All About Spelling vs Apples and Pears Spelling
The sharpest difference is format: All About Spelling is Hands-on, Apples and Pears Spelling is Workbook. Two others separate them as well.
At a glance
All About Spelling
Grades 1-12
Owners report it suits
Hands-on learnersApples and Pears Spelling
Grades K-12
Owners report it suits
Reluctant learnersBoth are reported to suit Struggling learners, Dyslexia and 2e.
Skip to who fitsWhere they differ
| Attribute | All About Spelling | Apples and Pears Spelling |
|---|---|---|
Prep load
?How much the parent prepares before a lesson. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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Independence
?How much the child can do alone. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:
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| Format | Hands-on | Workbook |
| Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions. | Struggling learnersHands-on learnersDyslexia2e | Struggling learnersDyslexiaReluctant learners2e |
| Method | TraditionalClassicalEclecticOrton-Gillingham | TraditionalEclecticOrton-Gillingham |
| Grades | 1-12 | K-12 |
Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.
Where they match
- Rigorboth on grade
- Parent involvementboth parent-taught
- Screen timeboth fully offline
- Time commitmentboth 15 to 25 min
- Faith contentboth None
- Approachboth Mastery
- Used asboth Spine
How each one plays by grade
All About Spelling
Grades 1-12
Everyone starts at Level 1 for the foundational rules, even older kids, then moves at their own speed. Level 7 carries through high school with Latin and Greek roots.
Apples and Pears Spelling
Grades K-12
Placement tests decide the starting book, and kids can begin in A, B, or C. Older remedial students often begin at C; starting in D is discouraged.
Cost
| Cost item | All About Spelling | Apples and Pears Spelling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.95-69.95/level plus one-time tiles | $51/level, full A-D set ~$145 |
| Consumable | Partial | Partial |
| Per child / year | ~$65-90 first year, ~$50-70/level after | ~$51/level first child, ~$31 after (workbook only) |
What parents report
All About Spelling
Consistently praised
- Open and go scripting any parent can teach
- Tiles make spelling rules click for hands-on kids
- Move on when mastered pacing
- Reusable across siblings
- Strong for dyslexic and struggling spellers
Reported as challenges
- Teacher-intensive every single day
- Pricey for one subject with an only child
- Tiles and flashcards take storage and table space
- Doing every review activity balloons the lesson
Apples and Pears Spelling
Consistently praised
- No word lists to memorize
- Scripting makes it easy to open and teach
- Constant built-in review of every pattern
- Morphemic approach that clicks for dyslexic spellers
- Steady visible progress
Reported as challenges
- Parent reads the script for every lesson
- Heavy writing load can put kids off
- Plain black-and-white pages with little color
- Pricey for print-on-demand workbooks
Who All About Spelling fits
A structured, multisensory spelling spine for families who'll sit down and teach it daily, and it's the common pick for a struggling or dyslexic speller. Parents who want a hands-off or independent workbook a child does alone should go a different direction.
Read the full All About Spelling entry Check price All About Learning PressWho Apples and Pears Spelling fits
Made for a child who keeps struggling with spelling and needs scripted, repetition-heavy remediation with a parent beside them. Families wanting a colorful, independent, or low-writing program should keep looking.
Read the full Apples and Pears Spelling entry Check price Sound Foundations BooksSome links on this site are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes how a curriculum is described or scored.
Still deciding?
All About Spelling compared with
Apples and Pears Spelling compared with
Descriptions aggregate what homeschool parents consistently report across public community sources together with each publisher's own materials. Prices and editions change over time. Both entries last reviewed July 2026.