Comparing Pre-school English Reading and Phonics Enrichment

[reiner]

hi buds,


me is staying near to Kallang mrt... any MMI phonics to recommend in my area? how about M Parade? or TPY? my girl is 4.5Y n she just know the 26 letters sounds fm Letterland in CC and lots of leapfrog n starfall.... but me dont know how to teach/practice w her to blend the words, like \"an\", \"at\"... she can read abt 85% of P&J till 6b now... but is thru memory yah.... :roll:

will MMI assess my gal prior to attend class? wonder whether can let her to 插班 which start on blending eh? since she knows the basic 26 sounds eh... can save bit monies mah... :oops:

why MMI? coz my sil, frenz strongly recommend... only MMI @ JE & JW have phonics enrichment class but their timing doesn't suit leh... n gotta travel to west side, scare my gal will be tired... please help yo...

[buds]

Heyya reiner, MMI Phonics should be available over at their Enrichment

Centres usually conducted over the weekends. That said, there are a
few of their childcare set-ups that run similar programmes during the
weekends as well. Some enrichment centres do conduct during week
days too, subject to availability of manpower.

The ability to already recognize the alphabets plus the 26 letter sounds
is definitely a headstart for a 4.5yr old child and yes, depending on the
availability of placement at the centre which offers it, she could join an
existing class (if they have an existing class at your child's level) which
may currently be doing the Pink Scheme (3-letter phonetic words) & of
course; subject to a simple assessment with the directress prior to
admission.

Do ensure that your child can sound out all the sounds and recognise the
alphabets without the need to reflect on the Letterland characters any
more as the wordbuilding and word family blending stage for Montessori
Phonics will not be associated with any Letterland friends. I'm sure if her
letter sounds are solid, she should not have a problem joining an existing
class provided they do have one at the moment; instead of joining a new
class and start it all over again. You can try...

Oh dear dear reiner... please please try not to make special long distance
travel arrangements for your child, especially not from your place to the
west! Unless you do have to visit your in-laws each week... or go for that
spa... :lol: ... etc... it WILL be extremely tiring for your child and will also
eventually take a toll on yourself.

Do call any of the centres near you to find out first. While the programme
is tried and tested to be extremely effective to develop and shape fluent
readers, it is directly dependent on the teacher quality.. do take note that
there will be teachers who may be a little rigid and non-flexible who does
straightforward no-nonsense teaching styles... and there are also those
who think outta the box and come up with some extras to make their
lessons more interesting.. hence, the quality varies between centres
even under the same management. Hope this helps somewhat.

Regards, buds.

[reiner]

hmmmm... so far my gal can do the 26 sounds w/o Letterland \"reminder\"...


so is it only MMI is the \"real\" one, other centres which carry \"Montessori\" are not frm the group MMI? so different teaching? pardon my shallow yah... this's 1st time sending girl to class, really \"gong\" hor... :?:

can shine some light of recommended centres/ teachers?

[buds]

There are other Montessori centres that offer similar Phonics lessons. In

fact, Montessori Mathematics as well too. Nope, MMI aren't the only
ones offering such programmes and nope they aren't the real ones either. :lol:

Maria Montessori is the most \"real\" when it comes to real! She's the founder!
Even if there is any difference in the actual delivery of lessons, the nature
of the method shouldn't be drastically different as the source is technique-ly
similar... some school of thought may have less steps and others may have
additional steps. Nothing too crucial abt the differences.

You may check with other non-MMI centres to see if they offer similar pgrms
for children your child's age. The duration, the group size and the cost will
vary across centres. You also need to check on that. Eh, sorlie arh... me
kampong girl wan... never leave village for no reason... Kallang is near
Paya Lebar right? So, consider east side right?

[reiner]

wah… 深奥喔… need time to digest…


yah, 2 mrt stn away fm paya lebar… so paya lebar has the class? singpost?

[buds]

Alamak? Hard to understand ah...


Ok. Simplify yah..

Not only MMI centres offer Montessori Phonics programmes.
Private-run Montessori centres may offer similar programmes
as well. I do not know of any particular ones in your area as i
am residing up North, waaayyy the other side of where you r.. :oops:

Not implying that SingPost Paya Lebar has it, either? Tell you what.
Here's the link to the MMI website. You try to find one to your
convenience if you still prefer to have your child learn under their
programme. > http://www.modern-montessori.com/presch_centres.htm

Or you may call the Orchard enrichment branch to inquire about
the nearest MMI centre to where you are residing.
> http://www.modern-montessori.com/presch_centres_oe.htm

If not... you may search here for listings of Montessori schools near u..
> http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/listings-services-children

I found this centre in one search..
> http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/childcare/bestcare-montessori-kindergarten-and-child-development-centre

Hope this helps better?

[reiner]

hi buds,


ooops... tot you have 好介绍 of nearby class for me mah...

already called up MMI past few days. and was told only JE (near to MRT),JW (near to MRT) and Tampinese (gotta take MRT then change feeder bus n walk a distance) have enrichment class - phonics one... Others are no more... on the webby mentioned of enrichment class ones have already converted to Childcare lor (like the Orchard one) ...

since there are other centres also offer Montessori, then me gotta source again...

appreciated your explaination of this part...

my mum stays in Jurong which is near to JW... still pondering shall me travel to there lor... can go over my mum's pl then to phonics class then back to mum's pl for dinner. next back home... will this also tired my gal eh? since gotta do it very week... defence lawyer, a.k.a dh rasied his OBJECTION...

how about other phonics class besides Montessori method wld you recommend? do you open phonics class on Sat pm? keke...

[lil_jade]

Buds,


Thanks for your input!

Actually, this teacher came from Independent Creative Learners. Used to teach there. So... I check the web and her rates are just $20 cheaper..

So class size of 7 is too much?

I was looking at the MMI phonics links you provided and realise that it's $120 per month.. but just 1 hour... do you roughly know the class size? + it will not need 3 years commitment....

Of course, Montessori seems more established... Though the home - based teacher is good that it'll be the same teacher throughout.

Headache... maybe I should just go to the edufarm ones... though quality of teacher is doubtful.. but it's cheap loh.... and it's Letterland!

We'll be travelling to her place.. it's just 1 MRT away, so no prob!

[buds]

lil_jade:

Buds,


Thanks for your input!

You are welcome.

lil_jade:

Actually, this teacher came from Independent Creative Learners. Used to teach there. So... I check the web and her rates are just $20 cheaper..

No matter how much cheaper...
Cheaper will still be good, right?
Furthermore you know that she was previously from ICL.

lil_jade:

So class size of 7 is too much?

It's only in my opinion that it is a bit much for that age range, dear..
For all we know she may be able to handle it. For me, 5 is really the
max. Usually i try to have only 3 or 4. But different strokes for different
folks, yah? More than 6 in a group (esp younger age children) is
usually the size of a commercial set-up. That was what i meant.

lil_jade:

I was looking at the MMI phonics links you provided and realise that it's $120 per month.. but just 1 hour... do you roughly know the class size? + it will not need 3 years commitment....

For express classes (older children) they can do 10 mths pgrm. For the
other age range, usually 12mths to 18mths to finish depending on the
group development. Last i heard their group is like 7 to 8 in a class.

lil_jade:

Of course, Montessori seems more established... Though the home - based teacher is good that it'll be the same teacher throughout.

Yes, of course... Montessori Method has been around for a very long time!
Teachers in commercial centres usually hafta undertake an agreement to finish
their existing classes prior to leaving the centres unless for truly urgent cases.
Then, probably a slow hand-over to another teacher would have to take place.
That said, different centres have different protocol with regards to this as well.
So... yup, the children WILL have the same teacher throughout in \"most\" cases.

lil_jade:

Headache... maybe I should just go to the edufarm ones... though quality of teacher is doubtful.. but it's cheap loh.... and it's Letterland!

We cannot always assume that teachers from void deck ctrs or from ctrs
offering cheaper rates are usually the worse off ones.. Cos i HAVE
worked in cheapo centres but i'm very good! :lol: Sorry hor, that was
rather shameless. :laugh: Do try to go down and see for yourself yah!
Give all teachers a chance to show their potential... they could be the
good hidden ones. :evil: (Some experienced and senior teachers do
prefer to work nearby nia... so save on travelling time & cost... )

lil_jade:

We'll be travelling to her place.. it's just 1 MRT away, so no prob!

Like i said, it sounds good! Hope you can make up your mind soon enough
before spaces run out! :rahrah:

[buds]

reiner:

hi buds,

Well, hello again reiner..

reiner:

ooops... tot you have 好介绍 of nearby class for me mah...

You're excited i know.. :lol:

reiner:

already called up MMI past few days. and was told only JE (near to MRT),JW (near to MRT) and Tampinese (gotta take MRT then change feeder bus n walk a distance) have enrichment class - phonics one... Others are no more... on the webby mentioned of enrichment class ones have already converted to Childcare lor (like the Orchard one) ...

There's one in Kee Sun Ave i think, but really got to see the teacher
teaching, with any school you are recce-ing. While the method may
be the same, the quality will vary between people.

reiner:

since there are other centres also offer Montessori, then me gotta source again...

appreciated your explaination of this part...

No worries. You can also find out if Josiah Montessori (Eastpoint i think)
offers weekend phonics pgrms and also from The Learning Curve @
Tampines Mart. TLC used to be an MMI franchise but heard they've
recently gone private... this i'm not too sure since it was only hear
say..

reiner:

my mum stays in Jurong which is near to JW... still pondering shall me travel to there lor... can go over my mum's pl then to phonics class then back to mum's pl for dinner. next back home... will this also tired my gal eh? since gotta do it very week... defence lawyer, a.k.a dh rasied his OBJECTION...

It is a commitment that you have to make you know... after all it WILL
take like 12mth ++ to finish (approx) so it will mean that you need to
ensure she will not miss that many lessons to keep up. Having your
mom within JW is definitely a good reason enough to put your child
near there... :lol: ... but yah... it means you and DH got no weekend
time for yourselves due to hanging out at mom's. It will be pretty routine
for you both... three if including your child. Do weigh your options
carefully.

reiner:

how about other phonics class besides Montessori method wld you recommend?

I like the Letterland's way of teaching phonics as well.
Plus the likes of Jolly Phonics, both are equally fun and
engaging for children to learn / pick up reading skills.
Again, dependent on teacher's delivery lar yaa...

reiner:

do you open phonics class on Sat pm? keke...

Not yet, but i maybe.. :evil: ... plans are in the works. Most probably
after i deliver my #3 next year. :evil: I haven't officially open registration,
i already full house wait list, so how like that? :lol:

Plus if you noticed, i am also very far from where you are... i
am up north sista.. :lol:

Happy centre hunting, yah!