Comparing Pre-school English Reading and Phonics Enrichment

[tankee]

N2? no need to go phonics enrichment classes.


Just read to her daily. Go to the library, and spend quality time there with her by reading to her there.

[MMM]

My views are different.


It depends on whether you’ve the resources (eg. time) to teach her. If you have, then yes, you can try to DIY provided that your english knowledge is ok. I do hear feedback from other parents whom I meet at classes that they are not too sure how to sound out the alphabets,etc… and they are not confident of teaching the child themselves as they don’t want to teach the wrong thing. In situation like that, you might want to consider phonic classes.

I send my youngest child to phonics class starting from term 3 of nursery. I do so because I do not have time to teach her by myself and at the same time, I feel that phonics is very important and a must learn.

[Hifive]

Hi enne


My boy is also N2 this year. Can understand your concern.

Last year, I got to know about the Leapfrog Letter Factory recommended by parents in this forum. I bought and played for my boy to watch, and to my surprise, he learned all the letter sound in 2 weeks (Before this I actually tried teaching the sound, but the progress was very slow - after a few weeks still stuck at letter c).

Playing lots of puzzles (with ABC and 1 to 10) helps them remember and also strengthen their finger muscles. I also played with him using flashcards.

Reading helps. I read to him before he sleeps. Now it becomes a routine and is a "MUST READ" before bed time.

Since your child is going to start N2 in March, you may want to consider starting the enrichment class later. Maybe give your child sometime to settle in the daily class first.

[Trina]

I totally agree with MMM. Few years back, I quitted my job to spend time with my girl who was 3. She was not receptive to my teaching and didn't even learn the alphabets during the 3 months we spent together. Finally I gave up and she learnt it quickly at preschool. At 3+, I enrolled her in Zoophonics and she could read after 1 term. By the time she hit 5, she was already reading Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl etc. Sometimes it is better to just leave it to the experts......


However on the hindsight, it is probably better value for money to spend kids to phonics class at K1 cos they learn it much faster. Of course, reading with your kids is a definite must-do! I read to my girl everynight since she was a baby but gradually less when she started reading on her own. But we still do it happily together now and she is already in P2!!

MMM:

My views are different.

It depends on whether you've the resources (eg. time) to teach her. If you have, then yes, you can try to DIY provided that your english knowledge is ok. I do hear feedback from other parents whom I meet at classes that they are not too sure how to sound out the alphabets,etc.... and they are not confident of teaching the child themselves as they don't want to teach the wrong thing. In situation like that, you might want to consider phonic classes.

I send my youngest child to phonics class starting from term 3 of nursery. I do so because I do not have time to teach her by myself and at the same time, I feel that phonics is very important and a must learn.

[jen18j]

what is a good age to send to I Can Read? There are classes for 2.5yrs old too. Are they too young to attend?

[tamarind]

Personally I do not believe in spending hundreds of dollars a month sending kids to enrichment classes. If you have more than one child, then it costs even more. Quite often the \"experts\" are not really experts, they probably only went through a little training. I have heard of many parents who sent their kids to enrichment classes, and their kids still cannot read.


For kids who are 3 to 6 years old, we do not need experts to teach them.
Try reading this page :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_w1nyHWTEh94/SkAfCDgbPOI/AAAAAAAABIc/AHhlGh6Mshw/s1600-h/DSCF6830.JPG

If you can read it easily, then you can teach ! Phonics is not rocket science. I learned to sound out the words by watching the Leapfrog DVDs with my kids. The Letter Factory DVD costs less than $20, and I used it for 2 kids. I used to send my boy to Zoophonics, paid $100 a month for 1 hour lesson a week, after 5 months, he learned nothing !

Kids between 3 to 6 years old learn best when given one to one attention at home. Even if you spend $50 for one lesson, it is going to be one teacher to 10 kids. Many kids at 3 to 4 years old cannot sit still and listen, and they do not learn well in a group.

The best way to teach young kids is through repetition every day. Very few kids are able to remember the lesson after attending only 1 or 2 hours a week. In fact, teaching 15 - 30 mins everyday, is far better than only 2 hours a week.

However, parents need to be patient and persistent. If you find yourself screaming at the child everyday, then it is not a good idea to teach at home.

I know that most parents are not confident to teach. The purpose of my blog is just to show what can be done at home, I have included excellent resources that are tried and tested by millions of other kids in the world. If you use the right resources, it is actually very easy. More importantly, I want to prove that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money in order to teach your child to read very well. It is not true that those families who can send their kids to expensive classes, definitely will do better than others.

I wonder why parents are so willing to \"enrich\" the pockets of those operators of the enrichment classes, without first trying to see what can be done at home.

Another advantage of teaching my kids at home, is that it is a great way of bonding with them

[MMM]

tamarind:

I know that most parents are not confident to teach. The purpose of my blog is just to show what can be done at home, I have included excellent resources that are tried and tested by millions of other kids in the world. If you use the right resources, it is actually very easy. More importantly, I want to prove that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money in order to teach your child to read very well. It is not true that those families who can send their kids to expensive classes, definitely will do better than others.


I wonder why parents are so willing to \"enrich\" the pockets of those operators of the enrichment classes, without first trying to see what can be done at home.

Hi Tamarind,

I fully agree with you and think you did a great job in sharing your resources. But frankly with more than 1 kid and being a working mum. We are not trying to enrich the operator's pockets but rather make the best of whatever limited resources we have. In this instance, it's time. So it's really up to individual family to decide for themselves what works best for them. But it's true even with lessons, you cannot leave everything to the centre, revision is still important at home to ensure the child retains what they learnt.

[tamarind]

MMM:

Hi Tamarind,

I fully agree with you and think you did a great job in sharing your resources. But frankly with more than 1 kid and being a working mum. We are not trying to enrich the operator's pockets but rather make the best of whatever limited resources we have. In this instance, it's time. So it's really up to individual family to decide for themselves what works best for them. But it's true even with lessons, you cannot leave everything to the centre, revision is still important at home to ensure the child retains what they learnt.

I am also a full time working mommy. I only spent about 15 mins a day teaching my boy to read since he was 3 years old, and the results are fantastic by the time he turns 5 years old, even though my boy is only of average ability. If we use the right resources and teach consistently using effective methods, we don't need to spend a few hours every day.

I totally agree with you that it is up to individual family to decide what is best for them. But the fact is that many parents do not even think that it is possible to teach a child to read at home, because they don't know how to start.

The purpose of my http://tamarindphonics.blogspot.com/ is only to show how we can teach our kids at home, and to prove the results are far better than spending thousands of dollars in enrichment classes. My blog aims at helping parents who cannot afford to spend so much money to teach their kids at home.

I understand that not all parents can be good at teaching their own kids, but I encourage all parents to try first, and not be so willing to \"enrich\" other people's pockets.

Also don't forget that besides English, there is also Chinese, Maths, piano, swimming, etc. I often hear parents complaining that it is very expensive to raise a child in Singapore. The fact is that many people may be spending money unnecessarily.

I have spent about $9000 sending 2 kids to Berries from N2 to K2 to learn Chinese. Though I am happy with the results, I always wish that I could have saved this money. I only found http://tamarindvillage.blogspot.com/2009/12/teaching-chinese-at-home.html to teach Chinese in December last year. If I have found these resources 3 years ago, I would have saved the $9000, and my kids would have been much more proficient in Chinese.

[enne]

Hi all,

really really appreciate all the advices provided!!

hi tamarind,
thanks for your blog link
i went in for a quick look just nw & really find it very informative
later will go in read up again
the ABC books.. everytime i go to popular
too much variety to choose make me not buying any in the end..

i will still try my best to teach her & hopefully can see some results
as for enrichment classes, i will still send her for them due to limited time & knowledge on my end :?



hi tankee,
yah i am trying to read to her as much as i can
but due to limited time with her so thats y i'm trying to c if i can get external help
like those enrichment classes esp when hmm my eng is not very gd


hi MMM,
yah my main concern is like wat u mentioned
not confident due to my eng level so i dun wish to later teach her some wrong stuff lol
esp like pronouncation
plus limited time with her
may i know which ctr to send your child to?


hi hifive,
for vcds/dvds, i tried buying some before but nt leapfrog though
my ger simply dun like cos she find them boring & will do other things
tats y a bit hestiating to buy
but for reading, i am trying my best to read to her as much as i can
hopefully it will help her


hi trina,
i wanted to enrol her for phonics in K1 but then i think think since she got a lot of free time
so i thought of enrolling her 1st
if nt she at home also nt doing much things
cos reading & writing at home is also for a short while
as for reading yes i will try my best to do as much as i can hehe

[MMM]

enne:

may i know which ctr to send your child to?

I send my kids to Jan & Elly at serangoon garden.