then, you can focus on writing and spelling later on.
Corresponding coloring sheets…
These coloring pages supplement your All About Reading Level 1 homeschool curriculum by providing a FUN and interactive way to practice the fluency sheets!! Rather than just read the list of words, use these pages to review words and phrases with your kiddo.
**This is a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD.** No physical product will be mailed to you.
𝟓𝟐 𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐃𝐅𝐬, 𝟖.𝟓” 𝐱 𝟏𝟏” (𝐔𝐒 𝐋𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫) 𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞
These coloring pages supplement your All About Reading Level 2 homeschool curriculum by providing a FUN and interactive way to practice the fluency sheets for each story!! Rather than just read the list of words, use these pages to review words and phrases with your kiddo.
This is a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. No physical product will be mailed to you.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐝-𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐀𝐑 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟑! Instead of reading the long fluency pages, just have your kid read a section of these coloring pages and then color that section! Turn the reading fluency sheets into a game!!
This is a 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐃. No physical product will be mailed to you.
25 pages of Digital PDFs, 8.5” x 11” (US Letter) size
These documents contain 25 pages of printable Fluency Practice COLORING SHEETS to supplement All About Reading Level 3. A coloring page is included for each story in Level 3, with words and phrases taken from the fluency Warm-Up Sheets for each story. This is an add-on item intended for use with All About Reading Level 3.
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐝-𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐀𝐑 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐮𝐦 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝟒! Instead of reading the long fluency pages, just have your kid read a section of these coloring pages and then color that section! Turn the reading fluency sheets into a game!!
**This is a 𝐃𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍𝐋𝐎𝐀𝐃.** No physical product will be mailed to you.
29 pages of Digital PDFs, 8.5” x 11” (US Letter) size
