Phonics, Spelling, Reading and Phonemic Awareness

Let's chat about teaching our kids phonics, spelling, reading, and phonemic awareness. I'm also sharing my favorite homeschool curriculums for spelling and reading.
Spell to Write and Read
swrtraining.com/
Logic of English
bit.ly/3gaHktp
All About Learning
bit.ly/30Vqbxj
All About Reading: Pre-reading
bit.ly/2X7IsX5
Orton-Gillingham Approach
bit.ly/2CZZShr
(Some links are affiliate links.)
SHOP MY STORE
www.janelleknutson.com/shop/
CHECK OUT MY COURSES FOR HOMESCHOOL MOMS
janelle-knutson.teachable.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER
www.janelleknutson.com/subscribe/
FIND ME HERE
Website/Blog
www.janelleknutson.com/
Instagram
/ janelleknutson
Facebook Page
/ janelleknutsondotcom
Facebook Homeschool Encouragement Group
/ 1731743443737246
KZbin Channel
/ janelleknutson

[@kindlykarene]

I used SWR with my oldest (who is 15 now) but sold it several years ago during a time when my boys were attending a small local Christian school. I started Foundations with my youngest (just turned 6) last year and we are loving it! We are on level B now.

[@yelortiz]

It’s so good to see you! Thank you for this information. Blessings to you and your family ❤️

[@frankkrauss330]

Thank you for always helping out homeschool moms! Such a helpful video showing different curriculum!

[@organizedchaoslife]

Thanks so much Janelle! This was super helpful. This being our first year homeschooling our oldest in kinder, we found All About Reading and have loved it! I went ahead and just purchased the AAR pre-reading for my 2nd who will do pre-k next year. I wasn't sure if it would be worth the investment, but your explanation reassured me. I may even do it together with my 1st grader next year. Also currently looking into AAS and Spell to Write and Read for a spelling curriculum. Though now understanding that SWR is also for reading, I may just stick with AAR and AAS. We love the kinesthetic activities with AAR. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience. It is so appreciated!

[@kimthulin7296]

Thank you for this great video. I noticed these gabs with my 1st grader who is struggling to read.

[@Dreblueskies]

Thank you for this video. I appreciate your recommendations. 🙌 Would you do a flip through of all these?

[@SpanishAcademyTV]

Not so many people explain this as easily as you did! I'm loving it

[@BenjesBride]

Spell to Write and Read phonogram flashcards created a fantastic foundation for my kids' reading and spelling.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Love my SWR phonogram cards. :)

[@MusingsofFamily]

I used Foundations with my oldest and am getting ready to begin Level A with my upcoming kindergartner. It's a really fun program. Great video!

[@lauracooper1054]

I love your videos! I am looking into preschool curriculum for our 3 and 5 year old. There's so much to choose from. What is your favorite or what would you recommend?

[@JanelleKnutson]

I have lots of information and suggestions for preschool on my blog. This post has links to everything plus my preschool curriculum choices: www.janelleknutson.com/2020/05/18/preschool-curriculum-choices/

[@robdebl2414]

Thank you for all your videos!! I appreciate you taking the time to make them! We have five kids, four of which are in school and we're trying to figure out what the most affordable curriculum would be for us to try to use in the event that school isn't happening this year. My first choice would be to use Bob Jones but we can't afford that so I was wondering what you would recommend as a good affordable curriculum? We have used heart of Dakota and my father's world and I like them both but wasn't sure if there was a better option in your opinion? Thank you! :-)

[@JanelleKnutson]

My Father's World is excellent. If you have used it and enjoyed it then stick with it. And it is definitely more affordable.

[@robdebl2414]

@@JanelleKnutson Thank you so much! I have one more question for you. do you think it would be worth it for me to try to get the BJU press curriculum used instead of going with something else? I don't know much about the my father's world curriculum because we only used it for kindergarten because it was given to us so I used that for three of my kids for kindergarten and then we did heart of Dakota for 1st- 3rd grade.

[@LuckyLoveIn]

I am using SWR this year and have in years past. I love this program and I feel like their method is superior to anything else I have tried so far. It really is phenomenal! However, the amount of work involved for the teacher is a lot! Also my kids seem to bulk and complain when the lessons seem long for a particular day. Would you know of a spelling curriculum that is more independent but follows the same phonics style as SWR?

[@JanelleKnutson]

Story Time at Tea Time Logic of English is the closest to SWR that I’ve found but it does add a few more sounds to some of the phonograms which then alters a few of the rules. It is not something kids can do independently but it is more open and go for the teacher/parent. SWR is still my favorite but I am using LOE with my younger one because it is more engaging for him.

[@allisonhamlin6535]

Thanks so much for these videos!!! I have a 4th grader who reads pretty well but very weak speller. Which curriculum would you recommend to review with? I feel like he is missing some basics in phonetics.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Any of the three I mentioned would work for improving spelling.

[@beatrizramos1177]

Hello, thank you very much for sharing so much information that is very useful to us. Next course will be our first time educating at home and I wanted to use Bju. What do you think of this curriculum? And of your reading program for children who are struggling to read ?Thank you in advance 😊

[@JanelleKnutson]

I love BJU Press curriculum and we have used it for several years for many of our subjects. That being said, I think one of the curriculums I mentioned in this video would be better for a struggling reader. You might want to use BJU Press for most of your subjects and then use something else for reading/spelling/phonics. All About Reading worked really well for my struggling reader. I shared more about that in this blog post: www.janelleknutson.com/2020/07/31/all-about-reading-is-helping-my-child-overcome-reading-challenges/

[@beatrizramos1177]

@@JanelleKnutson Thank you very much for answering me and for the advice.I appreciate it very much.God bless you and your family.

[@biblebaptist1611]

Have you ever combined the use of SWR and AAR? If so how did you do it? I see pros to both programs.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Yes! I used SWR with a child while also doing AAR for extra reading instruction. I did cut out a lot of SWR activities so that the work load wasn't too much for the child. They worked great together!

[@rogirl00]

Have you used the Foundations Video? I am looking into it since English is not my primary language so, I don't event know how to teach it correctly. So, I found out that Foundations has the video lessons, are they good? I will be involved of course in teaching the curriculum but I feel the need for my daughter to hear the correct sounds from a teacher. Thanks

[@JanelleKnutson]

I saw that they came out with videos but I have not used them so can't say if they'd be helpful or not.

[@jens5115]

I was watching your videos on phonics last night and googling AAR prereading, so this is a welcome video! I'm almost certain you covered this in another video, but I can't find it. When teaching a very young child their letters, do you say this is letter A and then make its short sound or all of its sounds, etc? Or how did you go about that? Also, what is the younger age range for AAR prereading? Thanks!

[@mamabenzing5872]

You teach all the sounds of the letters, in order of most frequent sound to the least frequent sound. Like A would be short a, long a, and a as in paw.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Just like Homeschool Mama of 12 said, I teach all the sounds the letter makes from most frequent to least frequent. I tweak AAR Pre-reading a bit because it only teaches the first sound for each letter and I like to teach all the sounds at once.

[@ivelissebouet9563]

Hello 🙋🏽‍♀️ We are a bilingual homeschool family. I bought spell to write and read and I was planning to buy the Logic of English to use it both. Is SWR and Logic of English the same type of curriculum? I greatly appreciate your response in advance.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Yes, SWR and LOE are very similar. They have a few different rules and phonetic sounds for letters but otherwise they are almost identical in their method.

[@acvmomma7050]

Have you ever looked at The Phonics Road to Writing and Reading? I was heavily considering SWR but now looking at The Phonics Road. Would love your input! My son is 7 and is reading at a 3rd /4th grade reading level but does not know all of the phonograms & spelling rules, which I want him to know. Thank you!

[@JanelleKnutson]

I haven't used that one before. Sounds like your son is doing great with his reading! I'm sure any phonics program would work for your son.

[@KS-cl8br]

No but used a different program as a kid. Was strong reader but behind at spelling. Have kid write IEW is great. Also have kid write summaries (few sentences a paragraph on what the read wrt nonfiction). Keep a list of words spelled wrong and spell it out verbally repeatedly. Check out Andrew Pudua's spelling video and program. You could also look at Spelling You See (It looks good but I don't have direct experience with it).

[@ShawnaAakre]

I am curious to know what you would recommend for language arts after Logic of English Foundations levels a-d?

[@JanelleKnutson]

We are working through All About Spelling for spelling and BJU English for writing and grammar. BJU Reading is excellent but this year we did read alouds that fit in with our history lessons.

[@GabrielleGeorge]

What are your thoughts on Abeka reading program?

[@JanelleKnutson]

Abeka's phonics is a good choice. It does not follow the Orton-Gillingham approach but it is similar enough that I'd recommend it as a good option especially if you are already using other Abeka curriculum.

[@sddfiddler15]

Please, please help! We started All about reading level 1 for my 5 yr old kindergarten. She is so bored and we are both getting frustrated. She is definitely pre-reading, should I stick with AAR and get pre-reading level or is there another curriculum that would be better for my visual kinesthetic learner. FYI we are doing BJU math and she loves it!!! Masterbooks science, Abeka Bible. Just struggling with this reading. Also and good writing programs for kindergarten you'd suggest? Thanks!!!

[@JanelleKnutson]

When you say she is bored, do you mean it is too easy for her or that she is struggling and getting frustrated and tuning out of the lessons? Remember that with homeschooling, you can alter the pace that you move through the curriculum. Speed up if she is is bored because it is too easy and slow down if she is struggling. You can definitely slow down the pace of AAR if needed. I'm assuming that you are asking about handwriting curriculum for a 5 year old. Handwriting Without Tears is a good option. Keep in mind that many young ones do better learning handwriting with large motor skills such writing larger on a white board, in a salt box, with fingerpaint, etc. Another option is switching to the Logic of English. It is a more suited for a kinesthetic learner and handwriting is included in the curriculum. You can check it out here: bit.ly/3jihcgI

[@danielagutierrez236]

Hello, I been fallowing your videos and they been so helpful and help me feel less stressed lol. This will be my second year homeschooling. I started with my now 5th grader and I am adding my 1st grader this year, I also have a 3yr old who I will be homeschooling as well. I get very overwhelmed easy, I give my whole and want to make sure they are learning what they are supposed to be learning. I have a lot to learn. I want to get your advice or opinion about Primary Arts of Language. I was advised that it would be a great curriculum to use for my first grader. My 5th grader takes a writing class IEW and I guess it would make sense to get my 1st grader go into that direction. I am having double thoughts because it looks like an amazing curriculum but I don't want her to have a bad experience on homeschooling with this curriculum. I love the all about reading and spelling and I know they all about spelling is part of the package I'm getting with Primary Arts of Language. I just not sure if I made the right decision on going with that curriculum or if I should of just bought the all about. Have you work with Primary Arts of Language before? Maybe you could advise me. Thank you!!

[@JanelleKnutson]

I have not used Primary Arts of Language so can't advice you on that. I will say to keep 1st grade short and simple. Focus on math and language skills (phonics, reading, handwriting and spelling) and don't stress about the rest.

[@danielagutierrez236]

@@JanelleKnutson thank you!! That how I am feeling the more I look into it. I really like all about reading and all about spelling so I might go that route!! Thank you

[@Viviana315]

Hi! What do you use for reading comprehension?

[@JanelleKnutson]

I've used several different things for reading comprehension. Logic of English: Foundations has reading comprehension incorporated into the lessons once your child starts reading. Spell to Write and Read recommends using McCall Crabbs reading which I used for many years. I have also used Abeka's Reading Comprehension workbooks. BJU Press reading curriculum has reading comprehension as well. Those are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. Hope that helps.

[@MichelleL83]

Would Spell to Read and Write work well for a boy who is quite active? My son is 8 and is at the beginning reader level. He has struggled to learn and has apprehension about lessons now. We enjoyed AAR - pre Reader, but then we tried right-brain learning. That was helpful, but now he "hates" those activities. I was ready to buy AAR1 today, then saw your video. Just trying to make good choices. 🤔

[@JanelleKnutson]

Since you are already familiar with AAR that might be a good option to stick with. But I'd also suggest looking into Logic of English. The Foundations level has a lot of physical activities incorporated into the lessons.

[@MichelleL83]

@@JanelleKnutson, thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience with us. I value your ministry and pray that you and your family are blessed through the trials.

[@kimberlygoudzwaard2811]

I’m also curious on your thoughts about abeka, as someone mentioned below. I’m using their k5 for my oldest. He is highly visual and likes worksheets which is a few reasons why I picked it. But wondering if I should have a “backup” option/ideas to use if we get through the year and he’s struggling. He is about to turn 6yrs. Great video! My neighbor highly recommends spell to read and write.

[@JanelleKnutson]

Abeka does not follow the Orton-Gillingham approach but it does have some similar ideas on teaching phonics so I do recommend it especially for families already using Abeka for other subjects.