bebe:

GUG uses zoo phonics, which is different from Jolly phonics. My son went to GUG when he was 14 months old, and I think it gives me a balanced exposure in term of phonetical sounds, art and craft, music and rhymes. I switched him to a kindergarten this year. This Kindergarten uses Jolly phonics which I think my boy enjoys better. The songs are more lively and catchy. For GUG, it can be quite boring to keep repeating the same chant \"A is Alligator, A A A; B is for ...\"

In fact, for GUG it took me a while to correct him when he kept thinking that those animals really makes \"phonetical sounds\" in real life.
One of the reasons for withdrawing him is the fee and the school hours. GUG Kindergarten lessons are conducted 50 weeks per year, meaning they do not follow MOE holiday and lessons are ongoing even for Mar/Sep/June/Dec holiday. There is no fee refund or credits if you want to bring the kids to travel during the school holiday. In addition, the fee are quite expensive and has been increasingly yearly.

I see...Like that very cheat money!
Dd has been having extra phonics enrichment at home and her school is using Jolly Phonics too, so it complements her learning very well. You may want to consider dd's teacher if you are keen on enhancing your ds's learning, she does lots of activities with dd at home which would usually be impossible to do substantially in a group setting, and the best part, fees are reasonable too hehe...

minniemousewith2babies:

Hey Mommies, I'm new here. :rahrah:


Any recommendation for enrichment programs in Bedok or East area?

My DS has been with GUG for 1 year plus and is pretty good. Now I'm contemplating whether to let my DD go with GUG or try out other enrichment centres, preferably in the East if it's weekends as it is more convenient to meet my MIL.

Hi Minniemouse,

I've heard many parents mention GUG, not sure exactly what kind of programs they conduct? Can you briefly share about what they do?
My dd has been with a private phonics tutor for a while now and is showing progress which I am pretty pleased with, but just here to explore what others programs are available in the market as well! Her tutor uses Jolly Phonics in her classes and charges a pretty reasonable rate for home enrichment and I am quite happy with her progress as well, so the reason I haven't been enrolling dd in other programs is due to the larger cost too and since she has been enjoying her lessons, I didn't see a need to stop them. But just curious about other programs that are available...Never enrolled dd in enrichment centres before, she has been having her 1-to-1 sessions at home since we found her teacher and she enjoys them very much

I’ve tried ICR for awhile, but did not see any improvement, felt so wasted, money down the drain, so stopped for a period of time


Felt that dd is ready to start again and was not sure which program would be suitable for her, but heard of a freelance tutor who specializes in phonics and decided to try her out as her rates were pretty reasonable and the best part…she comes right up to my doorstep! Hehe. For a reasonable rate and 1-to-1 service, I thought, why not? I’m paid more for ICR anyway.

Honestly, I was initially skeptical about the effectiveness of the program as well. I mean at $50/1.5hr session for 1-to-1 home class, what can I expect right? (I do know of others who charge up to $150 per session D:) But I was surprised when I met the teacher for the first time, she was young and bubbly and was very enthusiastic in her teaching, dd enjoys her sessions very much and she is also creative in her teaching methods. She makes use of lots of games and interactive tools instead of solely paper and pencil which can sometimes get very boring for young children.

Have seen so much improvement as compared to ICR, better service and better price haha… So mummies, expensive does not mean it is always good…

Anyway, good things must share! So pleased with dd’s progress and hope to help you too! Pm me for her contact details if interested! She also offers creative writing sessions at a slightly cheaper rate, but dd is still too young for that, will try it out in the future when she is old enough hehe…

sembgal:

I was talking to my sis the other day about her son who attended ICR T&Cs. I said your son cannot recognize certain letters of the alphabets. She was surprised and I reminded my sis again that if she wants to send him for enrichment, she needs to revise with her son too and not leave it to the teacher to teach only. Progress will be very slow. I told her that parents support plays an important role to help her son master phonics quickly.

Yes, agree!! My dd attends phonics classes at home as I am unable to send her for enrichment classes due to work committment and it is also not convenient for my parents to send her as well. But ultimately, her progress boils down to us as parents to make an effort to revise with her. Her teacher is really meticulous and revises her sounds with her every lesson, which I am very thankful for because I really do not have the time and energy to do it after a long day of work and eventually just got really lazy and dd would sometimes forgot some of the earlier sounds taught. So, it's true that parents must also make an effort to revise with your child every now and then, even tho the teacher is very good, there is really only so much that she can do in a 1.5hr session a week.

Lately, I don't even need to do revision for my dd anymore! She is picking up very fast, her teacher prepares some new phonics games for her every now and then and she is so keen to play them and enjoys them very much that she can practice phonics all on her own even without me bugging her to do it! So happy! But I also make it a point to practice with her more now to aid her learning, I don't have much of phonics background so I'm not too sure how to teach it myself either and her teacher often gives me very useful tips that I can do with her at home.

So pleased with her progress and also good things must share haha. If anyone is interested, can pm me for her contact!