All About Reading Honest Review: The Real Pros and Cons After Using It With Our Kids

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If you’ve been in homeschool circles for more than five minutes, you’ve probably heard someone swear by All About Reading. And you’ve probably also heard someone say it felt too scripted, too slow, or too much. So which is it?

We’ve now used it with two of our kids at different levels, and I want to give you the real, unfiltered version — not a sales pitch, not a panic-pass either. Just what we actually saw happen at our kitchen table (and sometimes out on the back porch while the chickens free-ranged and our labradoodle did his best to steal the letter tiles).

What Is All About Reading, Exactly?

All About Reading (AAR) is a multi-level phonics and reading program based on the Orton-Gillingham method — which is the gold standard for structured literacy, especially for kids who struggle with reading or show signs of dyslexia. It’s systematic, sequential, and explicit. That means nothing is left to chance. Every phonics rule is introduced one at a time, practiced, reviewed, and built upon.

There are four levels (Pre-Reading through Level 4), and each one comes with a teacher’s manual, student activity book, and a set of letter tiles. The lesson plans are fully written out, which either sounds like a lifesaver or a straitjacket depending on where you are in your homeschool journey.

Who It’s Made For

AAR works beautifully for:

• Kids who are just starting to read (Pre-Reading or Level 1)
• Kids who are struggling or stuck and need a methodical reset
• Kids who may be dyslexic or have other learning differences
• Moms who want a done-for-you reading plan with zero guesswork

It’s worth knowing upfront that this isn’t a Charlotte Mason living-books-by-the-fireplace kind of curriculum. It’s structured. But that doesn’t make it wrong — it just means you go in with clear eyes.

What We Loved: The Honest Pros

It Actually Works

I’ll start here because it matters most. My daughter was stuck. We’d tried a more relaxed, CM-style approach to phonics — reading poems aloud, gentle copywork, letting things click naturally — and it just wasn’t clicking. At all. We started AAR Level 1 in the fall, and by spring she was reading simple readers on her own. That’s not nothing. That’s everything.

The Orton-Gillingham method works because it uses all the senses — hearing the sound, seeing the letter, touching the tile, saying it out loud. For kids who need that multi-sensory hook, AAR delivers.

The Lesson Plans Are Genuinely Easy to Use

I don’t have to think when I open this book. The script is right there. On mornings when I’ve already handled a chicken waterer leak and broken up a sibling argument before 8 a.m., having a curriculum that just tells me exactly what to say? Priceless.

Each lesson is also short — usually 20 minutes or less. That fits beautifully with a Charlotte Mason short-lesson philosophy, even if the approach itself is more structured.

The Letter Tiles Are Genuinely Fun

My kids treated those letter tiles like toys. They built words on the floor, sorted them by color, and yes, occasionally launched them across the room. But they worked. Hands-on, tactile, moveable — it beat worksheets every single time.

It Pairs Naturally With Nature Study

This one surprised me. The decodable readers that come with AAR have simple, sweet stories — and we started narrating them, CM-style, after each one. We’d read about a bug in the reader and then go outside with our bug collection kit to find a real one. Reading as a doorway to the living world — that felt very us.

What Was Hard: The Honest Cons

It’s a Lot of Teacher Time

This is a one-on-one program. You can’t hand it to your kid and walk away to start dinner. Every lesson requires you, sitting there, present and engaged. If you’re juggling multiple kids at different grade levels (hi, that’s us), scheduling that one-on-one time takes real intention.

The Cost Adds Up

Each level runs $90–$100+, and you need a new activity book for each child (the teacher’s manual is reusable, but the student workbook isn’t). If you have three kids who each go through four levels… you do the math. The good news is that if you’re on the Florida PEP Scholarship, All About Reading is an approved vendor — so that funding can help cover it.

It Can Feel Dry If You Let It

The curriculum itself is warm and encouraging, but it’s still phonics practice. There’s nothing inherently beautiful or inspiring about drilling the /sh/ blend for the fourth day in a row. We had to bring the life to it ourselves — outside lessons when possible, nature journals nearby, watercolor paints on the table so she could illustrate the word of the day.

It’s Slower Than You Might Hope

AAR doesn’t rush. And honestly, that’s a feature, not a bug — but if you’re hoping your kindergartner will be reading chapter books by Christmas, you might feel impatient. Trust the pace. It’s doing its job.

How We Made It Work in a Charlotte Mason Home

We don’t use AAR as our whole language arts approach. We use it for phonics instruction only, and then we layer everything else around it the CM way — living books, narration, copywork from beautiful passages, nature journaling, poetry teatime.

If you want to see how we structure our days around this kind of balance, our Charlotte Mason Daily Schedule for Elementary Ages walks through exactly what that looks like in real life.

We also pair it with Handwriting Without Tears for penmanship, which has a similar clear, structured feel that complements AAR well without adding complexity.

Is It Worth the Money?

For us? Yes — especially for the child who needed it. If I’d had a kid who picked up reading easily and naturally, I might have just kept it gentle and let it unfold. But when a child is struggling, you don’t need beautiful. You need effective. AAR was effective.

For a fuller picture of how we choose and mix curricula, you might also enjoy our Ambleside Online Curriculum Honest Review — because we absolutely do both, and they play nicer together than you’d think.

The Bottom Line

All About Reading isn’t the most Charlotte Mason-flavored program on the shelf. But it’s one of the most reliable. If your child is struggling to read, or if you just want a structured, foolproof phonics foundation before you let the living books do their magic — it’s absolutely worth looking into.

Just don’t forget to take your lesson outside sometimes. Spell words in the dirt. Find the bug from the reader in the backyard. Let the chickens wander nearby while you practice. That’s still school. That’s actually the best school.

📖 You Might Also Like:

• Florida PEP Scholarship vs Hope Scholarship: Which One Is Right for Your Homeschool Family?
• Charlotte Mason Morning Basket Ideas for Beginners (What Actually Works for Our Family)
• Dual Enrollment Florida Homeschool Options: What Families Need to Know Before High School

Frequently Asked Questions

Is All About Reading worth it for homeschoolers?

For most families, yes — especially if your child is struggling with reading or if you want a reliable, no-guesswork phonics foundation. It’s a more expensive and teacher-intensive program, but it consistently delivers results, particularly for kids who need a structured, multi-sensory approach.

Is All About Reading a Charlotte Mason curriculum?

Not exactly. All About Reading is an Orton-Gillingham-based structured literacy program, which is more systematic and scripted than traditional Charlotte Mason methods. However, many CM families use it just for phonics instruction and layer living books, narration, and nature study around it.

Can I use All About Reading with the Florida PEP Scholarship?

Yes! All About Reading is an approved vendor under the Florida PEP Scholarship program, so eligible families can use their scholarship funds to purchase it. Always verify the current approved vendor list at Step Up For Students before purchasing.

How long does each All About Reading lesson take?

Most AAR lessons take between 15 and 20 minutes, which fits nicely with the Charlotte Mason philosophy of short, focused lessons. Lessons are designed to be done one-on-one with a parent or teacher.

What’s the difference between All About Reading and All About Spelling?

All About Reading focuses on decoding — teaching kids to read phonetically. All About Spelling uses the same Orton-Gillingham method but teaches encoding — how to spell words correctly. They’re companion programs designed to work together, and many families use both.