I must admit that I am a sucker for new curriculum. Worse, I get giddy as just the mention of one of my favorite programs coming out with something new. So, when I heard that All About Spelling was going to introduce a brand new reading program this year called All About Reading I was giddy! I love All About Spelling and just knew that if All About Reading was half as good I would be thrilled.
Let me give you the rundown of All About Reading. If you are familiar with All About Spelling note that the format of this program will be similar in design. What All About Spelling did for a multi sensory approach to spelling is what All About Reading does for a multi sensory approach to reading. Now again if you are familiar with All About Spelling, I am sure you see why I was so excited and had to get my hands on it. Not to mention, they offered two free activity books to download so I had a good idea before jumping in to what it was all about. Besides, who can resist Zig Zag Zebra the All About Reading mascot? Okay, back to basics on this program.
All About Reading is designed for preschool-Kindergarten. The multi sensory approach to prepare and teach reading to little ones is called Big Five Skills. The five skills are letter knowledge, phonological awareness, print awareness, listening comprehension, and motivation to read. These skills are the foundation to build a solid reader in your child. The program itself manifests these skills through games, crafts, and story time activities. This is a very hands on approach and one that requires a moderate amount of teacher prep. I enjoy the approach and the engaging yet simple look of the curriculum. In addition, I find the curriculum quite effective and enjoyable for both the student and teacher.
It has always been hard for me to determine if the price of something is right in general since everyone has different expectations and budgets. The basic package is $79.95 and the deluxe package is $119.00. If you have more than one student you can purchase additional student packets for $24.95. So what do you get for your money?
Basic Package:
Teachers Manual
Student Material Packet: My Book of Letters and Sounds, picture cards, letter sound cards, capital letter alphabet chart, lowercase letter alphabet chart, This ZigZag Zebra: a rhyming alphabet hardcover book and Lizard Lou: rhymes old and new hardcover book, divider cards for your picture and letter cards, Letter Sounds “A to Z” CD-ROM.
Deluxe Package:
All the above plus a ZigZag Zebra puppet (so cute!), activity box to hold your learning cards and an All About Reading tote bag.
So it will be for you to determine if the price is right. I have the deluxe package because I never turn down a cute puppet or tote bag. That’s right; I love the cute extras and buy them just about every time. I have to say that I really love the tote bag and use it all the time. The puppet? Most of the time ZigZag Zebra is being pulled from one child to the other as he is very popular. He also tends to go missing but I think he hides from my little girls. Thankfully when class time starts we always manage to find him.