I Can Read - Anyone tried?

[toile_de_mer]

Hi,
anyone has sent their kid to I Can Read centre? Can comment? is it good ? when's an appropriate age to start? tks!

 

[toile_de_mer]

Attached link is the centre i was referring to:
http://www.icanreadsystem.com/

anyone tried before? hope to gather more comments....tks!

 

[joann_lim]

my friend started her son at age 4, they improve very fast. another of my fr recommend lorna winston

 

[toile_de_mer]

tks Joann! at last someone responded!!! tks tks...

tat's good to hear... am deciding whether to send my ds(3yrs old) for speech n drama classes or I Can Read... cos his pronounciation not very clear, not many pple can understand what he's saying... so am abit worried here..

 

[apricot]

Hi oile,
Just to let u know the child has to go thru assessment test in order for the centre to know which level is their phonics skill and plan the enrolment class for them. The test is on reading out words related from A-Z, eg A for apple, b for bear, etc etc. Next they will test the child on the sound of A-Z.

 

[cclyn]

Hi etoile
you can send your boy for free assessment see wat the teacher has to say, or go for trial class before u decide. Their 'junior' programme, Little learner & Thinking & Creative will be teach by local teacher, Preliminary reading onwards will be by angmoh

 

[toile_de_mer]

hi apricot n cclyn, tks for ur feedback

think my ds sure won't utter a word even if he knows!!! he's not cooperative in this aspect

wonder if it's worth sending to little learners first or wait n join the preliminary reading when he's older. such is my dilemna...

 

[joey888]

Hi Etoile, my girl has attend the I CAN READ class since nursery. She is now K1 and able to sound all letters and read story by herself. I strongly encourage you to give it a try.

 

[toile_de_mer]

hi joyful,
wow! really?!! then it's worth a try huh.. so she started with little learners is it? i wonder if all the branches r equally good.. am considering btwn Pasir ris or sengkang.... but the class doesn't allow for parent to accompany... so i worry my ds will wail n scream his lungs out....

 

[kckc]

hi joyful,
which level is yr gal now at ICR? I started my son at ICR Woodlands and now coming to 2nd term and just changed to PRP. He is interested in the lesson but so far i am still monitoring his progress as they will change different teacher every level...
How long did you see yr gal improvement or result at ICR?

 

[samval]

hi KC, my gal just got promoted to PRP. Like you, I'm also still monitoring. Now they are learning the blends like "ch", "sh" "th". I also want to know how long before they can actually read a book. My gal can read if put phonetic words together, e.g. "a cat on a mat"...

other than that, she's still not able to read. btw, how do we teach spelling to them? now at PRP they will have few words as homework, but when i asked the teacher, he said just get them to write the words a few times. i teach in montessori school before but then diff from the way we give spelling. really at a lost. any advice? thanks

 

[serenade]

Hi Samval,

Besides blending words together, phonics also emphasizes on segmenting the sounds in a word. By segmenting the sounds, the child will learn to spell easily. For a start, you can encourage your gal to tell you the first and last sounds of any 3 letter words. E.g What's the first sound you can hear in "cat"? Stress and drag on the sounds in "cccaaattt" to help her with it. Once she gets a hang of it, she should be able to spell simple words (words without digraphs) with ease. Just sharing my experience...

 

[toile_de_mer]

anyone has taught ur kid phonics using letterland or zoo phonics urself then?

 

[elmo06]

I taught my son phonics by playing the VCD & CD /playing games and with some flashcards and i found very effective as he is able to read books by himself when he is abt 2.5yrs.

 

[samval]

Dear Serenade,
My gal knows all the phonetic sounds of the alphabets. She's able to spell only phonetic words, but not phonogram words. Words that blends together are ok. But those with phonograms she can't because there is no blend for phonograms. So what she does is she is basing on memory...

 

[serenade]

Hi Samval,

Can I take it that phonetic words imply words such as mat, plant, frog, storm, sheep, fresh etc?

In phonics, there are various methods of teaching. One school believes in phonograms (family words). If you are teaching blends and phonograms, then memory work is required. For instance, the kids are requried to remember "bl", "at", "ack" etc. So, your gal is doing right by learning spelling through memory and phonics.

Another school of phonics believes in blending and segmenting words according to the individual sounds. In this case, there isn't much memory work but practice is required. For instance, the word "black". The child should be able to hear the sounds and write "blak", "blac" or "black" and choose the most appropriate spelling.

<table border=1><tr><td>Words</TD><TD>School 1 (phonograms)</TD><TD>School 2 </TD></TR><TR><TD>bat</TD><TD>bat</TD><TD>b-a-t </TD></TR><TR><TD>black</TD><TD>pl-ack</TD><TD>b-l-a-ck </TD></TR><TR><TD>plant</TD><TD>pl-ant</TD><TD>p-l-a-n-t </TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD></td></tr></table>

Er... I hope I'm not being too technical and have you confused...

 

[toile_de_mer]

wow!!! very cheem leh... Serenade... i used to study phonology before.. but all return to my tutor liaoz.... where can i get a fast read up?

 

[joey888]

Hi KC,

My girl starts with PRP and now is at ICR stage 2. She's also at WL centre too. Do agree that they always change the teacher, but luckily my girl is still comfortable with all the new teacher. Normally, if she cannot spell her words, I will assist her in the sound. Sometimes i don't even know what is the sound and need her help instead! In the ICR stage, they do spelling and comprehension. I would say it's a good school.

 

[kckc]

Hi Joyful,

Thanks for telling yr gal status at ICR. I do agree sometimes i dont even know the sound to teach too.
But at PRP stage, he is doing the worksheet after every lesson and i actually have not much knowledge what the teacher is teaching in the class..

Hi Samval,

Which center are your gal at? Guess we have to be patient to see how their development then...

 

[znzyzyzx]

Hi,
this program is suitable for kids from what age range ?

 

[cclyn]

Hi Znzyzyzx
the little learner range fr 2.5 - 4 yrs of age.

 

[samval]

Hi Serenade,
Sorry for the late reply. Yup those words you mentioned are phonetic words, except for "sheep". Yes you're rite that they will need to use a bit of their memory to remember phonogram words. Hope she'll be able to read soon lor...)

Dear KC, I send her to Kovan branch. What abt you?

 

[clare_cheong]

I was also looking at ICR at the beginning of the year for my dd but decided on icreativelearner (ICL) for the following reasons:
- max. 6 students
- teacher stays throughout the whole level
- fees is reasonable (cheaper than ICR)
- home environment

So far, my dd has been enjoying all her lessons.

 

[shook]

Where is ICL? Any website? How much is the fee?

 

[clare_cheong]

http://www.icreativelearner.com/

$190 for weekends; $170 for weekdays for Pre-Nursery level. For Primary, it's different price.

 

[shook]

Hi Clare

How many sessions are there for the fees dat u quoted?

What is the duration for each session for pre-nursery level?

What age do they accept for pre-nursery level? Is it 4 yrs old or 2 yrs old. I m confused over wat is stated in the web

 

[clare_cheong]

I can't remember the fee is for 8 or 10 lessons (1.5 hr/wk). Just pay when the teacher pass me the card for payment. Pre-nursery is for 4yo. I waitlisted my dd in 2004 (ie.she was 2yo) for 2006 intake. You can email to check when is their next intake.

 

[shook]

Hi Clare

Is the lesson conducted in the teacher's home?

 

[clare_cheong]

Yes, it's at the teacher's home. They will inform you when the new class will start and you'll be asked to attend their orientation at the teacher's home.

 

[shook]

Hi Clare

Is there phone no where I can call? Only found email address in the website

 

[clare_cheong]

Hi Foreverfriends

You got mail

 

[shook]

Hi Clare

Thx for your mail n patience wif me for asking so many questions

 

[roostermummy]

Hi mummies,
my son is now 4 year old and is with "I can read" - PRP. I started him off with trial lesson when he was 2.5 year till now. Now he's learning phonetics and consonants. The teacher is from UK and is very caring and friendly.

 

[kiki123]

Hi,
anybody tried Jan &amp; Elly ? Is it good ?

 

[moomooko]

Hi,

Anyone attended I can Read at the Jurong East branch?

 

[aang60]

hi rooster,

my gal who just turned 3 yrs old last oct can only say out the alphabets but not be able to recognise, can she still attend I CAN READ?

 

[yap]

Also keen to hear abt ICR at Jurong East. TIA!

 

[hippo2002]

I would suggest Kumon

My girl started Kumon English at 3, she's 5 now
can read ladybird series book 9 easily, read road signs and recognise thousands of words, spell a few hundreds I think.

She's proficient in Phonics too. kumon also covered phonics. At 5 years old, she's doing primary 1 equivalent English

 

[toile_de_mer]

.

 

[ClassyShimmers]

hippo
Is Kumon a once a week lesson? I was wondering how much can a child develop for just once a week class if there's no home practise right? I am sure you have a part in your child's amazing development. Mind if you share?
Which Kumon centre? What is the name of the course and what does Kumon use to teach Phonics?
Am looking for Reading &amp; Phonics class for ds. Still contemplating if I should go for I Can Read or Kumon now that I've heard gd feedbacks abt Kumon as well.

 

[hippo2002]

Shermin

twice a week per subject ($110 per month)
daily worksheet on non-school day

there's CD for each level. just read with your child for 5 minutes everyday when he is doing the worksheet

 

[micsarah]

Anyone heard of wordplus @ Bishan or Learning Point @ Thomson Plaza? Any comment?

 

[joyfulhands]

Anyone brought their child(ren) to ICR at CCK branch?

 

[smileygu2004]

Hi! my daughter is abt 1yr 5 mth. I am thinking of looking for her a learning centre. Just would like to ask, would it be too early to enrol her for such learning centre?? She can speak a few simple words, like fish, bird although not very clear.

 

[smileygu2004]

What is the fee for ICR like?

 

[joyfulhands]

I went to the CCK ICR centre &amp; enquired about their course for my 2+ year old girl. The lady there advised that if my girl is already attending playgroup then no point to signup their classes now. She advised me to go back until my girl is 3.5 years old where phonics will be taught.

I've the fee structure but not with me now. Let me go home to see if I still have it.

 

[joyfulhands]

For info.. ICR program starts at 2.5yrs old, the fees is $330/term.

 

[sharm71]

Hi Alicia,

I have registered my gal at Jan &amp; Elly and she will be starting in June ( 2nd stage)...

She is doing the 26letter sounds at Zoophonics which i really like.

Many of my friends whose kids are from RGPS stand by jan &amp; Elly as theur gals improve by leap and bounds in creatively writing.

My gal oso goes to KUMON, by the way the fee is $120, increased $10 after 10years. I feel KUMON is good for Maths but not English. Why i say that is because in KUMON, the kids listen to CDs for Eng and i feel its absurd to just listen to CD instead of a person speaking to you in person ( especially a native speaker and in Jan &amp; Elly they are all native speakers.

Whatever i have stated is only my 2 cents worth of knowledge and opinion.

 

[smileygu2004]

Singaram, Where is Jan &amp; Elly located. And what is their fee like?

 

[jerbren]

hi, jus saw all the write outs on ICR.. anyone tried the ICR at rivervale?? thot of sending my son (5yrs).

he jus completed one term of Phonics and reading prog at the CC by bek learning centre but doesn't seem to be useful leh.. or maybe my standard too high. hee

thot of ICR but fees are bit steep.. heard that in order to see results, mus attend at least one yr with them on ICR prog. so wanna find out more before commiting.