If you have more than one volume, can you tell me how they're laid out? I mean, how many lessons or chapters or ... whatever? How many pages are in a book? How long does it suggest you take to finish one? Ds is already a great speller, but it's time for him to start learning verb conjugation spelling, changing y to i, double lettering, dropping e's, and stuff like that. If a word looks like it sounds, he can spell it in his sleep. If it doesn't, he can sometimes spell it, too. Not always, though. When they start getting a little tricky, that's where he needs a little help. How many volumes do you think I'll need next year? He's a fast learner when it comes to reading/spelling.
My advice is to buy 1 book and go from there. They are very reasonably priced at rainbow and resale very well. This way you can gauge on your own. You have a new list daily feeding off the list the day before. I really like the program and so did my son. Now your son might find it too easy at first, but have him hang in there. It seems as if it is so easy, but they are learning a different way and don't really notice they are increasing in difficulty.
SS is 180 daily lessons. Each day is a test on similar patterns, about every 5-8 days they change the pattern. You administer the test each day, and the CHILD checks it. I have my daughter cross out in red pen and rewrite the missed word. She's gotten to the point now, where she recognizes the patterns and just fixes it BEFORE I give her the book. Every 40 Lessons, there's an evaluation test to see how they're retaining the information. These can be done orally. WE write them down. I don't get too hung up on finishing each book b/c they repeat patterns in the early parts of subsequent books. And if she's really got a pattern good, I don't feel bad about skipping to the next group of patterns, either. HTH.
They do have an assessment test on the site. We just started SS this week, and we're both really liking it. He's slowly realizing that spelling is about patterns and I'm hopeful that he'll retain the info. We began with book one and I think that's where we need to be, almost everyone I've heard talk about it has also started there no matter what "grade" their child is in. It was a good choice for us for he did miss a word on the second test. But the whole process is fun and unstressful, which is what I was looking for.
I saw something (Sonlight's website, maybe???) that said everyone starts with book 1 regardless of level because these aren't leveled books. Would you agree? It also said they're reusable. Is that also true?
I think most of the people I've heard from about it started at book one, no matter what the grade--most starting around grade 4 like myself. Yes, they are reusable. There's the "text" the word lists, that the kids don't even use, then a "response book." I'm just using a spiral notebook for their tests. We started with book 1, at the beginning for when I saw the words in the assessment I knew my son would have difficulties with those. Needless to say, we're only on day 6 and he has struggeled with a couple of the words, so I'm glad I started where I did.
I just ordered this for my son who really struggles in spelling. I can't wait to get it. He could not grasp phonics so I'm hoping they way SS does it, it will click better with him. Can't wait to get it.
