Letterland

[GTGT]

pummanuel:

buds:

Childcare set up due to the longer hours can afford to drag lessons.

It also depends on whether for full day children, more is being done
in the afternoons like reinforcement of lessons learnt during the day,
or whether there are other enrichment activities offered by the centre
or just dunk children in front of the tv till their parents arrive..

In the case of Pat's, phonics are taught in the am class (for am students). For the extended class in the afternoon, it focuses more on enrichment activities like story telling, craft, etc.

For Pat's, the teachers tend to emphasize on age-appropriate learning. I think it's good to have such teachers for me as they will educate me on how to be better parent. :lol:

Hi Pummanuel

My boy is in Pat's Schoolhouse too. He is at Halifax - playgroup.

Which branch is your child at ?

[buds]

pummanuel:

In the case of Pat's, phonics are taught in the am class (for am students). For the extended class in the afternoon, it focuses more on enrichment activities like story telling, craft, etc.

Good for you, pummanuel.
That SHOULD be the way! :celebrate:

While many centres promise these enrichment lessons...
it is wise for parents to check up aniwaes that the lessons
promised ARE indeed being delivered.

pummanuel:

For Pat's, the teachers tend to emphasize on age-appropriate learning. I think it's good to have such teachers for me as they will educate me on how to be better parent. :lol:

I can never over-emphasize on age-appropriate learning.

[concern2]

Hi Buds,


My DS’s childcare uses Letterland and I have to say that it has been effective in developing his reading abilities.

At 6 years old, however, he is still pretty much into picture books, and doesn’t seem to fancy reading books like Geronimos, Beast Quest, Ronald Dahl, Enid Blytons… Do you think there is a need to ‘upgrade’ him to non-picture books?

Seeking expert advice…

[buds]

pummanuel:

Hence I think Letterland is still pretty effective and kudos to the teachers too.

It IS indeed effective and the teachers' creativity, knowledge and passion
will show in their delivery as our children attend the lessons... and in the
end display what they've learnt.

pummanuel:

But like what both of you mentioned, Pat's only starts to teach basic blending in N2 Term 4, i.e 3 letters like c-a-t. My own guess is because there are new students joining the school in N2, who did not learn phonics previously or taught in a different phonics program, so the teacher has to run through the entire N1 phonics program again. However, instead of doing it in the alphabetical order, i.e after Annie Apple, teach Bouncy Ben, the sounds of the letters are introduced in a non-alphabetical order. Maybe there is a rationale in the order but I'm not aware.

In many Phonics programmes, the sounds aren't taught in alphabetical order
as most times the children especially the older children can already work on
wordbuilding after a learning a few single letter sounds. Take Jolly Phonics
for example... they teach s, a, t, i, p, n... so that children can be shown/
introduced to listening to sounds in words and not straight into reading
3-letter words as many like to do straight away.. the ability to listen to
sounds in words goes a looong way... Jolly students can build words
over like 40 words if i remember correctly... just when they're
learning the above 6 single letter sounds. ie. sat, sap, tan, pin
(etc)...

pummanuel:

I went to the K1 and K2 classes and realised that there is a big jump in these levels. The bulk of phonics is taught in K1 and in K2, the focus is on creative writing. I've seen the works of the K2 children last year and I was really impressed. (Maybe I'm just being suaku but compared to the our standards in the past, I thought it was good.)

This is the current systematic way to ensure there isn't last minute learning
or preparations on the child's part. Suffice to say, they should be adequately
P1 ready.

pummanuel:

For long vowels, like oa, oo, ee, the stories are not so helpful so I just used the method mentioned in the Leapfrog DVD, ie when two vowels walk together, the first says its name.

I agree to a point that the stories can slow the reading progress but it can
still however be shared more for story-fun-sake instead of for actual
learning requirement.

pummanuel:

I started blending and P&J last Dec, and she's at Book 10b now. I believe your children should be able to fare better with the English speaking environment.

My girls didn't even go that far into Bk 10 of P&J as they were already
reading ahead with other books, so it is not necessary in my opinion to
literally finish the entire set. More important to inculcate the love for
reading... so once the reading skills take off, parents can diversify
the reading variety tailored to the child's interest and one or two
that they would like the children to try/attempt.

Children can also be exposed to other variations of sight reading books
other than Peter & Jane. Some kindies & childcare centres recommend
Scholastic, Parachute, Rigby.. (etc)

Being in an English speaking environment definitely helps. Usage of the
language daily will steer children to proper grammar and vocabulary use.

[pummanuel]

GTGT:

Hi Pummanuel


My boy is in Pat's Schoolhouse too. He is at Halifax - playgroup.

Which branch is your child at ?

Hi GTGT, she's at Serangoon.

[pummanuel]

buds:

While many centres promise these enrichment lessons...
it is wise for parents to check up aniwaes that the lessons
promised ARE indeed being delivered.

Hi buds

I agree with you that parents should check out the enrichment lessons when they can. I enrolled my daughter in the extended classes in Apr this year as being the only child, she yearned for company.

I went earlier to observe the classes as well as asked my daughter on the content of the extended classes. Though the school delivered what they promised but I felt the extended classes were a mapping of what they did in the morning. Perhaps the am's curriculum was very well designed already.

As a SAHM, I felt that I should spend more time with her, so after 2 weeks, I coaxed her to stop her extended classes and had my own personalised enrichment classes. However, I do know of several parents, both FTWM & SAHM, in her school who like the extended classes very much.

buds:

I agree to a point that the stories can slow the reading progress but it can
still however be shared more for story-fun-sake instead of for actual
learning requirement.

Indeed, the stories make interesting reading on its own. I read them to her as well as played them in the car. The letterland materials I bought were equipped with CDs (alphabet songs, handwriting songs, digraph stories) which I found very useful. We turned them into audio stories when travelling. Afterall, the materials are not cheap too, so the more we use them, the more worthwhile it is. :lol:

buds:

My girls didn't even go that far into Bk 10 of P&J as they were already
reading ahead with other books, so it is not necessary in my opinion to
literally finish the entire set. More important to inculcate the love for
reading... so once the reading skills take off, parents can diversify
the reading variety tailored to the child's interest and one or two
that they would like the children to try/attempt.

Like what buds said, it's not necessary to finish the whole series. Likewise, Tamarind opined book 9 is sufficient for a child to advance to other books.

I continued with P&J partly coz my daughter likes the series very much. She sees them as her friends. We are doing 11b now, and she was every excited by what the kids were doing for the carnival. She wanted to dress up as a fairy like Jane and went to do a wand - cut the post it note into a star and sticked it onto a straw. The other reason is because I bought the whole set of P&J...haha...and the accountant in me is more than happy she wants to read further. :oops:

But I have to admit I used P&J like a textbook initially. It was when we hit the rocks at 7a that I started to introduce her to other story books as per Tamarind's advice. And it was during this phase that I began to understand my daughter's topics of interest - fantasy, animals and lately, reproduction. I bought 'Where Willy Went' and she loved it. It's much easier to encourage them to read when they are interested in the books.

And buds, thanks for starting this Letterland thread. Several of my daughter's schoolmates' parents got impatient with the school's decision to start blending in Term 4 of N2 and started them on external phonics courses. I'm worried the children would be confused with both Letterland and other phonics courses. I hope with your thread, parents will be more informed on Letterland.

[buds]

pummanuel:

Hi buds


I agree with you that parents should check out the enrichment lessons when they can.

The centres call it by different programme names. A couple i do know
of call it their PM enrichment programme. These centres are usually the
ones that offer cc afternoon programmes. Hence the enrichment part of
it is to entice new customers who aren't keen on care part of a childcare
set-up but yet find the longer hours helpful. The hours can be from after
the staff lunch which by then all the full day children are all asleep to a
few who start a four hour programme from 3pm to 7pm. The PM-only
programme are also popular with SAHMs who work part time PM.

You are right in a way to say that it is kinda of an extension of the AM
programme, at least that's from what i know from personal experience
and encounters with some centres. Unless the centres employ 3rd party
providers to run enrichment programmes outside from what the centre
may be able to provide... for example a third language course... or an
arts programme... an IT programme... kids yoga... speech & drama...
(etc).

For the extension of AM thingy, it is like a fun revision of what is done
during the day for the full day children but a new activity for the PM
children. Hence, while the lesson per se may be a revision based one
for the full day children, the craft... the worksheet... the activity may
be a little different from what was done earlier in the day. This means
children who stay on full day will get extra enhancement. And
also a new group of friends to interact with.

pummanuel:

As a SAHM, I felt that I should spend more time with her, so after 2 weeks, I coaxed her to stop her extended classes and had my own personalised enrichment classes. However, I do know of several parents, both FTWM & SAHM, in her school who like the extended classes very much.

Yup, i agree. Some SAHMs i know even had options to do flexi extended
programmes from some centres who had space availability for their PM
sessions. PM sessions are generally quite quiet..

Nothing beats personalised lessons with mommy though.. :celebrate:
I did my own as well.

buds:

I agree to a point that the stories can slow the reading progress but it can
still however be shared more for story-fun-sake instead of for actual
learning requirement.

pummanuel:

We turned them into audio stories when travelling. Afterall, the materials are not cheap too, so the more we use them, the more worthwhile it is. :lol:

Agree. Same here.. :hi5: We made it our music and movement session
during the afternoons and a chance to play with puppets we made
according to the Letterland characters.

pummanuel:

The other reason is because I bought the whole set of P&J...haha...and the accountant in me is more than happy she wants to read further. :oops:

Children relate better when we bring out the meaning from the books we
read into practical stuff which they find more tangible. Kudos to you 4
the extra effort. I'm sure your child is reading extremely well. :salute:

And yes... once an investment is made... it'd be good to see through to
the end and make it worthwhile... value for money. But not to
worry too, once you're done... you can always put up your entire P&J
collection up at our Trading Post as pre-loved books. They are rather
popular even as pre-loved.. :evil: You can then invest the $ for new
books for your child.

pummanuel:

It's much easier to encourage them to read when they are interested in the books.

Very true. Especially as they get older, they tend to have a personal
interest in their choice of books.

pummanuel:

And buds, thanks for starting this Letterland thread. Several of my daughter's schoolmates' parents got impatient with the school's decision to start blending in Term 4 of N2 and started them on external phonics courses. I'm worried the children would be confused with both Letterland and other phonics courses. I hope with your thread, parents will be more informed on Letterland.

You are welcome and the pleasure is all mine. While i have less time these
days on the forum, i try to keep myself updated as and when i can and do
catch up on back-reads. I also try to reply as and when i can these days.. :oops:
Confusion may not be so much after the children know all their letter sounds,
but i suppose they will miss out on the fun blending stories. Term 4 of N2,
in my opinion is good time to start as their more mature. Other centres i
know of start only in K1. When children are more mature and have longer
attention span, the concepts can be taught and understood much better &
definitely much faster.

[buds]

For parents who are keen to start their children on Letterland introduction

and have no time to comb the entire thread, here's the link to the intro.

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3962&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

[buds]

concern2:

Hi Buds,


My DS's childcare uses Letterland and I have to say that it has been effective in developing his reading abilities.

I am very happy you shared, concern2. :celebrate:
I suppose your DS has a great teacher.

concern2:

At 6 years old, however, he is still pretty much into picture books, and doesn't seem to fancy reading books like Geronimos, Beast Quest, Ronald Dahl, Enid Blytons... Do you think there is a need to 'upgrade' him to non-picture books?

Seeking expert advice...

I'm honestly no expert and different children have different preference
for books. Between my two DDs, they are poles apart. Their voracity
for books are also on different levels.

While DD1 has moved on to Geronimos and Rainbow Magic fairy stories
at similar age... and can now upgrade to black and white illustrations in
chapter books... DD2 still can't. While DD1 reads pretty fast especially
when she is feeling the flow of the stories, DD2 would rather do some
thing else. DD2 still likes baby books too. Hehee.. That's what i call
the picture books. :lol:

Mebbe what DS needs is a kind of book that he can relate to. It doesn't
matter if the books he reads are still in colour. Upgrade as he moves
along rather than just dump the books you want him to read.

For me at least, i do not think you have to immediately upgrade him to
non-picture books. But that's only my opinion. :hugs:

I dunno if this might be his thing or if this might help... I went to Popular
@ CCK Lot 1 a couple of days ago and chance upon a Horrid Henry's 1st
single... in fully coloured illustrations. I think it was titled Horrid Henry &
the Football Fiend. I personally liked it. If you can find it, mebbe you
have a go for DS with it. There was only that one title available though.
I do not know if the rest are available here yet. But here's the link if u
are keen to check the books out. If i recall correctly, the coloured ones
are from their Early Readers level.

http://www.horridhenry.co.uk/pages/books/index.asp?id=10

Some children need a little shove to upgrade their reads and it can help
if we now what interesting stuff we can shove them with. I started
reading 'with' DD1 before she willingly embarked on her reading journey
on her own. It gave us some quality bonding time in between the waiting
for the school transport.

For black and white chapter books, i find The Magic Treehouse pretty good.

[pummanuel]

buds:

Agree. Same here.. :hi5: We made it our music and movement session
during the afternoons and a chance to play with puppets we made
according to the Letterland characters.

This is an interesting idea...to act out the roles with puppets. I should try it out one day with my finger puppets.

For us, we took turns to re-enact the roles, I'm Peter Puppy and she's Harry Hat Man. She will take take a photograph of me and I will pant like a dog, with my hands in front of me, and go 'ffff'. Or I'm Oscar Orange and she's Walter Walrus and she will splash water on me and I'll go very crossed and said 'oh' and 'ow'. It tickles her no end. Then we will switch the roles. One day, she asked me, 'I thought Mr O is supposed to protect Oscar Orange. Why didn't he come to his rescue when Walter Walrus was bullying OO?'

buds:

Confusion may not be so much after the children know all their letter sounds,
but i suppose they will miss out on the fun blending stories. Term 4 of N2,
in my opinion is good time to start as their more mature. Other centres i
know of start only in K1. When children are more mature and have longer
attention span, the concepts can be taught and understood much better &
definitely much faster.

Oh, perhaps this is why her school starts blending at Term 4 of N2. I've just proposed bringing forward basic blending to Term 3 in their annual feedback form. If different programs won't confuse the children who are already familiar with the letter sounds, then it seems alright. Thanks for the enlightenment.