All About Spelling vs Spelling You See

The sharpest difference is format: All About Spelling is Hands-on, Spelling You See is Workbook. Four more separate them, so this is not a close pairing.

At a glance

All About Spelling

Grades 1-12

Owners report it suits

Dyslexia2e

Spelling You See

Grades K-8

Owners report it suits

Reluctant learnersIndependent workers

Both are reported to suit Struggling learners and Hands-on learners.

Skip to who fits

Where they differ

Attribute All About Spelling Spelling You See
Rigor
?

How demanding the material is versus grade level. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:

  1. 1gentle, below grade
  2. 2relaxed
  3. 3on grade
  4. 4demanding
  5. 5advanced
Read the rigor guide
Parent involvement
?

How much the parent is present and teaching. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:

  1. 1hands-off
  2. 2light
  3. 3shared
  4. 4leading
  5. 5parent-taught
Read the parent involvement guide
Independence
?

How much the child can do alone. Where a program lands on the 1 to 5 scale:

  1. 1adult-led
  2. 2guided
  3. 3semi-independent
  4. 4mostly independent
  5. 5fully independent
Read the independence guide
Approach Mastery Blended
Format Hands-on Workbook
Best for Tags show where owners consistently report a good fit. They are not exclusions. Struggling learnersHands-on learnersDyslexia2e Struggling learnersReluctant learnersHands-on learnersIndependent workers
Method TraditionalClassicalEclecticOrton-Gillingham Charlotte MasonClassicalEclecticCopywork and dictation
Grades 1-12 K-8

Solid tags are unique to that program. Muted tags are carried by both.

Where they match

How each one plays by grade

All About Spelling runs 4 grades further than Spelling You See. If you want one program to carry the subject for the long haul, plan on leaving Spelling You See around grade 8 and choosing again.

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.

Spelling You See

Grades K-8

Levels A and B are early and parent-intensive. C through E follow a weekly chunking, copywork, and dictation pattern on nonfiction passages. F shifts responsibility to the student and G is the most independent.

Cost

Cost item All About Spelling Spelling You See
Price $49.95-69.95/level plus one-time tiles ~$41-66/level set
Consumable Partial Partial
Per child / year ~$65-90 first year, ~$50-70/level after ~$58-66 first time teaching a level, ~$34-47 after

Where to buy

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

Spelling You See

Consistently praised

  • Short daily lessons kids do not resist
  • No spelling lists and no weekly tests
  • Low-stress and confidence-building
  • Almost no parent prep
  • Older levels run pretty independently

Reported as challenges

  • Dictation days need a parent at the table
  • Slow progression feels repetitive to some
  • Locked into a five-day-a-week rhythm
  • Light on explicit spelling rules

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 Press

Who Spelling You See fits

A gentle, low-stress spelling routine in short daily lessons, and it suits visual or reluctant spellers who freeze up on traditional weekly tests. Families who want fast progress, explicitly taught rules, or a flexible three-day rhythm will find it too slow.

Read the full Spelling You See entry Check price Demme Learning

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Still deciding?

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 August 2026.