Question: My son goes to a full day childcare in Singapore and learns his phonics in school. Does he still need to go for enrichment classes or phonics lessons outside? What kind of enrichment class would you recommend for three and a half year old children and why?

Answer: If your child is already taking phonics classes in school, it would be wise to continue the programme and look for complementary lessons outside.

At 3.5 years old, your son’s speech and level of understanding towards aural input should be rather fluent. Building upon this as well as his exposure to phonics, it would be apt to introduce some elements of reading and pre-writing skills to him. This would help to extend his repertoire of linguistic skills.

The forms of enrichment programmes, e.g. speech & drama, linguistics classes, language classes etc. would depend on factors like interests of the child and content of each of the programmes that are offered. Most schools offer trial lessons, Ask for trials before you make a decision on whether to sign up for any particular programmes.

Good luck hunting!

LEAP Schoolhouse has an ‘Ask and Learn’ section every Thursday. If you have any questions regarding language or literacy development, feel free to drop your questions in the comment box below, or post them on LEAP SchoolHouse Facebook page.

In this Ask The Expert section, we asked Esther Lim, CEO and Founder of LEAP SchoolHouse, about language and literacy development in children. Born and educated in Singapore, she holds a Master Degree in Education (NTU/NIE), Bachelor Degree in Arts (NTU), Diploma in Marketing – Top student for the year 2000 (Chartered Institute of Marketing). Esther has more than 10 years of teaching experience and has taught widely in both Secondary and Primary schools. She was also involved in curriculum planning and development work for the primary unit at MOE for several years. Esther has also conducted workshops and talks for educators, locally and overseas. Besides all the above credentials, Esther is also a mother of three children.

For more info, visit leapschoolhouse.com.sg

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