This review was ultimately what I needed to finally purchase the curriculum. Your passion and honesty really comes through! No fakeness here. I appreciate that very much. Looking forward to starting this curriculum! I also subscribed!
Thank you so much for this!!! We have been using Spelling you See (incorrectly) and I needed someone to politely remind me to read the instructor's manual and slow down. I am so happy I saw this during our summer break so we can use it correctly from the beginning this coming year. Luckily, we were still seeing progress but I can't wait to see how much improvement we will see when I stop trying to cheat the curriculum and let it do its job. I am planning to use it long term and for younger siblings, as they get to that age, so thank you for this kind slap in the face to wake me up and remind me to do this right!
Thank you so much for this review. I've been looking into for my 4th grader next year, but was having trouble finding a great review. I've followed you for a couple of years and I don't know how I missed this before! I think this will be the perfect fit!
Thank you for this review. I feel like there needs to be another level between C and D. We started Level A in kindergarten and that worked great. I loved how it incorporated correct letter formation and made connections to the phonics she was learning. B For first grade was fine. But C in second grade this past year was a struggle. My daughter's reading level just didn't quite keep up. Seeing you go through level D just confirms that she is not ready for it this coming year. I think we'll take a break and come back to it.
I can completely relate! It took one of my kids 2 years to complete C. We slowed way down. I even purchased a duplicate workbook and we went back and did some of the lessons again. It was a nice filler until they were ready to move into D.
I'm here again a year later because I am strongly considering this for my daughter with dyslexia. We finished up the Logic of English Foundations program last year and this year we've been doing Language Lessons from Masterbooks as well as Evan Moor spelling & I feel like we just need something a little more "intensive" without be INTENSE (if that makes sense!). Language Lessons has been excellent for grammar for her in this age/stage & Evan Moor has been okay. I think I am going to purchase this for her. She is very excited about the animal level and I think that is about where she falls in skill level. Your mid-year review today (where you mention Spelling U See) reminded me of this curriculum as I am thinking about how best to meet my daughter's needs. So, thank you, once again!!! :)
We are first time homeschooling for my grade 5 daughter. Today is our very first day of learning! Thanks to you we enjoyed our first lesson with Spelling You See Americana!! We did not use the colored pencils today because it was only vowel chunking. Where are the directions for using the colors? Thank you for this amazing tutorial/review! It was so wonderful because of YOU!
Your video is absolutely! It was so thorough and thoughtful. I'm afraid of how much time it would take to complete the lessons. Is it possible to do it 3 days a week or would that interrupt the flow? How do you get through Spelling You See with all your school age children? Finally, how do children learn when to use a particular type of spelling rule or does it just come naturally after learning chunking combinations? Thank you.
I have successfully used it 4 days per week, just skipping one lesson (just not the dictation). Spelling “rules” come out naturally with chunking and then are focused on some in the later levels/workbooks. I have used spelling you see with three children at a time, so we are easily able to get through it in 30-40 minutes (I just work with each child one on one and then have the others work on another independent subject). Hope this helps. Feel free to email me with more questions!
Thank you so much for your response! I know some folks get really hung up on spelling "rules" and the fact that kids can learn spelling "rules" without actually necessarily thinking of what they're learning as rules really appeals to me. I'm certainly leaning towards purchasing this program. Also thank you for sharing how you cover the material with three kids at a time!
@@EverydayHomeschooler I think I've decided on this for the coming year because I think it speaks to my eldest learning style. Once she moves out of the last level I'll do phonetic zoo. I kept hearing so much about how this was hard to use or the kids found it tedious or it was too much etc. So I've been afraid to invest in it. I'm so glad I found your video because I've never seen it walked through like this. I usually either see gushing over "it's so great" but now why ots great or "this was terrible busy work" but no here why I say that. An informative video done like this is what I really wish I found in hs UA-cam. So much so I'm tempted to start an actual channel, dig out the mountain if curriculum I've used over the years and do an honest review like this for each. Lol
Personally I like to wait to start IEW in middle school (around 5th or 6th grade). I do use Spelling You See and IEW together, but we typically follow a slower pace for IEW than is described in the teachers guide.
I really enjoyed this! Your videos are always so informative! Do you know how this works with children who are dyslexic? My second daughter is dyslexic and I am doing Logic of English Foundations with her. We will be doing the last level this coming school year. I am wondering if Spelling You See would be a good fit for her the following year! Logic of English teaches the phonograms like you see here with the "chunking" aspects of Spelling You See. It seems like it would be a great transition for her! I will have to keep this in mind for the 2021-2022 for her.
Thanks Elaine! Here is a blog post from Demme, that I think might answer your questions 😃 demmelearning.com/learning-blog/spelling-see-dyslexia/ I think Spelling You See would work great for her!
Excellent review!!! I agree that a lot of the reviewers I've seen do not use the curriculum the way it is explained in the manual. I'm using it with my 13-year-old daughter who has severe learning disabilities in spelling and reading. We just started using it this year, level C Wild Tales. We've been using it for about 7 weeks now. You've given me encouragement to carry on! Question- when you are doing the dictations (D or E) if a word is misspelled, do you tell your child the right way to spell it? If I let my daughter try to figure it out on her own, she can't.
Ok so this is a little hard to explain via text. Yes we stop to correct it right away (this is when I remind myself this is not a test and so much of the learning happens in the conversation about the words) here is something like what I would say.... Me: Does that word look right to you?” Child: um I thought so? Me: great try, but you actually have the wrong vowel chunk. Try writing it again using a different one. Take a second and try to remember your chunking and what the word looks like (pushing for that visual memory). If they’re struggling, I give them options to choose from. Me: Could it be ee or ea? Which one looks better. Sometimes it takes my child writing it out 5 different ways to find the correct word. That’s ok! Hope this makes sense and helps!
@@EverydayHomeschooler yes that helps a lot!! Math-u-see helped greatly with her math problems . I am hopeful that this is going to be as helpful with her spelling. We’ve used All about Spelling and Logic of English and she memorized all the rules and phonograms but wasn’t able to apply any of them.
Would think this curriculum in your opinion be good for a struggling speller in almost 8th grade ? He hates writing but I’m struggling finding things that will work for him
Thanks for this great video. I did the assessment on both my 2nd grader and 5th grader. Seems they would both be doing level D. I wonder though if the second grader age 7 would be too young for D? He read it perfectly and missed one on the spelling words.
Have you used level G? I noticed on the sample pages that it is showing rules and having the child apply them. It would be interesting to see more from G if you have that level!
We used SUS "C" this year. Our first year. My son loves chunking. Are you doing this in addition to Gather Round? We are starting Gather Round in August and I can't decide if we need to supplement.
Yes we are using it alongside Gather ‘Round. I allow my kids to skip some of the copy work and spelling pages in GR though. I talk about it more in my Gather ‘Round Q&A Video: ua-cam.com/video/X2f3-FNFaJU/v-deo.html
@@EverydayHomeschooler Thank you for the reply. I am trying to put our next year together and don't want to over do it with Gather 'Round, SUS, Math LLFLE from Masterbooks plus I think my 4th grader needs a writing program. Trying to decide between IWE and Braver Writer. I like SUS but I think it might be overkill on copywork especially if we do Brave Writer too.
Question for you! We started spelling you see level C 6 months ago because my 3rd grader wasn't doing well with a traditional spelling list. Fast forward 6 months later we completed the part A of level C and saw TREMENDOUS improvement. It was like I had a different kid that could all of a sudden spell...lol Two weeks ago I had him take the placement test and he had placed for level D. Would you bother finishing level C or jump right into level D?
Well I would definitely say, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. But I have two different experiences that might help: 1. One of my children was flying though a SYS level, so we started doing every other lesson in the part 2 book (i.e do lessons 21 a-e, skip 22 a-e, do lessons 23 a-e, etc.). 2. One of my other children made huge progress in spelling one year, so we skipped an entire level (went from D to F, skipping E). It did make spelling go from “easy” to “challenging” which was ok because this child was older, and very confident (plus I made sure other subjects weren’t too challenging during this seaaon) - but this could be discouraging/frustrating for some kiddos.
Wanted to update you and thank you for your response! We started 4th grade and I had him start Level D Americana this year. So far it is working very well for him. I cannot believe the progress he's made. I'm so proud of him. He's come such a long way!
Great video. Thank you. We have a 6th grader who has been struggling for years with spelling. We have tried many curriculums and he still struggles. He is a fantastic reader and is currently reading "The Hobbit". I'm wondering what level to start our son with? Thank you for any advice. Elizabeth in Georgia
It’s a juggling act for sure! Thankfully since spelling you see only takes around 15 minutes per lesson, I work with one child at a time, while the other school kids work on a subject that they can do independently (math problems, handwriting, etc.)
This is the most thorough review I have ever seen on a curriculum! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Aw thank you!
This review was ultimately what I needed to finally purchase the curriculum. Your passion and honesty really comes through! No fakeness here. I appreciate that very much. Looking forward to starting this curriculum! I also subscribed!
Oh my thank you! So glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your video! I was looking for a video exactly like this on Spelling You See. So well done.
Thank you for this video. It was incredibly helpful!
So neat how Americana coordinates learning history while spelling.
Very informative!
Great job Leah
Thank you! 😃
This was very thorough and helpful!
Thank you so much for this!!! We have been using Spelling you See (incorrectly) and I needed someone to politely remind me to read the instructor's manual and slow down. I am so happy I saw this during our summer break so we can use it correctly from the beginning this coming year. Luckily, we were still seeing progress but I can't wait to see how much improvement we will see when I stop trying to cheat the curriculum and let it do its job. I am planning to use it long term and for younger siblings, as they get to that age, so thank you for this kind slap in the face to wake me up and remind me to do this right!
Oh my! You are so welcome! Thanks for watching & for your kind comments.
Thank you so much for this review. I've been looking into for my 4th grader next year, but was having trouble finding a great review. I've followed you for a couple of years and I don't know how I missed this before! I think this will be the perfect fit!
So glad it was helpful! We still love Spelling You See!
I'm thinking on this one. Your daughter have a very beautiful handwriting. Thank you for being so informative.
Thanks so much for watching
Thank you for this review. I feel like there needs to be another level between C and D. We started Level A in kindergarten and that worked great. I loved how it incorporated correct letter formation and made connections to the phonics she was learning. B For first grade was fine. But C in second grade this past year was a struggle. My daughter's reading level just didn't quite keep up. Seeing you go through level D just confirms that she is not ready for it this coming year. I think we'll take a break and come back to it.
I can completely relate! It took one of my kids 2 years to complete C. We slowed way down. I even purchased a duplicate workbook and we went back and did some of the lessons again. It was a nice filler until they were ready to move into D.
I'm here again a year later because I am strongly considering this for my daughter with dyslexia. We finished up the Logic of English Foundations program last year and this year we've been doing Language Lessons from Masterbooks as well as Evan Moor spelling & I feel like we just need something a little more "intensive" without be INTENSE (if that makes sense!). Language Lessons has been excellent for grammar for her in this age/stage & Evan Moor has been okay. I think I am going to purchase this for her. She is very excited about the animal level and I think that is about where she falls in skill level. Your mid-year review today (where you mention Spelling U See) reminded me of this curriculum as I am thinking about how best to meet my daughter's needs. So, thank you, once again!!! :)
Fun! And they just updated Animal Tales Level C this year, so it will probably be even better. Hope it’s a great fit for you guys!
@@EverydayHomeschooler I just saw that!
This review is awesome! Thank you so much!!!
Thank you!
This was the best review of this curriculum! Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Aww thanks!
This is a great video. Very thorough. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
This was amazingly helpful! Thank you for the time and consideration you put into creating it!
Thanks so much!
Sooooo helpful!!
Love your videos. I’d love to see a walk thru like this for Math-U-See. :D
Thanks for watching! And I’ll add that idea to my list of videos to make ☺️
Thank you for such a thorough review of this curriculum!
Great video! We will be using Spelling You See for the first time this year. Thanks for the thorough breakdown!
Awesome! Thank you! Hope it’s a great fit for your family.
We are first time homeschooling for my grade 5 daughter. Today is our very first day of learning! Thanks to you we enjoyed our first lesson with Spelling You See Americana!! We did not use the colored pencils today because it was only vowel chunking. Where are the directions for using the colors? Thank you for this amazing tutorial/review! It was so wonderful because of YOU!
Aww thanks Abby! Guides for the colored pencils and chunking are in the instructor's handbook.
Your video is absolutely! It was so thorough and thoughtful. I'm afraid of how much time it would take to complete the lessons. Is it possible to do it 3 days a week or would that interrupt the flow? How do you get through Spelling You See with all your school age children? Finally, how do children learn when to use a particular type of spelling rule or does it just come naturally after learning chunking combinations? Thank you.
I have successfully used it 4 days per week, just skipping one lesson (just not the dictation). Spelling “rules” come out naturally with chunking and then are focused on some in the later levels/workbooks. I have used spelling you see with three children at a time, so we are easily able to get through it in 30-40 minutes (I just work with each child one on one and then have the others work on another independent subject). Hope this helps. Feel free to email me with more questions!
Thank you so much for your response! I know some folks get really hung up on spelling "rules" and the fact that kids can learn spelling "rules" without actually necessarily thinking of what they're learning as rules really appeals to me. I'm certainly leaning towards purchasing this program. Also thank you for sharing how you cover the material with three kids at a time!
I've been tempted by this curriculum for many years. Its between this and phonetic zoo for the coming year.
We love iew, so I’m sure phonetic zoo is a great option too! Hope you find the right fit for your family!
@@EverydayHomeschooler I think I've decided on this for the coming year because I think it speaks to my eldest learning style. Once she moves out of the last level I'll do phonetic zoo. I kept hearing so much about how this was hard to use or the kids found it tedious or it was too much etc. So I've been afraid to invest in it. I'm so glad I found your video because I've never seen it walked through like this. I usually either see gushing over "it's so great" but now why ots great or "this was terrible busy work" but no here why I say that. An informative video done like this is what I really wish I found in hs UA-cam. So much so I'm tempted to start an actual channel, dig out the mountain if curriculum I've used over the years and do an honest review like this for each. Lol
@@EverydayHomeschooler your review is amazing, do you use IEW and spelling u see together for grade 4? We are nee homeschoolers, thank you
Personally I like to wait to start IEW in middle school (around 5th or 6th grade). I do use Spelling You See and IEW together, but we typically follow a slower pace for IEW than is described in the teachers guide.
@@EverydayHomeschooler really? I'd like to hear more.
Thank you for the video.
Thank YOU for watching!!!
I really enjoyed this! Your videos are always so informative! Do you know how this works with children who are dyslexic? My second daughter is dyslexic and I am doing Logic of English Foundations with her. We will be doing the last level this coming school year. I am wondering if Spelling You See would be a good fit for her the following year! Logic of English teaches the phonograms like you see here with the "chunking" aspects of Spelling You See. It seems like it would be a great transition for her! I will have to keep this in mind for the 2021-2022 for her.
Thanks Elaine! Here is a blog post from Demme, that I think might answer your questions 😃
demmelearning.com/learning-blog/spelling-see-dyslexia/
I think Spelling You See would work great for her!
@@EverydayHomeschooler Thank you SO much for the link! And thank you again for sharing about Spelling You See!
Excellent review!!! I agree that a lot of the reviewers I've seen do not use the curriculum the way it is explained in the manual. I'm using it with my 13-year-old daughter who has severe learning disabilities in spelling and reading. We just started using it this year, level C Wild Tales. We've been using it for about 7 weeks now. You've given me encouragement to carry on! Question- when you are doing the dictations (D or E) if a word is misspelled, do you tell your child the right way to spell it? If I let my daughter try to figure it out on her own, she can't.
Ok so this is a little hard to explain via text. Yes we stop to correct it right away (this is when I remind myself this is not a test and so much of the learning happens in the conversation about the words) here is something like what I would say....
Me: Does that word look right to you?” Child: um I thought so?
Me: great try, but you actually have the wrong vowel chunk. Try writing it again using a different one. Take a second and try to remember your chunking and what the word looks like (pushing for that visual memory).
If they’re struggling, I give them options to choose from.
Me: Could it be ee or ea? Which one looks better.
Sometimes it takes my child writing it out 5 different ways to find the correct word. That’s ok!
Hope this makes sense and helps!
@@EverydayHomeschooler yes that helps a lot!! Math-u-see helped greatly with her math problems . I am hopeful that this is going to be as helpful with her spelling. We’ve used All about Spelling and Logic of English and she memorized all the rules and phonograms but wasn’t able to apply any of them.
Would think this curriculum in your opinion be good for a struggling speller in almost 8th grade ? He hates writing but I’m struggling finding things that will work for him
Thanks for this great video. I did the assessment on both my 2nd grader and 5th grader. Seems they would both be doing level D. I wonder though if the second grader age 7 would be too young for D? He read it perfectly and missed one on the spelling words.
I would call Demme learning/Spelling you see. Their customer support is amazing and they are always happy to walk through scenarios and give advice.
Have you used level G? I noticed on the sample pages that it is showing rules and having the child apply them. It would be interesting to see more from G if you have that level!
No we haven’t gotten there quite yet. Maybe next year! Can’t wait to take a look at it
Excellent review
Do you use MUS as well?
Yes! And thank you
@@EverydayHomeschooler would love a video
We used SUS "C" this year. Our first year. My son loves chunking. Are you doing this in addition to Gather Round? We are starting Gather Round in August and I can't decide if we need to supplement.
Yes we are using it alongside Gather ‘Round. I allow my kids to skip some of the copy work and spelling pages in GR though. I talk about it more in my Gather ‘Round Q&A Video:
ua-cam.com/video/X2f3-FNFaJU/v-deo.html
@@EverydayHomeschooler Thank you for the reply. I am trying to put our next year together and don't want to over do it with Gather 'Round, SUS, Math LLFLE from Masterbooks plus I think my 4th grader needs a writing program. Trying to decide between IWE and Braver Writer. I like SUS but I think it might be overkill on copywork especially if we do Brave Writer too.
Is there a way to reuse these books to pass down for each kiddo?
You can reuse the teacher guides, but not the student books
Question for you! We started spelling you see level C 6 months ago because my 3rd grader wasn't doing well with a traditional spelling list. Fast forward 6 months later we completed the part A of level C and saw TREMENDOUS improvement. It was like I had a different kid that could all of a sudden spell...lol Two weeks ago I had him take the placement test and he had placed for level D. Would you bother finishing level C or jump right into level D?
Well I would definitely say, “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. But I have two different experiences that might help:
1. One of my children was flying though a SYS level, so we started doing every other lesson in the part 2 book (i.e do lessons 21 a-e, skip 22 a-e, do lessons 23 a-e, etc.).
2. One of my other children made huge progress in spelling one year, so we skipped an entire level (went from D to F, skipping E). It did make spelling go from “easy” to “challenging” which was ok because this child was older, and very confident (plus I made sure other subjects weren’t too challenging during this seaaon) - but this could be discouraging/frustrating for some kiddos.
Wanted to update you and thank you for your response! We started 4th grade and I had him start Level D Americana this year. So far it is working very well for him. I cannot believe the progress he's made. I'm so proud of him. He's come such a long way!
Great video. Thank you. We have a 6th grader who has been struggling for years with spelling. We have tried many curriculums and he still struggles. He is a fantastic reader and is currently reading "The Hobbit". I'm wondering what level to start our son with? Thank you for any advice. Elizabeth in Georgia
I would definitely point you to the Spelling You See Website. They have a placement guide/test there that will help.
How have you successfully scheduled your days with multiple learners, all on different levels of Spelling You See?
It’s a juggling act for sure! Thankfully since spelling you see only takes around 15 minutes per lesson, I work with one child at a time, while the other school kids work on a subject that they can do independently (math problems, handwriting, etc.)