Alpha Omega Publications – Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Set {TOS Review}

We are back with another review for the Schoolhouse Review Crew and this time it is for the Alpha Omega Publications – Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Set! We used this one with M8 since she is in desperate need of some Spelling and Reading guidance.

Alpha Omega Publications was very generous to send us the complete 3 piece set to use for 6 weeks. This set includes:

• Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Student Workbook
• Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Teacher’s Guide
• Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Dictionary

I have to be honest and say that we haven’t really been focusing on Spelling before receiving this set. Because M8 struggles with Reading so much, I figured that once we can get that down then the Spelling would come next. Apparently, after 10 years of homeschooling, I am still learning how things work. While using this Spelling and Vocabulary set, I have noticed that Reading and Spelling should go hand in hand. This is all new to me since my oldest was reading on her own at 4.5 years old while the next two kids are the exact opposite. This is why, even though M8 is 8 years old, we are still working on 1st grade Spelling. Just another reason to love homeschool – we can work at their pace!

The Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Student Workbook contains 160 lessons. Each page is perforated so you can easily remove them from the book. This is great for those who like to get each weekday’s work in order. Each page has colorful characters and clear instructions on them.

Each set of words is broken down into 5 Lessons. This also includes a pre-lesson (which finds out which words they already know), a Test, and also a ‘homework’ page if you feel that they need extra practice.

Here is a breakdown of how we did it:

• Day 1:  Assess child’s knowledge & introduce words – M8 wrote down each word that I said aloud. This is to see which ones she already knows on her own. Then I would correct them and she would then write the corrected ones again. The other side of the page has a space to write two sentences using your Spelling words and more Practice spaces for each word, if needed. We usually skipped over this one and went to Lesson 1.
• Day 2: Examine & Explore Words – Lesson 2
• Day 3: Look At Context & Meanings of Words – Lesson 3
• Day 4: Apply Understanding of Words in Writing – Lesson 4
• Day 5: Assess & Evaluate Progress – Spelling Test/Correction/Practice

The Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Teacher’s Guide helps make sense of the entire program. It gives you a breakdown of what to do for each lesson, including hands-on approaches. There are also reproducible pages in the back such as Phonics Rules Flashcards, Worksheets, and Teaching Aids for individual lessons.

The Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Dictionary is a neat addition to the set. It is a simple dictionary special for their grade level. We used it along with the Spelling lessons to have M8 look up her new words to find the meaning. This is also a neat way to add in some dictionary skills. They can also write their “Working Words” in the back of it.

M8 was hesitant to start the lessons, especially since it was the Summer and we were taking a break. Once she began them, she realized that they were not a long, drawn-out process and could ‘get through’ each lesson pretty quickly. It became easier to get her to sit down and start her lessons. I really believe that this program is helping to bridge her reading and spelling skills together. M8 has been trying on her own now to read anything (not actual books yet but we are getting there!) because her confidence has gone way up! We truly like this program and will continue to use it through the end. We start back to ‘official’ school next week so we will get more lessons in than we did during the summer. Then she will really be flying!

If you would like more information on the Horizons 1st Grade Spelling & Vocabulary Set or any other products available, make sure to check them out at Alpha Omega Publications, Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.