Review ~ Spelling U See ~ Wild Tales ~ Level C

For years now we have used Math U See in our homeschool, so when I heard they were developing a spelling program I was very interested in knowing more about it. Imagine my excitement when we were given the chance to review it!

The new program is called Spelling You See and we were blessed with an advanced PDF copy of Wild Tales - Level C.
Note: The PDF was for review purposes only, real physical books are available for purchase.

We received for review.....
 




Spelling You See: Wild Tales (Level C)
Instructor’s Handbook $14









Student Pack $30
Which includes 2 Student Workbooks and a package of erasable colored pencils.







My first question was, what makes Spelling You See different from all the other spelling programs out there? I bet you asked this too.

One thing I noted first was that there are no grade levels. I really like this, because one of my children already feels behind because in some subject areas because this child is not where "some person who determines grade levels" thinks my child should be based on age alone. Spelling You See understands that every child is different, learns differently, and has their own way of progressing.

Spelling You See was written for elementary aged children or older children needing remediation.

I chose Level C based on the Readiness Guidelines given on the Spelling You See website. This will help you decide where your child should begin. Wild Tales is divided up into 36 lessons with 5 parts to each lesson. One for each day of the school week. It is very convenient and all laid out for you to use. Lessons 1-7 give detailed directions, after that it comes naturally to you since you have been using it for a while. You can try out a sample lesson here!

Spelling You See has a unique philosophy, consisting of 5 developmental stages of spelling. My kids are in the Skill Development stage (Stage 3) which they say is the longest and most difficult stage. I believe it, and it encourages me to read this page and see where my kids are headed after getting through this level. (Be sure and watch the video on this page.)

 Lessons in this level include a lot of copywork and dictation. Although designed to be short and sweet, 15 minutes or so a day, the writing part was balked at by my kid who hates writing, so it took much longer to get through for this kid. Also because of auditory processing disorders the dictation part was extremely frustrating and ended in tears nearly every day for this child. This child did not mind using the colored pencils to mark the vowel and consonant chunks however and seemed to enjoy the reading part of the lessons. The day where you illustrate the page yourself is this kid's favorite! So I have adjusted the lessons a bit so as not to make this kid hate spelling.

I used this with 3 of my children because they are close in age, the other two were able to complete the copywork and dictation quickly and seemed to enjoy doing it. One especially is VERY proud of her handwriting and loves doing these lessons. 

I was skeptical that their spelling would improve, but I can say it definitely has. One of my girls likes to write little stories and make books. Compared to books she made just a couple of months ago the spelling is much better! 

I plan to continue using Spelling you see as long as the kids are enjoying it!

Connect with Spelling You See via.....

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpellingYouSee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/spellingyousee

Samson's Classroom

Samson's Classroom is an online membership site that gives your children in grades K through 5th practice in Sight Words, Spelling, and Reading. There is nothing to download to your computer, you simply log in anywhere you are to use the website. This was especially helpful to us because the kids were able to use Samson's Classroom while we were at the library.


Here you can see sample pages from the Reading with Samson section. Choose a level to start at, and then your child reads a short story and answers questions about what was read. This is really great reading comprehension practice. My 8 year old daughter enjoyed this section, my 9 year old son didn't like it as much, but he is a reluctant reader unless it is something that really interests him. My 6 year old daughter needed my help with this section.






 Another reading game.....












The Sight Words with Samson section was voted the MOST FUN part of this site by all 3 kids. I don't believe they realized how much they were learning as they played it. Even my reluctant 9 year old asked to play this. I have noticed improvement when reading aloud since he began playing the sight word games.








Another sight words game.....









Spelling with Samson can be customized to give practice with the spelling words we are using each week. I also sneak in words I know they have troubles reading aloud. My 9 year old proclaimed this was the best way ever to study spelling words. My 8 year old was also very enthusiastic about practicing spelling this way. Their test scores have proved it to be an effective method for both of them.

For my 6 year old I didn't customize her word list. She has not yet started a formal spelling program so I just let her play with the lists already provided to see how she would do. She did surprisingly well with 3 letter words.




My thoughts on Samson's Classroom.....
I think this is a good practice site, I would not use it as a substitute for a good solid language arts program. I am not a fan of "video games" but because these are educational I let them give it a go. I must admit I did see improvement in spelling and in reading comprehension with my 9 year old son especially. This format made learning and practicing fun for him. Must be a boy thing! The girls enjoyed it too of course, they both ask to play it just as often as he does.

I also want to mention the wonderful customer service that this website offers. If you have any issues they are FAST to reply to you and offer assistance. I was very impressed with the friendly people behind Samson's Classroom!

I appreciate the extras that are offered as well, including printable worksheets, lesson plans and awards for the kids. 

Want to see more? Watch a short video here that explains how to use the site.  You can also try out a free demo and play all 3 sections of the website before you buy to make sure it is a good fit for your child.

A family membership at Samson's Classroom is $50.00 per year for up to 4 users. A $30.00 per year option is available for just one student. Classroom options are also available.


 Disclaimer ~ We received this product at no cost in exchange for an honest review after using it in our homeschool. No other compensation was given. All opinions expressed here are my own.  Other opinions may vary. Click the banner above to read what others thought of this product.