Reading Foundations for Beginners

UFLI Scope and Sequence (Ages 3-6) The Reading Foundations program is designed to help young learners build strong reading skills from the ground up. This engaging 9-week class is perfect for children who are just starting their reading journey or need extra support to develop their phonics and early literacy skills. Through fun activities, hands-on exercises, and individualized attention, we will ensure that every child has the foundation they need to become a confident, fluent reader.

What Will Be Taught?

Each week, we will focus on key areas of early literacy, including phonemic awareness, phonics, letter recognition, blending sounds, and more. Your child will: Learn the names and sounds of each letter, build simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, practice decoding and encoding skills (reading and spelling) Work with high-frequency words (heart words) Explore short and long vowel sounds and their impact on words, understand word patterns through blending drills and word chains

Topics Covered:

Phonemic Awareness: Recognizing and isolating sounds in words. Phonics: Learning how letters and sounds work together. Letter Formation: Writing letters correctly while associating sounds. Word Building: Blending sounds to create words and sentences. High-Frequency Words: Introducing heart words and how to decode them. Word Patterns: Understanding how words are built and beginning to read connected text.

Class Structure:

Each class is structured to balance focused lessons and interactive activities.

The class will be a mix of:

New Concepts: Short, engaging lessons where I introduce new concepts. Hands-on Activities: Children will engage in guided activities, such as letter and word building with flashcards, magnetic letters, and fun worksheets. Games & Activities: Educational games will help reinforce the concepts learned, such as word-building challenges, and letter-matching games.

One-on-One Attention:

During each class, I will make sure that each child gets the opportunity to work at their own pace. I’ll offer personalized guidance as they practice their skills, ensuring they understand each lesson before moving on to the next.

Teaching Style:

My teaching style is interactive, supportive, and encouraging. I believe that learning to read should be fun and enjoyable, so I incorporate lots of hands-on learning, visual aids, and games into each session. I create a safe, nurturing environment where children feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, and celebrating their progress. Every child learns differently, and I adapt my approach to meet their needs, offering positive reinforcement and personalized guidance. Learner Interaction: In this class, learners will have plenty of opportunities to interact with me and each other.

Direct Interaction:

I will guide children through activities, offering one-on-one help where necessary. Games and Group Activities: Students will participate in small group activities, encouraging them to practice their reading skills with their peers. Live Feedback: I’ll provide immediate feedback as children work through tasks, correcting errors and praising their successes. Discussion: At the end of each class, we’ll have a short discussion where students can share what they learned and ask questions about the content. Visual and Audio Aids: I’ll use visual slides, songs, puppets to make lessons more engaging and support different learning styles. By the end of this course, your child will have a strong foundation in the key areas of reading and phonics, setting them up for success as they continue to grow as readers. The interactive nature of this class ensures that each child feels supported, engaged, and motivated throughout their reading journey!

Kermit is a great teacher and he is going to teach you all your letter sounds.  He loves to eat them up and get you to try and guess the sound they make when they are in his throat.  He's so funny!

Kindergarten Level  1  

27 classe @ 30 minutes

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

4:00 – 4:30 PM

September 2 to October 30

3x per week, 9 weeks

Live video meetings on Zoom

Ages: 3-5

2-6 learners per class

$14 per class

Heart Word Heroes:                             Learn Irregular Sight Words 

Grade 1

Although irregular words can be challenging, there are effective methods for teaching them. The good news is that, children can learn to decode most of the word, and they only have to learn one or two letters “by heart.”

In this fun and engaging class designed for first graders, students will learn to read and spell high-frequency irregular heart words — the words they need to know “by heart” because they don’t follow typical phonics rules. Using research-based strategies from the UFLI Foundations program (University of Florida Literacy Institute), this class gives young readers the tools to confidently recognize and write tricky words like "said," "was," "they," and more. Each class includes: A short, kid-friendly explanation of the heart word Interactive practice using visuals, writing, and repetition A chance to read and use the word in context Games, movement, and lots of encouragement! This course supports reading fluency, spelling, and confidence — and it’s perfect for early readers who are learning or reviewing tricky irregular words, High frequency words and Dolch/Fry. Each session will focus on 1–2 heart words. Words are introduced in a logical order following the UFLI scope & sequence. 

24 classes - 30 minutes

Tuesday, Thursday 

2:00 – 2:30 PM

September 2 - November 25

2x per week, 12 weeks

Live video meetings on Zoom

Ages: 6-7

2-9 learners per class

$14 per class