May 10, 2015
We believe literacy is one of the keystones of an excellent education and that by helping children to be early readers, they will become lifelong learners.
Little Stars, Twinkling Stars and Shining Stars (18 months – 4 years):
Recognizing letters, numbers, telling or dictating own stories, verbalizing thoughts, memorizing short rhymes and stories, learning to take care of books, and lots and lots of reading.
(4-5 years): Reading readiness is established through familiarity with letters and words. Vocabulary is built in both phonetic and sight words. The student learns to read high pre-primer level books aloud, comfortably and with comprehension.
(5-6 years): The focus is on both reading in volume and phonetics. The student works on phonetics and learning letter sounds and combinations. Emphasis is on decoding the written language. The student experiences the pleasure of reading through structured, high-volume reading in primer books in a very gradual sequence of increasing difficulty. With an emphasis on comprehension, the student works on both reading aloud and reading silently. As the student becomes more comfortable with reading, he/she works up to reading 20-40 books per month for pleasure.