Comparing Pre-school English Reading and Phonics Enrichment

[buds]

phtthp:

Usually, mastering of individual 26 sounds from A to Z is mastered at n1.

Phtthp, you should avoid generalisations like the above to indirectly ignite undue stress to parents especially new moms and dads who are first time parents. Many parents keep harping how the national standard is getting tougher every year and stressing our children until they are unable to enjoy their childhood & what nots... but it's also because parents are sometimes unaware or misinformed or have the lack of knowledge wrt to curriculum.. that these perceived generalisations of supposed age/level standards cause the kiasu level of parents to increase and directly causing our kids to keep moving faster and to keep moving up levels at insane speed. Children are then thrown into the enrichment and tuition wagon when they actually do not have to. At least not at too tender an age. N1 kids are technically still babies! :shock: Give them the time to play! Furthermore for parents like Janiz' who enrol their children in Montessori schools, they have adequate time for everything and all done learning thru purposeful work/play. The learn early science, exposed to early geography, math concepts and MANY MORE... all from simple to challenging and from concrete experiences to abstract. They also learn many other aspects of early childhood that other mainstream children may not have the time to learn these skills like soft skills from social grace and courtesy, practical life exercises to promote independence and a host of sensorial explorations that many children are deprived of in the name of academic pursuits at such a tender age.

Not all parents are able to discern between what's necessary and what's enough and what's too kiasu... hence sweeping generalisations are not helpful in allowing parents to understand the real pace of early education.

Plus in Montessori Education, their curriculum is uniquely individual in accordance to a child's individual pace.

phtthp:

In some Montessori pre-schools, blending of sounds can start around n2 term2 onwards. Eg: b-at, c-at, f-at, m-at. No need to wait until k1 then start to learn how to blend sounds. The earlier your child start, the faster your child complete green scheme Montessori phonics. (Green scheme is the Advanced stage).

Different centres offer different services and they throw a variety of biz tactics to serve their customer base/target. Children in actual Montessori schools get holistic education to nurture a whole child. Some others push only the academic portions of a successful Montessori Education that can be completed in compressed time.

phtthp:

The earlier your child complete green scheme phonics, the earlier your child can move into learning grammar, vocab. Most Montessori pre schools do not allow a child to start Learn grammar & vocab, if child had not completed the last advanced stage, ie. green scheme phonics.

The earlier your child start / begin to learn grammar, vocab - then the earlier your child can start moving onto creative creating composition. To write a good Compo, the tenses in grammar used must be correct, the correct vocab or creative phrases must be applied in relevant context. If a Compo too many grammar mistakes, it irks the reader.you feel like throw away the essay or ask child to re-write.

Driving a young child towards academic pursuits alone deprives the joy of the journey in the learning process. Bearing in mind that all children have different potentials and varying level of capabilities, earlier does not always mean better.

Children need time to mature cognitively to grasp concepts at the appropriate time. It's not always the case where all children can master the same things at the same time. It's unrealistic to get a child to run when they are just learning to walk. Let our children be the children they really are. Parents have to cease making squares out of children. Give them the space to think out of the box and let them show you their true potentials. Not the one we want them to have.

[linakua]

Hi


As we were working in China and my elder son (6 yrs old this yr) studied 2 yrs kindergarden in China. Now we are back to Singapore trying to get him prepare 1 year in advance for his Primary school education (will be enrol to Primary school in 2014).

And lucky that we come back earlier, his English is very poor. After 5 months in childcare, he still did not pick up his English although he do understand very simple English.

My friend recommend I Can Read enrichment course.

Anyone can share with me about this I Can Read?

Also my younger son is 3 yrs old, I understand there is a Baby Bear Club in ICR, is it useful?

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi linakua,


I can read and Lcentral is very popular in Singapore.

My two kids have been in Lcentral and it was good.

Aside of sending them to English enrichment, perhaps you would want to spend more times reading and playing games in english with them. Otherwise, improvement would be very slow.

Do prepare your elder child well as the child must be able to read independently in P1 as my eldest is in P1 now. So i knew it.

End of term1, my child was exposed to Math in problem sum, English - show & tell, recite poems, spelling &lots of homework and chinese - han yu pin yin and spelling.

[faithgurl]

Hi,


I’m looking for a English enrichment class for my N2 girl. Can anyone give some comments on I Can Read, LCentral, Lorna Whiston & Icreative? Which one is good in terms of their teaching method, materials etc? Hope to hear some feedback. Thanks!

[Mrs Ang]

My child is 3.5 yo and went thru the assessment at ICR and they recommend Little Bears Club for her first. They will upgrade her level if she improve after a few lessons. Any comments on ICR is appreciated. TIA

[MRZ18]

anyone can share what is the foundation course fee for LCentral per term?

[apple48]

Hi


any good school to recommend? :evil:

[Twinsmum]

Hi,


I am one of the KS mom. I hope i can share the phonics enrichment school which my 4yrs old DD are attending since Jan. It is called Kidz Literacy Cove at Serangoon Gdn.

Like many parents here, i was considering a few established phonics schools until by chance, someone recommended me to this small set up phonics school in Serangoon Gdn.

The class size is very small. 1:4 max. and they do conduct 1:1 for kids with learning issue. They are using Jolly Phonics and Ms Victoria Carlton do work with the school somehow.

The thing i like about the school is that teachers are Jolly Phonics trained, degree in Early Childhood & ex-preschool teachers. Thus they are able to engage kids well & also detect some learning issue. For instance, both the prinicpal & teacher told me one of my DD is a perfectionist from the way she does her thing & react. Frankly, it is not the teachers from CC which they used to attend nor the teachers from current kiddy, instead it is from this once a week phonics class that i am been told. All i know is 1 of my DD has attitude issue & a challenge to teach.

Anyway, coming back to this school, they actually customise the lesson plan to suit your kids learning pace. The lesson plan is very engaging. The principal is also very hands-on & she also teaches some classes herself. On of the feedback from the principal is that my DD can do more beside learning the phonics sound & she even discussed with me, suggest to ‘challenge’ my girls into blending & forming simple word sentence eg. say & write a sentence with using ‘of’ & ‘the’, in which blending normally introduce in K1. Of course, i am all for it! If they are able to cope why not?

The principal also observed that my DDs love to do crafts work so all the lessons will have 1 simple craft work to reinforce what they have learned for that particular lesson. Beside that, the principal herself is very approachable and open to views & feedback of parents.

Pls do not mistaken, I do not gain anything by introducing this phonics school. But i just feel that sometime certain school are overrated while some are underrated. This school may not be the best but at least it is able to captivate my DD interest in English language.

[iLoveChubby]

Twinsmum:

Hi,


I am one of the KS mom. I hope i can share the phonics enrichment school which my 4yrs old DD are attending since Jan. It is called Kidz Literacy Cove at Serangoon Gdn.

Like many parents here, i was considering a few established phonics schools until by chance, someone recommended me to this small set up phonics school in Serangoon Gdn.

The class size is very small. 1:4 max. and they do conduct 1:1 for kids with learning issue. They are using Jolly Phonics and Ms Victoria Carlton do work with the school somehow.

The thing i like about the school is that teachers are Jolly Phonics trained, degree in Early Childhood & ex-preschool teachers. Thus they are able to engage kids well & also detect some learning issue. For instance, both the prinicpal & teacher told me one of my DD is a perfectionist from the way she does her thing & react. Frankly, it is not the teachers from CC which they used to attend nor the teachers from current kiddy, instead it is from this once a week phonics class that i am been told. All i know is 1 of my DD has attitude issue & a challenge to teach.

Anyway, coming back to this school, they actually customise the lesson plan to suit your kids learning pace. The lesson plan is very engaging. The principal is also very hands-on & she also teaches some classes herself. On of the feedback from the principal is that my DD can do more beside learning the phonics sound & she even discussed with me, suggest to 'challenge' my girls into blending & forming simple word sentence eg. say & write a sentence with using 'of' & 'the', in which blending normally introduce in K1. Of course, i am all for it! If they are able to cope why not?

The principal also observed that my DDs love to do crafts work so all the lessons will have 1 simple craft work to reinforce what they have learned for that particular lesson. Beside that, the principal herself is very approachable and open to views & feedback of parents.

Pls do not mistaken, I do not gain anything by introducing this phonics school. But i just feel that sometime certain school are overrated while some are underrated. This school may not be the best but at least it is able to captivate my DD interest in English language.

Thanks for sharing, Twinsmum.
There has been too much talk on the established/popular centres.. it is always refreshing to know abt/explore new centres and their teaching methodology. I still believe teacher is the most important element in cultivating interest and passion in the kids... next comes relevant materials that suit your kids...Small class size is also v crucial esp for slower kids / kids who needed more attention.

[fungyeo]

Thanks for sharing, Twinsmum. The centre sounds great! Unfortunately, I’m staying at West.