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Dear Lorna,
I would like to know at what age you start teaching phonics and how you go about this at your pre-school. My cousin’s daughter started learning phonics when she was two, and I don’t want my daughter to be left behind.
Madam Tan

Dear Madam Tan,
Phonics is taught as part of our comprehensive reading and spelling programme at Lorna Whiston Pre-School and the children are introduced to the initial letter sounds usually half way through Nursery 2. In K1 this initial knowledge of phonics is consolidated and developed as the children move on to working with blends, digraphs and so on, and this is further reinforced in K2, where the children explore even more complex phonics such as three-letter blends and vowel digraphs.
In recent years there has been a trend for introducing aspects of language such as phonics very early on. However research suggests that this “the earlier the better” trend is not actually beneficial to children’s learning, and that children who are introduced to phonics very early on are no better at reading or spelling than children who start work with phonics a little later. Indeed an over-emphasis on phonics at the emergent reading stage has been shown, in some cases, to impede reading fluency, as the child tries to decode each word she encounters in the text phonetically, rather than reading the whole word as a single sense unit.
The concept of a letter having a sound, or often several sounds, which are often different from their letter names and which, in combination with other letters, produce different sounds and meanings, is cognitively complex. Thus, during Nursery 1 and the first part of Nursery 2, we concentrate on exposing the children to a wide range of books and on nurturing a love of reading then we gradually introduce phonics as a reading and spelling tool which children can use, along with many other tools, to break down, build up and decoded words.
Dear Lorna,
I have heard that you teach maths in a "hands-on" way at Lorna Whiston Pre-School, but what exactly does this mean?

Madam Tan Kit Mei

Dear Madam Tan,
We approach the teaching of maths in a way that is going to be most meaningful to young children. Hence right from the start our students are introduced to mathematical concepts through practical activities and the use of both specifically designed maths equipment and everyday objects. Through guided manipulation of this equipment and through a problem-solving approach, the children come to understand the significance and meaning of maths and how it applies to everyday life. For instance, if we are looking at the concept of capacity, the children will have many opportunities to use a variety of measuring containers of different shapes and sizes and will be able to see which holds the most and which holds the least. It is only through this type of activity that young children can really understand what capacity is really all about.
 
Dear Lorna,
My three year old does not seem to be at all interested in learning to read and always insists that I read story books to him rather than trying to read the words himself. How can I get him to read independently?

Mrs. Chan


Dear Mrs. Chan,
Your son is still rather young for you to be expecting him to show signs of independent reading: most children do not reach this stage until around 5 years old. By listening to the stories you read to him, your son will pick up all sorts of essential pre-reading skills: for instance, he will learn that words convey meaning, that text goes from left to right and that pictures can play a useful part in telling a story, indeed all sorts of early foundation skills that are necessary for young children to learn before they are ready to read.
Your son will come to read independently in his own time. Meanwhile, continue to share books and stories with him on a regular basis, make reading a fun, positive experience and furthermore, be a reader yourself: children are great imitators and if they see their parents reading, this serves as a great model for them.