All About Teaching and Learning Phonics

[tamarind]

Charmaine,

The enrichment class thread is very prominent, I am sure parents can easily find that thread.

Parents who read this thread are those who want to find methods to teach their kids at home. Please note that many parents simply cannot afford to pay $40-$50 for one lesson. I know that many parents are not confident at the beginning, so seeing all this talk about enrichment classes may actually make them even less confident. Hopefully we can be more encouraging to them.

It is perfectly OK if you want to find enrichment classes, but you will be able to find more like minded parents in the other thread.

I believe that there are many other parents who believe in raising their kids without enrichment classes. And I want to give them my full support.

[Charmaine_chong]

Tamarind,


I didn’t know that my posts here are so discouraging.

Note that i posted here when i see some comments HERE that i think i can of little help,therefore just posted accordingly. I don’t think i need to purposely post on some other threads when i c some comments in this THREAD. I just chanced in and speak up my mind. As simple as that.

Nobody trying to encourage or promote enrichment here. That is not my objective but to speak my mind and provide any other alternatives.

What are you so upset about?

Why can’t you be more positive about various responds? Why can’t have different voices here?

[tamarind]

Charmaine,

Oh I did not realize that I sounded upset. I am not. I don’t think you really understand what I am trying to say. I am just trying to stay on topic here. That’s all. Let’s not continue this anymore, OK ? Thanks for your attention.

BTW, moderators do move posts to the relevant thread, and they do that for a good reason.

[outsider]

I tried to teach my son to read, it’s not easy. From letter sounds to 3 letter words, it took 1 year. He wasnt interested in the leapfrog series then and I think he was not ready too. (from 2.5 yr to 3.5 yr).

I felt frustrated… but what can I do? I just kept reading to him.

He is now 4 yr 2 mth old and can read P & J book 4a.
I have started sending him to phonics class this year… reason being :
My English standard is not strong,
He gets to mix with friends and
I dont know how to teach.

I want him to have a strong foundation.

[siak]

Everyone has opinion and they could be different. So please, please do not feel offended with any remark. Peace!!! :lol:


I am one who has benefited from Tamarind's blog, and though i did not really follow her method, but she has been my inspiration to start introducing phonics to my then 3 yo daughter. She is now 4 year 9 months, and she just finished readiing Peter and Jane book 12 B. Horrey! I am so proud of her achievement. and I believer she herself too. the Last book 12 b, she read thru by herself without me pushing her and completed within a day. She read so fluently and with fast speed, she can even read English subtitles in drama with that kind of speed. Of course there are new words that she does not know how to pronounce it correctly, but i would say she is a confident reader. Again, I tried only giving her watching Leapfrog DVD 5 sets and once in awhile i guided her but not in consistent basis. Please note that I can not dedicate my time in teaching her alone, not to speak for Phonics. My younger one, she could know all 26 sounds by 18 months because she watched the leapfrog dvd together with her elder sister. Now at 3 year and 3 months, she read peter and Jane book 3b. But her understanding about phonics is not as deep as her elder sister, she has not caught the essense of phonic and blending the sounds....this is i think partly because i didn not spend much time with her. You know...normally the 2nd child parents tend to be a bit loose. he...he... :lol:

Err....perhaps my elder can absord things fast or perhaps she is ready. But my stand is sometimes we can't say ready just for the ready per se. We need to create the path for them to be ready. For instance, like potty training or diaperless readiness. Both my daughters were without having to wear diaper when they were two years, inclduing night diaper. This is because I trained them from young even when they were babies.

I know some parents who believe that we need to wait them to be ready, then there will be no struggle.

True and false.

Sorry abit side track from reading. :lol:

[tamarind]

siak,

You did not side track at all ! I am very impressed and happy that your older girl can complete book 12B at such a young age, and I am sure that your younger girl will be reading very well soon. Thanks for sharing, that is very encouraging to me. The purpose of my blog is just to tell other parents that it is entirely possible to teach a child to read very well at home. My methods are only suggestions and I advise parents to invent their own methods

[tamarind]

outsider,

Your son is actually progressing very well for his age. It is perfectly OK to seek external help, hope that your son will learn well in his class

[siak]

Charmaine_chong:

Hi Tamarind,


Appreciate a lot your willingness to share good resources and know how to parents who keen to teach at home. I learnt a lot from your thread.

Not many parents love to share their experiences but only to seek help. Sorry i am very straight forward sometimes.

I am thankful there is always someone there who is so passionate, so kind to share their know how in teaching to the rest, like you and buds. Truly appreciate.

I absolutely agree with Charmaine, thinking back, I was an ignorant mother who was strugglin with work only. By then my elder was almost 3 and she did not know ABC sound. I only knew phonics when i started feeling panic, that i did not do anything. That's why I chanced upon Tamarind's sharing in baybsupplies forum and ever since then i bought Leapfrog DVD and be more focused in guiding my daughter in phonics. She could only read confidently by 3.5 year. I started buying Peter and Jane series (that Tamarind recommended) for her only in Jan 2009 (she was then 3 year and 8 months), and last Wed she completed 12 B.

The reason I am sharing about her achievement is not to brag, but to encourage those mothers who feel panicked or lousy and then have to start to move them to phonic classes. Again, for a late starter like me....... :lol: and for a lazy one like me who can not afford time to teach them on daily basis. But yet, this is the result. it's rather we save money for other enrichment classes like music, math ....i guess phonics is easier to be teachable. I am not an native english speaker, but i am confident that my English is not bad to teach. But of course, if you could afford to send them for expensive classed, by all mean, i believe the centers could have a better and structured methodology that can work for the children. I do strongly believe in this too......well...if i can afford....i probably send them too ..ha...ha... :lol:

Tamarind, thanks to you million million times again.

You have been my best inspiration in teaching them phonics.

And I did not have to spend money unnecessarily.

Great work!

[Charmaine_chong]

Tamarind,


I am not silly as you thought. i knew perfectly what is this thread about.

If you are so strict about talking phonics at home, why you talked about trading of phonics dvd and montessori school tat ur girl attended over here?

Everyone is free to speak up his/her mind. When i c some comments that i would like to made i have the freedom to do so.

How can your post don’t catch my attention?

Please have some basic manners. When you don’t know what i had went through , do not post negative comments on me. I got eye sore seeing it.

I haven’t been arguing with anyone in various forums but your posting indeed interesting.

[Charmaine_chong]

Siak,

awesome!

May i know how you got your first child to read p&j? For DVD, any systematic way that you do it?

We need to create the path for them to be ready
Well said. When i was struggled helping my child last year, i was always asking myself how to get him ready.

Early stimulation by reading aloud to young tots help them on various of developments (love for books, speech, vocabulary, imagination....)


Hi outsider,
Your son is doing well.

Welcome parents who can post their methods of teaching p&j here. Hope to help other parents various of possible methods.

For me i get my son reads a page of book 2a and repeat words that is not familiar daily. Aside reading p&j, he has to recite lun yu, i use this method to teach him reading chinese + go though phonics and i reading stories to him.

When i am at work, he has to do homework like writing numbers or words, maze, spot differences,math (worksheet based). Is different assessment daily.