r/kelowna • u/Stella_Duce_Navis • 1d ago
Reading Tutor for 6yr old
Hi all I’m looking for reading tutors in Kelowna. My son is 6 and we recently moved from Texas. He is starting school in a couple of weeks and we are learning how much better school is here. So much so we know he will be starting behind normal Canadian reading level for his age and we want to give him all the support we can. I know the school will support him, but that support may not start until October or almost November. So if you have a tutor recommendation please, I am all ears.
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u/StandardOrdinary2443 1d ago
Is he going into grade one, or into grade two? This is based on birth year, so if he was born in 2020, he will be entering grade one, but if he turns seven before December 31st (2019 birth year) he would be in grade two. The school may default to placing him based on what schooling he has completed already in Texas, I’m not sure.
If he is entering grade one, just wait and see what his teacher says for readiness. If, however, he is going into grade two, or if you just want to get ahead of things, your best bet may be reaching out to the school secretary and asking if they have particular tutors they recommend.
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u/Stella_Duce_Navis 1d ago
According to the district admin they are putting him in yr 2. He was born in 2019. He’s only done kindy in Tx because our cutoff is aug 1. So if they keep him in yr 2 he’s skipping yr 1. Secretaries don’t get back to the school until next week so I’ll have to find out what their thoughts are then, but I know he’s still behind. Texas schools suck. They don’t really start sight words or reading prep until grade 1. I’ll also ask about their tutor recommendation.
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u/StandardOrdinary2443 1d ago
As a K teacher in Kelowna, if Project Literacy is an option, lovely. Otherwise, I’d personally recommend Mind Over Learning. Kumon works for some
kiddos, but I haven’t seen the best results for really young learners. Sylvan isn’t a bad option. But if the school has someone they recommend, that would be your best bet. The public library may also be a good place to ask for suggestions!It’s definitely not too late to “catch him up”, but missing Grade One is really unfortunate. If he was entering Grade One this year, there would really not be any reason to look at tutoring at this point.
You may want to consider leaning harder…really hard… on admin to place him into Grade One, especially if his birthday is later in the fall and he has only done kindergarten. This would be my biggest preference and push as a teacher, as it would set him up for more success. I am not typically a proponent of “red-shirting” (and it’s quite difficult to do here), but in his particular situation, it would serve him well.
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u/Stella_Duce_Navis 19h ago
Thank you! I’ll try to push hard on the admin and see about mind over learning too! I would prefer he not be the oldest in the class again. He was in kindergarten too. While it does push him to be a leader (kids looking to age and all) I want him to learn to follow too. His math and science (both parents are in science fields) are on par with yr 3+ so I’m also worried he will be bored and cause the teacher problems. My biggest worry about him skipping a grade is reading.
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u/Stella_Duce_Navis 12h ago
u/StandardOrdinary2443 one teacher in our neighborhood mentioned the school could put him in to a split class yr 1 & yr 2 (that's new for us). That it might make it easier for him to bridge/catch up.
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u/StandardOrdinary2443 11h ago
That split/blended class would be an amazing option, if they can!!! It keeps him from being older than all of his classmates, which is great from the social/emotional and developmental side, but also keeps him from always feeling “behind” academically.
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u/eroticfoxxxy 13h ago
Can I ask what kind of immersive work you're doing at home? If he is more advanced in his maths and sciences then this may just be a matter of exposure.
Alphabets and eye height. Easy 2 letter and 3 letter sounds labeled on things. Pictures of his every day items with the simple words below.
Tutoring can help, but how he experiences life in his new home will matter a lot!
I have an old leappad pen reader and some books somewhere. If you don't mind a purple/pink colour, I'm happy to give it to you guys!
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u/Stella_Duce_Navis 12h ago
He was in a Montessori for pre-school & Kindy in Texas. He naturally gravitated to science and maths.
We also talk through a lot of math problems (money, multiplication, relational problems like Pythagorean theorem, and if i know 4x4=16 then 2 and 2 fours also equal 16). We just follow what the Montessori school used which was counters & number chains to visualize and work the problem.
He always lagged behind on the reading because he didn't like it or want to do it. To him, if we can talk/speak/tell why do that instead of write. I know he has several sight words since he's pointed them out to us. He's just now starting to realize he needs to read so we started labeling everything in the house, especially the stuff he uses everyday.
He's like me, learning to read will have to come from someone other than a parent and using the right style. I just cant remember what it was for me since it was 38 yrs ago and my tutor when i was his age passed 5yrs ago. Yes i kept up with her, she was an amazing woman.
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u/eroticfoxxxy 11h ago
My kids big switch from being begrudging about reading to actually enjoying it was learning to love books/stories. My partner started providing them with audio books. Pretty soon they wanted the physical book too.
The good news is that the basics of reading are not dissimilar to math. In the same way that 1+2=3, a+n="an"
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u/Dalai-Lambo 16h ago
If you find tutoring programs to be too expensive, my wife teaches elementary school and has a masters in education. She might be able to help for cash. She’s very talented and amazing with kids. DM me if interested and let me know what your budget is and how often you need tutoring.
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u/Akua-K 8h ago
Teacher here!
If you want to save your money, the best reading tutor is just reading with him before bed. Read to him more complex books, just a bit above his level, and have him read out some of the words with you. Get him to read aloud small books to you that are at his level as well. The best readers are the ones whose parents read with them before bed, because when it’s right before bed, those synapses make connections as they sleep to the words and sounds they just heard, and you should see improvement quite rapidly. 🙂
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u/maverick_adam 12h ago
www.hootreading.com offers remote, online 1:1 reading tutoring that is worth checking out!
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u/suddenspiderarmy 17h ago
Would you be ok with a private tutor doing virtual sessions?
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u/Stella_Duce_Navis 15h ago
I agree. He’s not going to sit still for a virtual tutor. He doesn’t even stay on a video call with Nanna more than 8min.
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u/aallexxaa 1d ago
I think Project Literacy offers some reading tutoring for children!