Do A Lesson With Us: All About Reading Level 1

Why I Use All About Reading

All About Reading is offered by All About Learning. Note that this curriculum thoughtfully separates out Reading and Spelling into two separate curriculum tracks. Here is a helpful post explaining why reading and spelling is taught separately.

Going in to Kindergarten year with my oldest (2019-2020), I used The Good & the Beautiful Language Arts program to teach my child to read. This for the most part worked, though it became clear towards the end of it that his reading level was more advanced than his spelling level. That, combined with all the extra stuff in The Good & the Beautiful Language Arts program that we constantly were skipping, I decided to search for something different. ((By “extra stuff” I mean that The Good & the Beautiful Language Arts is intentionally designed to go well beyond reading and spelling. It includes literature, poetry, memorization, and more)).

I had heard about All About Learning for several years but it can be so hard to purchase a curriculum you haven’t seen in action! It is a lot of money, and what if you don’t like it or it’s just not working with your child? I can honestly say after using this for several months I totally understand what the hype is about and I am so happy we made the switch!

Here are a few of my favorite things about All About Reading:

1. Lessons are clear & focused for the child.
2. Lessons are fun! There are lots of engaging activities utilized and the illustrations and stories are wonderful.
3. A multi-sensory approach is used so I know my kids will take part fully in their leaning and maintain excitement for the lessons.
4. It’s truly open-and-go! Lessons are easy-to-follow and require minimal prep for the educator.
5. I’m not left wondering if I’m forgetting something or doing it wrong!

One important note is that in both Level 1 and Level 2 I have noticed one “lesson” in the curriculum can be quite long. I strive for short lessons with my children so often it may take us more than one day to complete one “lesson” in their curriculum book. The All About Reading curriculum does suggest spending no more than 20 minutes per day on these lessons, and that’s what we aim for — a set time or a feel instead of trying to complete a whole lesson and check a box.

Which Specific Curriculum We Use in Our Homeschool

As I discussed in detail in our First Grade Curriculum Choices post, this school year I switched to using All About Learning.

For my First Grader we are using:

• All About Reading Level 2
• All About Spelling Level 1

For my Kindergartener we are using:

• All About Reading Level 1

We also use the coordinating Letter Tiles App for all levels which we will use on our iPad. The app makes switching between programs super easy, plus requires less space than having physical letter magnet tiles.

I also purchased the All About Reading Review Box to store all the phonogram cards and word cards. Since I have two kids with two separate curriculums in use, this box has proven super helpful in my organization!

Note: All About Reading Level 1 is for our Kindergartener, and I approach this in a gentle and interest-led way. She has shown interest in reading but also this is a challenge! I am in no rush to get through this whole curriculum this school year or have a set completion date in mind. I want her to gain confidence and continue to learn in a way that she enjoys.

Video: Do A Lesson With Us

This is for All About Reading Level 1

Note that we are on Lesson 10 and have been doing school this year for 12 weeks. This is to say: we spread out these lessons over more than one day. And, I often incorporate reading activities for my Kindergartener that do not utilize this curriculum.

Other Resources We Use for Teaching How to Read

The All About Learning curriculum contains everything you need to teach your child to read and continue to expand on that learning.

That said, we also have a couple things I occasionally incorporate that help build in some phonological awareness:

• DIY Movable Alphabet
• ABC See, Hear, Do Books (and I especially love the CVC cards)
• Bob Books
• The Good & the Beautiful Beginner Books (Box A fits well for All About Reading Level 1)

And A Note About Handwriting…

Since we are using All About Reading Level 1 for our Kindergartener, I wanted to also share how we are handling handwriting at this age.

I incorporate letter formation using a Montessori-based approach — writing letters in salt trays, Montessori Sandpaper Cards, and using a Letter Tracing Chalkboard or Wood Tracing Board. A lot of this is inspired by The Peaceful Preschool, which I think is such an excellent foundation for children of this age. This curriculum provides a wide variety of hands-on multi-sensory learning opportunities for language arts for young children.

For handwriting at this age I keep it pretty relaxed. I do not require copywork but if my child wants to that’s fine. I do have the Level K Handwriting book from The Good & the Beautiful as well. We have also used Handwriting Without Tears.

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