Comparing Pre-school English Reading and Phonics Enrichment

[mrswongtuition]

My son is in ZooPhonics now. He’s there basically cos they are one of the few phonics schools that have phonics class for toddlers (18-30months) & is convenient for us.


So far I find the class engaging but it’s more like an activity class. My son was quite ‘lost’ during the phonics session & he joined the class mid-way & did not understand the ‘sounds’ & animal characters with each alphabet.

I taught him at home to help him catch up & now he can follow the teachers in class when they make the alphabet sounds. I’m just letting him stay in the class till he can upgrade to the nursery class (3yo) in Jan 2010. Let him learn the basics first then decide if we want to find another school for him later.

[einleda]

Hi parents,


which phonics lesson is more interesting ?

My boy is on "read in a week" phonic lesson in Kent Ridge Tutors.

I observe that he does not enjoy the lesson at all. Every week, getting him to lesson is not easy. It seem da he drag himself to lesson.

If he is really not interested, i am thinking to stop him, I do not wan him to hate learning in the end.

any advise for me

einleda

[hkfan]

Hi there everyone


I'm new to this thread and am in the process of making a decision to enroll my daughter in a phonics/ reading programme. I've basically narrowed down to 2 choices n would like some feedback on them

1) ICR
2) Lorna Whiston Phonics Programme

My girl is currently in K1. I was browsing through the thread n understand that certain branches are better than others. (for ICR). I'm in the Northeast n I'm looking at the punggol, sengkang and kovan branches although I'm flexible to others in the east or central as my priority is to get hold of a passionate and engaging teacher who will be able to help improve my girl's reading skills.

I also need more feedback on the Lorna Whiston programme as the lady at the counter in United Sq wasn't very helpful at all... just passed me the brochures n fee structure n was more concerned to collect fees frm other parents.

Hope someone can help me in my decision by giving parents' feedback in anyway TIA :?: :?: :?:

[limoncello]

Hi, my 2 boys who are now 12 and 15 went through Letterland Phonics from N1 to K2 at Pat’s Schoolhouse Lim Ah Pin.


I found Letterland Phonics to be a very robust system. By the time the boys reached Primary 1, there was little need to bother about the spelling as they could spell 90% of the words by sound. Personally, I found that intermingling of Letterland into their everyday pre-school made the learning of English fun and painless. I am of the opinion that a once a week enrichment would not work to create a good English foundation.

After equipping them with phonics, the next step is to make them into voracious readers. To enthuse my boys, we bought Scholastics’ " Horrible Series" , Roald Dahl, Harry Potters, Narnia. We would walk into Kinokuniya and come out with 5 books at a time. Over time, their reading tastes changed from genre to genre but the reading habit was already established.

[cleo]

Hi all,


Am also looking for English enrichment programme for my gal and I’m trying to decide between ICR and Lorna Whiston…

Any advises on these 2 centres?

[buds]

einleda:

Hi parents,


which phonics lesson is more interesting ?

My boy is on \"read in a week\" phonic lesson in Kent Ridge Tutors.

I observe that he does not enjoy the lesson at all. Every week, getting him to lesson is not easy. It seem da he drag himself to lesson.

If he is really not interested, i am thinking to stop him, I do not wan him to hate learning in the end.

any advise for me

einleda

Will you be able to share here with us,
the method KRTC is using for their
phonics lessons?

And by the way, when you posed the question,
\"Which Phonics lesson is more interesting...?\"
Just to clarify, which centre were you making
comparisons with or wish to compare with?

I do agree tho' that if the lesson is conducted
in a very interesting manner, it will help to
cultivate the love for learning to read.

[mrswongtuition]

The best way to see if the children are enjoying the enrichment is to stand outside to observe.


They should have students who are eager to leave their parents and rush into the school & students who can't bear to leave the school and keep telling their parents about what they learn in class.

I have a hard time trying to get my son out of his enrichment class as he'll go talk to the teachers and refuse to leave the school. Shows that my money is well-spent as he enjoys the learning

[shyanshan]

Anyone has kids at I Can Read @ Goldhill Plaza?

Are the teachers good?
my girl is 3 years + but she is very poor in her english. I would like to enrol her in the phonics class during dec holiday. any idea how much is the course fee?

[Charmaine_chong]

Hi,


Anyone’s kids had attended Zoophonics 's weekly class- Inny worms & Young joeys ?

Would you mind to share your experience for these weekly programes?

I find that it takes 20 months to teach phonics. This is real long. Feel like pulling him out. He has been with Zoo weekly since mid Aug09 and will be promoted to Inny worm.

I home-teach my son phonics and would like to supplement him with phonics enrichement class. Because he refuse to read book and speak up. He pay attention and pick the right card when i say out the words.

I knew that ICR is very popular in this forum. Aside ICR, any good phonics with affortable price?

What about Montessori Phonics taught by Doris Hui ? It takes 15 months to complete all and a lot cheaper, only $40 per month. Anyone has tried her?

Appreciate your comments

[MdmQ]

Is there any enrichment centers in Singapore that uses the Letterland system to teach phonics? Thanks.