Phonics, Blending & Reading

Okay, i brought Lionel over to I Can Read for an no obligation assessment on his reading skills & phonics & word blending and the results.....

"..To start from scratch, right from the very basic & beginning...."said the assessor. I totally agree. Lionel does not recognise all the sounds each alphabet mades & he cannot, or rather, does not know how to blend 2 sounds together to read the word.

So i went to speak to the centre manager & check out on the classes available. It seems only Sats from 230 - 4pm & Suns from 11-1230pm are available for weekend classes. However, the Sat classes are fully booked so if i want that slot, i hv to be on a waiting list.

Course fees at $496 per 3month / 12 sessions. Registration fee at $45 & refundable deposit of S$110. Ingoring the rest, the course fees will be approx $166 per month.

Mil says it will be good to engage Lionel in this kind of reading & phonics blending class but i find the fees quite steep. Still considering...

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After waiting for 2 weeks & several emails later, i finally got an email reply from another enrichment school @ Mind Stretcher, located at Nee Soon East CC. According to the centre manager, Mrs Chan, 5 years of age is a good age to start, preparing the kids well in advance before they start pri 1.

Course fees at this school is only at $85/month ( i can breathe easier) & registration fees at $25. However, what they have on hand currently, classes that are available is Sat @ 1130am ( fully booked at the moment), otherwise, its @ 1pm/130pm. For Sun, they do not have enough students to form a class yet though they are quite a few request to have Sun classes. I told Mrs Chan i wld like to have a Sun morning class preferbaly.

I am working on alternate Sats so if the class is on a Sat, i hv to arrange for someone to bring Lionel across and that could pose some difficulties. Compared to I Can Read, its only across a small side road, 1 block away so it will be easier.

So now, its a matter of time arrangement. But it can be a headache as well cos i cant have the best of both centres & eat it. Haiz... $$$ VS time!