Great overview! All 3 programs sound really solid. Logic of English has been a game changer for my struggling reader. I do find they throw in the option for review at the end of each lesson with a list of games and practice activities. But it is optional for the kids need the extra practice in memorizing the phonograms, and not drill and kill for the kids who pick it up quickly.
Thank you so much for doing this. And it totally made sense. It's funny, the syllabic way you described that Abeka teaches how to blend is very similar to how we are taught to read in spanish. MA-ME-MI-MO-MU, and like that with every consonant.
Thank you! I learned to read using Abeka (many years ago!) at a Christian School. This is helping me see that it's not just my personal use bias, but that it really is still a solid way to learn to read.
I am going to be starting LOE Foundations C with my first grader next week. We really enjoyed level A and B. One thing I did think during level A was that the expectation for kids to blend was rather fast. My daughter did just fine with it because she had been reading in Spanish since she was four years old and was already easily reading simple CVC words in English. I had taught her using the Montessori scope and sequence for reading, starting strictly with sound games long before I ever had her sounding out letter sounds. If we hadn't had that solid foundation thanks to Montessori, I think LOE could have been a struggle at the beginning. So for anyone wanting to do LOE, I love it and highly recommend. But I would suggest first playing sound games and teaching kids to really hear and isolate initial, ending, and middle sounds of words. I think that makes jumping into blending so much easier. I also had my daughter "write" with a moveable alphabet BEFORE reading, and that is also super helpful. I only taught her short vowel sounds and it really helped ease her into reading in English. And then I let LOE teach all those variations with short, long, broad, etc. It's a great program. But I think prepping the child ahead made it work better for us. I will be doing the same Montessori lessons with my 4 yr old twins this year. And then next year start LOE.
I have to agree with you, I did the same thing with my 1st daughter. We started with a different reading program before LOE so level A was very easy so "I kepy reminding her this is just a review, I know you already know this". Now with my 4 year old I try doing LOE Level A and it's to much for her. So I'm going to starting teaching her the sounds first and once she gets it then introduce her again with LOE.
100 Easy Lessons is not comprehensive, at the end you find out that there are gaps you are supposed to fill in yourself. I know it works for a lot of people, but I wish it had been explained to me that it doesn't teach the complete scope of information necessary to read fluently before I had spent a whole year on it with my kid. Now I'm looking for a whole new program to help us, which is super discouraging.
Very thorough! Thank you! You explained it so well. This is why I leaned towards a diy/ All About Reading style approach. I finally made the jump to actually purchase it because I could see the deep approach being helpful for my girl who may be struggling with dyslexia. I may be wrong, but I also appreciated connecting the sight words with the sounds they just learned and the rule breakers.
I used LOE for my son in Kinder-1st grade for A-C. By the time we got to D, he could read so it just kind of fell to the wayside. I keep it just in case we need to finish D but so far, so good. He’s 8 and has started reading chapter books independently. Logic of English was such a life saver bc it gave us exactly what my son needed- Logic and rules. It not only helped with his reading, but his spelling too. We went right into spelling bc of LOE and I realized that he needed a spelling program with the same type of logic and rules he needed for reading. Because of that, he is turning into an excellent speller and hasn’t struggled with reading since we found LOE. My daughter is in PreK and I have been priming her to read with LOE since she turned 3 by teaching her the phonetic sounds. My hope is she will be able to fly through level A and B and start C in kindergarten since she seems intuitive about letters/learning and I’m familiar with the program already. I watched this video bc I was considering whether or not All About Reading might be a better option for her, but your video really helped clarify some things since I have never used AAR and refresh my memory on LOE. I plan to stay with LOE. Thank you so much!
Last year, you talked about the way abeka did the initial blends and it helped us so much. My daughter jsut could not put them together with AAR (i seriously dont know if we would have made it past that lesson lol) and just teaching her them as one sound helped immensely! We got AAR again for this year because it worked but as soon as I brought it out my daughter got a huge attitude and said "not this again". We went ahead and downloaded the new The Good and the Beautiful to try out since it was free. She is loving the phonics booster cards already and I like that the concepts are spiraled through for review in the main course. I've had so much anxiety over it all, but I try to remind myself, if it doesn't work we just find something else. I can always fill in "gaps" with AAR.
I was considering LOE a couple of years ago and stumbled upon your review videos and thus channel as a result. LOE worked brilliantly with my son. He was READY and worked through four levels in a single year. It was an amazing fit for both of us- he is a strong reader as a result! I am so thankful for finding your videos/LOE. My next kiddo has been asking to start level A for a year. He’s four now so we will dip our toes in slowly. I know given his personality it will be a bit of a different experience. We will see :)
Great review of three great programs! Thank you for sharing this. We are team Abeka here haha☺️ We've been using their Arithmetic, Spelling, Writing, and Language for Pr-ek, Kinder, and 1st grade this year. The improvement is just so apparent, so I won't be changing it any time soon. We definitely tailor the lessons and amount that we do, so that it's not too overwhelming and actually quite enjoyable. We definitely still hit all the important topics this way. We pull out what we need from our workbooks weekly into a binder, and add learning word/math games to our lessons to enrich lessond. I think that's the secret to making it work. We also try to buy as many Abeka "parts" second hand, so we are only spending half the price for the lessons. We are still very eclectic though, our History and Science this year is from Masterbooks, and we use something else for catechism/bible. And lots and lots of library books, preferably "living books", on all topics.
So useful even years later!! Thanks for doing this. I have been debating all 3. I have LOE A, we are currently using AAR pre-reading, but I am heavily thinking of Abeka K4 or K5 (not sure which level to start). I like the detailed comparisons between them all, especially from someone who has experience using them.
It seems like you mastered the three. I used LOE with many kids and found myself doing too much work to write exercises and finally had a complete workbook.
Hands down the best is Abeka phonics in my opinion. I have used it for both my sons st 5 years old and it is amazing how quickly they learned to read! It works!
We did logic of English a and B and then straight into a back a grade one for phonics. I really liked using logic of English for the basic sonograms before teaching any actual reading, it’s just a better overall foundation because they introduced all the sounds and additional sonograms that other programs wait for
We are nearing the end of AAR level 1. We have liked it, and I'm happy enough to keep using it. (Though, sometimes I wish there were not so many different physical components to it!) I went to buy the next All About Reading level, so I could have it prepped...but it is just SOOOO expensive. So I'm looking into some more alternative options. Also, with how expensive it it, I am flabbergasted ath the fact that you have to tear apart all the flash cards and everything. Maybe that's me being picky, but I couldn't believe all the work I had to do after spending that amount of money on something!
It is expense! But I do like that it is completely re-usable for other kiddos, it's nice not to have to pick up student workbooks!! I hope you find what you need!
Thank you so much for this thorough review. We were between Abeka, LOE, and LLATL. We currently use TGATB. I like it, but their LA feels too "fluffy" for my mathematical/logical learner. I also realized I'm not a fan of memorizing sight words as a method of teaching. You've sold me on LOE for my oldest. Thanks again!
Very helpful! Thank you for this! We have been doing LOE (A & B) for the last two years. I’ve really enjoyed it and also have learned a lot along with my son. You’re right that the lessons are packed but they are engaging which has been helpful for my squirmy boy! I can’t remember if you mentioned it or not but have you tried level C yet? I’m trying to decide if I want to continue using this curriculum or switch to something else. I just want to make sure I’m teaching him everything he needs to know for his grade level. 😅
This was excellent. We have dyslexia in our house, and LOE moved too quickly towards assuming fluency. We now use AAR. I find both programs do not have enough word review for the amount of repetition needed for those who struggle with working memory.
I have dyslexia in my house too and using AAR and it seems to be very slow progress (up to 4 days for a lesson in level 2 working for 20 mins a day) and can’t keep up with learning all the word cards. Do you have any tips? I’m feeling very unsure if this program is actually ‘working’ or helping my child or if I should be exploring other options.
Consider eye therapy. My son took a whole week to get through a lesson for AAR. A year after eye therapy, it now takes him 15-20 mins to complete a lesson. We tend to do 3 lessons a week now which feels crazy to say considering how slow progress use to be. I appreciate how explicit AAR is. Just finished level 2 and he’s 9.5, if that helps.
I have tried to use LOE but I prefer AAR better… the teachers manual is so easy to follow the instructions: my daughter loves the Reader Book and the games, which are WAY more simple and fun the the games from LOE.
Thank you for letting me know. My son is 7 years old and autistic I want to make sure it is not too hard for him. HOw old is your child that is using the AAR? ty
I know you’re technically starting from scratch with your twins, but if you knew what you knew now (as a teacher), would you have started your first child out with Abeka or would you have gone with your original choices and just modified them as needed?
That is a hard question because I can really get behind how Logic of English teaches. I feel like if my kids weren't quite so close in age and if the it was just one and not two - I think I would give Logic of English another try. But, I have realized my bandwidth and know that I can't take on too much and it is just simpler to stay with the same program for all the kids. Although, I would consider it if one of the twins starts struggling with Abeka.
I also like to mention that AAR teaches vocabulary and reading comprehension as well. It introduces new words or places in the pre-story warm up as new vocabulary words, and it has the questions to ask about the story. So it is reading, but also those other components as a bonus. I have been a little surprised how long it takes to get to long vowels in AAR. I actually taught my child all the phonogram sounds at once in the beginning of AAR, even though they suggest just teaching the first. All the sounds are spoken in the phonogram sounds app, so it was just a natural thing we did. But I have informally taught the long vowel sounds because my child has tried to read those words, but the curriculum hasn't gotten there yet (we are about 1/4 through Level 2).
The extended wait to introducing the long vowels in AAR is one reason why I’m considering LOE for my next child. My son is having a terrible time remembering that the vowels can makes other sounds besides their short sound.
My son is 4 1/2 almost 5 and I’m trying to choose between LOE foundations A Set and Abeka (not sure if he’d need K4 or K5) he’s knows all the basic letters sounds (other than the extras of some letters) and he’s a busy body. He’s already blending three letter words himself. What is your advice? He’s my only child so I can take my time with lessons if need be. Thanks in advance!
Thank you for it this comparison. Have you taken a look at the new Good and Beautiful language arts level K? And if you have, how would that compare to these programs? 😊
Hi! Love your videos and appreciate your input! I’m beginning our families homeschool journey next year and as a fellow twin mom, I’m wondering- do you have an honest recommendation of which curriculum would be most manageable. I will be homeschooling a 1st grader and also have a 3 yr old and 1 yr old twins.
I would say of the 3 programs, AAR is probably the easiest for the teacher! I would recommend setting up the student binder ahead of time and then you don't have to do any cutting on the day of.
I thought I had decided on AAR... now I'm leaning towards Abeka! My daughter LOVES worksheets. Question though... why do you prefer Abeka's k4 program over AAR's pre-reading program? I'm now considering starting my 4 year old with AAR pre-reading, doing Abeka k5 for kindergarten and beyond, and then adding in AAS in first grade.
I think AAR pre-reading is great and honestly we are only using K4 because we have the program and it is simpler to keep all 4 kids on the same program! Also we sold pre-reading, so I didn’t want to buy it again 🤣
I am looking for more of a phonics curr over sight words for my soon to be 1st grader. We were looking at the logic of english but I am now concerned he will be confused and needing to re-learn things from our previous curr. I also dont know what level I would put him in, on the reading level he's at least at a B but will he not understand stuff if he skips the way they teach phonics in A? Or will he be frustrated in A re learning everything we spent the last 2 years learning? Help!
I'm nearing the end of AAR 2 and trying to decide if I should go with AAR 3 or just read a ton of books with my son and just point out the new sounds of he doesn't know them (which is what we currently do and he picks up the new words fairly well). I feel like I remember you had a video awhile ago where you stop at 2 as well then just go to readers. Did you find this works well for your family?
How do you supplement btw AAR & Abeka? I bought everything you have talked about in previous videos..so I’m about to start and I’m trying to figure out how to plan all of this? I’m also new to sonlight HBL so I’m like how do I begin and how long do I didn’t on each thing?
It can be a bit overwhelming- first you need to decide which program (AAR or Abeka) that will be your primary program and then supplement with the other one. We used Abeka and supplemented with AAR. I think I discuss more details in my video about combining the two! As for Sonlight, it depends … I like to do a lot of my SL reading over food! My schedule video is coming out next Monday, so you can see a bit more on how we do it. But, you might just need to try out a few things to see what works for your family! You can do it!!
I have been using LOE A & B. I really love the program but I feel like I just need a little more review. We do the games, the high-frequency words, and the sound book with songs. The program is almost perfect but I need just a little more spiral work for retention. If I wanted to add just some elements of Abeka would you recommend it? I was thinking of the K5 readers and the handbook for reading? Also, she is in 1st grade now and I'm thinking of getting LOE C but if I did switch to Abeka what grade level would be better K5 or grade 1?
Hi! I'm not sure if adding Abeka would be worth it because they just teach the phonograms in such different orders and using different techniques. I would say if you love LOE and just need more spiral, I might try just slowing down and using more of the programs manipulatives!
It can be super overwhelming! I made a flip through/resource video for Abeka K5 and Grade 1. You will be able to see what all I picked up. I use it all, but you could get away with less - I just like having all the stuff 🤣
Hi! I was thinking of doing Sonlight’s language arts Kindergarten for my daughter. Do you know which strategy is closest to Sonlight’s? I think it’s phonics uses explode the code but I’m not sure after that. I guess my question is which reading curriculum do you think sonlight is most similar to out of the 3 u just mentioned.
That is a hard question, I'm honestly not sure if any of these programs is similar to how SL teaches reading in LA. We never used the reading sections of Sonlight's LA ... we just used readers and the rest of the subjects. I know of a lot of moms who pair SL with All About Reading, but that is usually after their kids have started struggling with the SL reading instructions.
@@sciencemama this helps thank you for getting back to me. Yes I couldn’t figure out how they taught reading just looking at the website. I’ll keep looking.
Would you suggest doing Abeka K4 and then move on to Logic of English Foundations A? I ask because I already bought logic of English and I’m wondering if it will be too advanced for a 3 1/2-4 year old to start out with.
@@sciencemama ok, Thank you so much! You are my absolute favorite RU-vid Homeschool Mom! I love all of your videos and you have provided so many great suggestions.
Do you feel like LOE and AAR are close enough that if one does or doesn’t work for you child the other one would be the same? Or similar enough that if you have one it’s kind of a waste of money to buy the other one to try with another child?
It depends on the reasons why one of the programs aren’t working. LOE went too fast for my son and so AAR was exactly what he needed and he liked that they were both phonics based, so it wasn’t too much of a change!
Thanks for the breakdown! I have a little guy 1/2 way through AAR Pre-Reading right now, and when he’s finished I’m leaning toward Logic of English because I think that approach will fit his personality best (he’s very logical or a little guy). I think he’s also a visual learner, though, so I’m considering using 100 Easy Lessons, but not necessarily to completion, just to see if their approach helps him learn to get blending down (other approaches haven’t gone anywhere, but it may just be that he’s still too little.)
My twins (6 this week) are really struggling with all about reading. We were previously doing reading eggs and phoenemic awareness activities, but we started AAR Level 1 last week and they are struggling to get past lesson 2. They just don't seem to care about the activities and are struggling with blending even though they know all of the sounds in the word. I don't know whether to take a break to give them some more time or try something else.
They may just need extra practice. Reading eggs is completely different and isn’t it online? Sometimes we skip over games and then just read the story. But if they keep forgetting the teams we stay as long as we need to in a lesson.
My daughter really struggled at the beginning of AAR lvl 1 last year as well (she was 6). I stopped for a few weeks and found some blending resources on Teachers pay teachers that really helped her be able to get past those early lessons!
