All About Spelling vs The Phonetic Zoo
The sharpest difference is parent involvement: All About Spelling is parent-taught, The Phonetic Zoo is hands-off. One other attribute separates them.
At a glance
All About Spelling
Grades 1-12
Owners report it suits
Struggling learnersHands-on learnersDyslexia2eThe Phonetic Zoo
Grades 3-12
Owners report it suits
Independent workersMulti-age familiesWhere they differ
| Attribute | All About Spelling | The Phonetic Zoo |
|---|---|---|
Parent involvement
?How much the parent is present and teaching. 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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| Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions. | Struggling learnersHands-on learnersDyslexia2e | Independent workersMulti-age families |
| Method | TraditionalClassicalEclecticOrton-Gillingham | Classical |
| Grades | 1-12 | 3-12 |
Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.
Where they match
- Rigorboth on grade
- Prep loadboth open-and-go
- Screen timeboth fully offline
- Time commitmentboth 15 to 25 min
- Faith contentboth None
- Approachboth Mastery
- Formatboth Hands-on
- 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.
The Phonetic Zoo
Grades 3-12
Level A is grades 3-5, B is 6-8, C is high school. All three share the same 47 lesson cards, so moving up or adding a sibling means buying just the audio. Every fifth lesson is a personal list from the child's own misspellings.
Cost
| Cost item | All About Spelling | The Phonetic Zoo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49.95-69.95/level plus one-time tiles | $29-79/level |
| Consumable | Partial | No |
| Per child / year | ~$65-90 first year, ~$50-70/level after | ~$79 first child/level, ~$59 per added level or child |
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
The Phonetic Zoo
Consistently praised
- Kids run it themselves
- Frees up the parent completely
- Test scores jump
- Great for strong auditory learners
- No workbook to grind through
Reported as challenges
- Jingles run long and tedious
- Does not explain the why behind spellings
- Animal pictures sometimes confuse
- Faster audio voice outpaces some kids
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 The Phonetic Zoo fits
Fits independent, auditory kids and busy parents who want a spelling program that teaches and grades itself, plus multi-age families who can share one card set across levels. Look elsewhere if a child needs the reasoning behind each rule, wants a visual workbook, or gets frustrated repeating the same list for days.
Read the full The Phonetic Zoo entry Check price Institute for Excellence in WritingSome 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
The Phonetic Zoo 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.