KINDERGARTEN LITERACY CLASS

Wednesdays 9:00-12:00
Class begins September 4th, 2024 and runs through May 28, 2025
Cost of enrollment is $210/month

When taught correctly, right from the start, children easily unlock the code! Our class will contain a maximum of 8 children, with 2 teachers. With the Common Core State Standards as our guide, we’ll address: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards.

Our kindergarten program is steeped in oral language, storytelling, singing, crafts, games, and movement. We involve the whole child in learning - head, heart, and hands. We create a social environment where friendships are formed, and memories are made.

Children learn the correspondence of 24 speech sounds to upper and lowercase letters. They learn handwriting skills, writing conventions, and drawing. We ingrain phonemic awareness at every level. Children learn to blend and segment for reading and writing with accuracy and confidence.

Read/download/print our 24-25 School Year Parent Guidebook.
Complete our 24-25 School Year Registration Form.

FIRST GRADE LITERACY CLASS

Fridays 9:00-12:00
Class begins September 6th, 2024 and runs through May 30, 2025
Cost of enrollment is $210/month

We carefully provide the instruction and materials to enable every one of our students to succeed with literacy in their first grade year. Our class will contain a maximum of 8 children, with 2 teachers. With the Common Core State Standards as our guide, we will address: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards.

Ms. Deva and Mr. Deveaux will lead children to learn the Basic Code level of the English Alphabet Code. They’ll gain a reflexive knowledge of all the letter-sound correspondences, and develop their blending and segmenting skills through targeted reading and writing activities. Students will develop their handwriting, and learn writing conventions while participating in fun and meaningful lessons. They’ll engage in collaborative conversations and projects with their peers, practicing and developing their oral language. Students will enjoy oral storytelling, games, seasonal arts and crafts, and activities involving music and movement. We create a language rich environment to inspire and enrich students’ imaginations.

In the second half of the first grade year, we’ll be ready to build on our carefully constructed foundation. Students will be able to write phonetically - now they’ll learn to accurately spell by studying English’s code variation. Students will learn more than one way to spell many of the 40 English speech sounds. For instance, they’ll learn the following spellings for the sound /A-E/: ‘AY’ ‘AI’ and ‘A’. Students will also learn and practice English’s code overlap. This is when a letter - or letter team - has more than one sound associated with it. For instance, they’ll learn the letter team ‘EA’ has 3 sounds: /EE/ as in leaf, /E/ as in bread, and /A-E/ as in bear. Students will learn and practice strategies for spelling. They’ll learn to read and write multi syllable words.

Homework will be provided in each class which reinforces the code being learned. Students will be provided with a personalized folder for keeping their work organized. Homework gives crucial practice for all skills and concepts being developed, and trains young homeschooling children to develop good study habits. Students will be given a paper copy of homework in class, and practice doing the work. The assignment will be posted on a Google classroom page, so parents never need to wonder what the assignment is. If their child misses a class, they can simply print it at home.

Reading For Life has an extensive library of children’s literature. Each Thursday will be Library Day. Students will select several books and carry them home in their personalized book bags. In addition to picture books, students will take home specially selected decodable readers. Children enrolled in Reading For Life are expected to practice their burgeoning reading skills with a parent or other adult daily. Parents are also encouraged to read TO their children daily, so that their minds are enriched with language and concepts.

Parents will receive a mid-year student report in January. In this way, student growth will be documented and notes made of ways students can improve, with an outline for getting there. 

Read/download/print our 24-25 School Year Parent Guidebook.
Complete our 24-25 School Year Registration Form.

SECOND GRADE LITERACY CLASS

Tuesdays & Thursdays 9:00-11:30
Class begins September 3rd, 2024 and runs through May 29, 2025
Cost of enrollment is $330/month

Utilizing evidence-based instruction and quality learning materials, we work to ensure each of our students succeed with literacy in their second grade year. Our class will contain a maximum of 8 children, with 2 teachers. With the Common Core State Standards as our guide, we’ll address: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards.

Ms. Deva and Mr. Deveaux will lead children to learn the Complex Code level of the English Alphabet Code. This is the point they learn and practice spelling variation and code overlap. We carefully provide the logical framework for dealing with the complexity of having multiple ways to spell the same sound, and letters that represent more than one sound. We train children’s visual memories and teach strategies for learning to spell.

Children will learn writing conventions and spelling while participating in fun and meaningful lessons. They’ll engage in collaborative conversations and projects with their peers, practicing and developing their oral language. Students will enjoy oral storytelling, games, seasonal arts and crafts, and activities involving music and movement. We create a language rich environment to inspire and enrich students’ imaginations.

Homework will be provided each Thursday which reinforces the code being learned. It will be due the following Thursday. Students will be provided with a personalized folder for keeping their work organized. Homework gives crucial practice for all skills and concepts being developed, and trains young homeschooling children to develop good study habits. Students will be given a paper copy of homework in class, and practice doing the work. The assignment will be posted on a Google classroom page, so parents never need to wonder what the assignment is. If their child misses a class, they can simply print it at home.

Reading For Life has an extensive library of children’s literature. Each Thursday will be Library Day. Students will select several books and carry them home in their personalized book bags. In addition to picture books, students will take home specially selected decodable readers. Children enrolled in Reading For Life are expected to practice their burgeoning reading skills with a parent or other adult daily. Parents are also encouraged to read TO their children daily, so that their minds are enriched with language and concepts.

Parents will receive a mid-year student report in January. In this way, student growth will be documented and notes made of ways students can improve, with an outline for getting there. 

Read/download/print our 24-25 School Year Parent Guidebook.
Complete our 24-25 School Year Registration Form.

THIRD GRADE LITERACY CLASS

Tuesdays & Thursdays 1:30-4:00
Class begins September 3rd, 2024 and runs through May 29, 2025
Cost of enrollment is $330/month

Utilizing evidence-based instruction and quality learning materials, we work to ensure each of our students succeed with literacy in their third grade year. Our class will contain a maximum of 8 children, with 2 teachers. With the Common Core State Standards as our guide, we’ll address: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language Standards.

Ms. Deva and Mr. Deveaux will lead children to learn the Complex Code level of the English Alphabet Code. This year they’ll continue to learn and practice spelling variation and code overlap. We carefully provide the logical framework for dealing with the complexity of having multiple ways to spell the same sound, and letters that represent more than one sound. We train children’s visual memories and teach strategies for learning to spell.

Children will learn writing conventions and spelling while participating in fun and meaningful lessons. They’ll engage in collaborative conversations and projects with their peers, practicing and developing their oral language. Students will enjoy oral storytelling, games, seasonal arts and crafts, and activities involving music and movement. We create a language rich environment to inspire and enrich students’ imaginations.

Homework will be provided each Thursday which reinforces the code being learned. It will be due the following Thursday. Students will be provided with a personalized folder for keeping their work organized. Homework gives crucial practice for all skills and concepts being developed, and trains young homeschooling children to develop good study habits. Students will be given a paper copy of homework in class, and practice doing the work. The assignment will be posted on a Google classroom page, so parents never need to wonder what the assignment is. If their child misses a class, they can simply print it at home.

Each Thursday will be Library Day. Students will select several books and carry them home in their personalized book bags. Children enrolled in Reading For Life are expected to practice their burgeoning reading skills with a parent or other adult daily. Parents are also encouraged to continue reading TO their children daily, so that their minds are enriched with language and concepts.

Parents will receive a mid-year student report in January. In this way, student growth will be documented and notes made of ways students can improve, with an outline for getting there. 

Read/download/print our 24-25 School Year Parent Guidebook.
Complete our 24-25 School Year Registration Form.

INDIVIDUALIZED LITERACY INSTRUCTION

Students come once per week for 75 minute sessions: $450/month
(spots for 1:1 are extremely limited - call to inquire)

Many students need the support of a one-on-one tutor for their literacy journey. Maybe your child is an older learner who’s struggling. Perhaps they’re behind grade level, and their confidence is suffering. Your child may have any number of special challenges.

In the context of a safe and supportive environment, instruction is tailored to student need and learning style. The nature of our instruction is highly suited to the needs of students who are dyslexic, have any kind of sensory deficit or cognitive delay, a speech disorder, autism, Downs Syndrome, etc. The logic of the code is presented in a very clear way and instruction always meets the developmental level of the learner.

In a short time, children make fast progress, enhancing their self esteem and academic success.

The learner practices all the reading subskills: blending, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme manipulation, in the context of creative and meaningful lessons. There is room in each session for students to have choice over their activities. Students develop a friendship with their teacher over time, and they look forward to class. 

Individualized instruction is for students who have some sort of stumbling block:

-Kids who have a lot of reversals when they write their letters and numbers. They need lots of opportunities to practice writing letters and numbers, until the movements become reflexive. Students also need activities designed to help them become oriented to direction - when they learn their left from their right, letters start to be written accurately. In addition, we provide games and activities which strengthen children’s visual discrimination skills.

-Confusion with b’s and d’s when reading and writing. They may also confuse p’s with d’s and b’s, and p also gets confused with q and with the letter g! The letters u and n get confused, and there are other issues of orientation that need to get worked out to be successful with the code.

-Trouble hearing words when blending. Sometimes this can be because recall of letter sounds is slow. Other times it’s because kids haven’t been taught to ‘blend automatically,’ and their recall of letter sounds is choppy. Another reason for poor blending is they’re not saying letter sounds cleanly, obscuring the word recognition which is the point of decoding.

-Trouble segmenting sounds in words for writing. In order to successfully spell our code you have to write using a phonological strategy. Kids who constantly drop or add sounds in words need to learn how to ‘say the sounds’ while writing, and make it a han

-Slow blending. Many times children can’t keep track of the meaning of what they’re reading because the act of decoding each word is so very laborious. Sometimes it’s the accumulation of bad instruction by well-meaning parents and teachers, who’ve trained the wrong reflexes with the letters: letter names and that extra /u/ sound on consonants. Many new students in the RFL program are in the process of UN-learning, and they are often very slow down the runway when it comes to reading. These kinds of kids are often quite nervous about reading, but they really need to do a lot of it to improve.

-A tendency to drop or add sounds when reading. This is VERY common. Many times it’s the result of previous ineffective instruction that didn’t teach the phonetic code properly or completely, or both. Kids need to be trained to break down each and every grapheme into speech sounds, then synthesize those sounds into a word. Kids who drop and add sounds often resort to a guessing strategy. These kids really need immediate intervention.

-Kids who need repeated practice to reinforce and really “get it.” Some kids need more repetition than others. Sometimes children process visual and auditory information more slowly than average. Often these are kids with a low level of confidence, which makes them reticent to take chances, which impedes their progress. In a fail-safe environment kids are given whatever level of support they need to gain crucial skills and code knowledge.

-Kids who are habitual whole-word guessers. These kids have probably been trained on ‘sight words’ and have gotten the impression reading is about knowing words instantly when you see them. These kids need to learn to actually read our phonological code. And they need repeated and habitual practice doing it to become good at it, and for reading to become fun.

-Kids who need extra handwriting support. Sometimes kids are enrolled whose lowercase letter formation knowledge is limited, and they need extra instruction to catch up with the rest of their group. This is because we use writing as a tool for learning the code. Kids need to be trained to ‘say the sounds’ as they’re writing in order for writing to become a phonological reflex.

-Kids who need extra attention and emotional support along with their literacy support. Kids enjoy the bond they share with their teacher, and the undivided attention and genuine interest shown to them. We create an atmosphere in which they can safely practice their burgeoning skills and build the confidence that comes from success.

-Kids who simply want/need extra reading practice. ‘Buddy reading’ is not something that we’re able to do often with students individually in a group setting, and is so valuable if the child doesn’t feel comfortable reading with a parent at home on a daily basis. If this is the case they really need expert support with this, because of all the learning opportunities reading together brings. Kids who read with their teacher get better at it quickly, and their confidence increases substantially, encouraging them to read more, and get better at it more quickly, which makes it more fun. We love to start this snowball rolling!

We provide a personalized binder to each student that contains many learning materials. This binder helps students organize their homework. Homework is provided for continuous practice between sessions.

Read/download/print our 24-25 School Year Parent Guidebook.
Complete our 24-25 School Year Registration Form.