All About Spelling is a homeschool curriculum that teaches spelling using the Orton-Gillingham approach. It combines auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning methods to help students understand spelling rules and patterns.
Most homeschool families report completing core academic subjects in 3-4 hours per day for elementary students, compared to the 6-7 hours typical of traditional schools, due to the one-on-one instruction and absence of classroom management overhead (NHERI, 2024). According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), approximately 3.3 million students were homeschooled in the United States as of 2023, representing roughly 6% of the school-age population.
What is All About Spelling?
All About Spelling is an award-winning curriculum designed for homeschoolers. It uses the Orton-Gillingham method, which engages students through hearing, seeing, and touching. Instead of just memorizing, kids learn the rules behind spelling. They use letter tiles to form words, review phonograms with flashcards, and follow lessons that build on what they've learned. The program has seven levels and takes about 20 minutes a day.
How lessons work
Each lesson has five parts: a quick overview, flashcard review, new instruction with tiles, practice with longer words, and tracking progress. Lessons aren’t meant to finish in one go; some concepts take several days or even a week to get right. The instructor's manual gives parents everything they need to teach, with scripts and tips included. Most families wrap up each level in about a year, but you can go at your own pace.
The multisensory advantage
With All About Spelling, students see letters, hear sounds, and physically move tiles to build words. This three-way approach helps them remember better than just using lists. The program covers 72 phonograms, which are sound-letter combos for most English words. Kids learn rules for breaking down syllables and spelling patterns, so they can tackle new words on their own.
What to expect
Keep in mind that All About Spelling focuses only on spelling. It doesn’t cover reading, writing, or grammar, so you'll need other programs for those. Parents need to be involved in lessons; students can’t do this alone. Setting up takes some time to organize card sets, but after that, daily lessons are easy to follow. At $69.95 per level and a one-time Interactive Kit purchase, it's an investment, but materials can be reused for younger kids.
The bottom line
All About Spelling is great for kids who struggle with traditional spelling methods. Its systematic, multisensory approach helps children understand spelling rather than just memorize. Parents love the scripted lessons and low prep time, while kids find the tile activities more fun than worksheets. If your child needs clarity on spelling, AAS has the tools to help.
