By Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)·Language Arts - Spelling
1 video review: 1 positive
One reviewer covers The Phonetic Zoo, and her early impressions are positive — with the caveat that her sixth-grade daughter was only about a week in at the time of filming. She picked it to patch spelling gaps left by an earlier reading program, and chose IEW specifically because her daughter already knew and liked the company's format from its writing course. The standout feature in her telling is independence: the student listens to an MP3 lesson on headphones, writes the words, then self-checks against a corrections audio, with essentially no parent involvement needed. Lessons are short and slot easily into a rotation. Her one practical warning is about ordering: she bought the $29 budget package without realizing the audio was sold separately for $59, bringing her total to $88. A promising start from a single family, not yet a long-term track record.
Synthesized from 1 independent video review — every claim sourced from what real homeschool parents said on camera.
Families with an older elementary or middle school kid who needs targeted spelling remediation and works well independently with audio-based lessons.
Families who want a parent-led spelling program or a long-tested recommendation — this is one reviewer's first week with it.
Homeschool Curriculum Picks, Grades 6, 4, & 3, With Costs! Today I'm sharing our curriculum picks for our grade-specific subjects. These grade numbers just keep getting higher! I logically know that third grade turns into fourth grade, fourth into fifth, and so on, but I tell ya'- each year my flabber is completely gasted at how fast time is passing! Please remember, while watching these, that these are resources that work for our family. I share simply to encourage and inform, not to suggest you need to do what we do to homeschool well. I hope these videos provide inspiration and help you get excited to learn with your kids! If you missed our curriculum picks for our group subjects (also known as morning basket), you can find them here- https://youtu.be/Jdc4Xksbif8?si=6QFmiR36qEid7HYl If you're curious about The Orton-Gillingham Approach- https://www.allaboutlearningpress.com/blog/orton-gillingham Here are links to the resources I mentioned in this video: FixIt! Grammer- https://iew.com/grammar Teaching Textbooks Math- https://www.teachingtextbooks.com/?cid=applesauce All About Reading- https://www.allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=2588 I.E.W. Structure and Style- https://iew.com/writing I.E.W. Bible Heroes- https://iew.com/bible-heroes-writing-lessons Phonetic Zoo Spelling- https://iew.com/spelling Touch-Type Read and Spell (typing lessons)- https://www.readandspell.com/home-course?rfsn=6647159.a4c71d&utm_source=refersion.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=refersion&coupon=KBOWLIN Latina Christiana Latin- https://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?event=AFF&p=1214291&item_no=385188 My Cursive Bible Verses- https://shop.arrowsandapplesauce.com/collections/penmanship/products/cursive-bible-tracing-printable-workbook Read more about why we love cursive here!- https://arrowsandapplesauce.com/benefits-teaching-cursive/ Hoffman Academy Piano Lessons- https://hoffmanacademy.com/?via=kristen95 Visit my blog to learn more! www.arrowsandapplesauce.com You can also find me here: Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/arrowsandapplesauce/ Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/ArrowsAndApplesauce Etsy- https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArrowsAndApplesauce
“The process of listening to the lesson and then doing the writing makes it independent for her and very easy to work into our rotation.”
“So far, the lessons seem quite short. She listens to the MP3 on her headphones and then does the writing and double checks herself.”
“I got what they call the budget package, which I didn't realize didn't come with the audio. So, I got the budget p package and then I had to order the audio separately.”
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According to this reviewer, yes. Her sixth grader listens to the lesson MP3 on headphones, writes the words, then replays a corrections audio and checks her own work — literally with no help from the parent. The reviewer says she could double-check the work but doesn't feel she needs to.
This reviewer paid $88 total: $29 for the budget package plus $59 for the MP3 audio, which she didn't realize was sold separately. She believes there's a bundle option on the website that she missed when ordering.
That's exactly the use case here. The reviewer's sixth-grade daughter was a solid reader but had spelling issues that showed up in her writing, so she added Phonetic Zoo as targeted spelling work. One week in, her daughter was enjoying it, helped by the familiar IEW format and animal flashcards.