I first heard of AVKO and Don McCabe when my home school mentor, fellow nursery baby-rocker, and dear friend was struggling with teaching a dyslexic child. Later I spoke with another home schooling friend who was also researching dyslexia. They both spent much time in the AVKO booth at our state home school convention and came away convinced of the efficacy of their materials. Now, on assignment from the Crew, I have been given access to the members only section of the website, and I’ve been browsing to my heart’s content.
Many people may have heard of AVKO’s spelling program: Sequential Spelling. It is recommended by many in the home school arena. Because the spelling program we’ve been using is working, I haven’t switched over, but I’ve always kept it in the back of my mind if I should need a different way of teaching spelling. With 4 (+1) children, it’s bound to happen sometime! I didn’t realize all the other products that AVKO carries. So who are they? And what does membership give you?
AVKO is a non-profit, 501(C)3 membership organization that focuses on the development and production of materials and especially techniques to teach reading and spelling, handwriting (manuscript and cursive), and keyboarding. AVKO is dedicated to the teaching everyone how to read and spell, regardless of their mild to moderate learning disabilities, dyslexia, poverty, or opportunity.
A one year individual membership costs $25.00. This gives you access to the FREE downloads listed below. With these materials, and a lot of time, you could actually create your own spelling, handwriting, and keyboarding programs. The teacher in me would love to spend a lot of time with these materials, crafting worksheets and activities for my kids. I’ve saved most of them to my “someday/summer” file. God has not given us any dyslexics yet, but I know some of my extended family have struggled with this. As a mother, teacher, and tutor for home school families, I appreciate the time and effort Don McCabe and his foundation have put into these materials.
Benefits of AVKO Individual Membership
- Discounts on AVKO printed materials
- Hundreds of dollars worth of FREE e-books (PDF)
- The Patterns of English Spelling (All 10 Volumes) with Word Families in Sentence Context (normally $40 each)
- To Teach a Dyslexic
- Starting at Square One in book form ($59.95 value)
- The Teaching of Reading & Spelling: a Continuum from Kindergarten through College. (this one book will show you how to create your own spelling program $59.95 value)
- The Reading Teacher's List of Over 5,500 Basic Spelling Words 29.95
- Access to the Member Only section
- AVKO Newsletter with freebies, discounts, resources, and promotions
- Access to Don McCabe's most popular workshop recordings in MP3 format. (normally $2.50 each—free to members)
- Supplemental Curriculum Materials including word games, worksheets, activities, and more.
- Access to Pretests and Placement Tests
- Access to the Answer Keys for the Unscramblers and Family Reunion exercises of the Engaging Language Kits
For those who are using the program already, much of this information would be helpful. For those who are just beginning homeschooling, or haven’t even started yet, this resource would give you a lot to think about and read over before you jump in.
Disclaimer: AVKO provided me with access to the members only section of their website for the purpose of writing this review. I have received no other compensation. The opinions expressed in this review are mine only.
