The Journey of a Book is proud to offer Foundations Reading Readiness, an early literacy program for preschool age children and older.
This program was started at the request of parents who wished to nurture their children's natural curiosity for reading.
When a child shows an interest in "reading" on their own, in alphabet letters and sounds, you know that your child's natural curiosity has been awakened. Take advantage of that.
Foundations Reading Readiness, curriculum is phonemic based and utilizes developmentally appropriate practices that integrate a variety of instructional methods that address the visual, auditory, and sensory capabilities of your child. In this unique curriculum, all learning objectives have been developed to correlate with current state learning standards. Early literacy skills are acquired through creative activities that involve rhyming, blending, word awareness, phoneme manipulation, and more- all in a fun learning atmosphere!
Our Foundations Reading Readiness program
now offers five uniquely designed programs for your child-
Alphabet Advancement
Superior Sounds
Wonder Words
Bubble Blending
Reading Rabbits
Which one is right for your child?
Continue reading for more detailed program information.
Alphabet Advancement- Level 1
This class is designed for the young child who is showing an interest in the alphabet and books. Perhaps you have witnessed your child picking up books and "reading" the story all by themselves! This means that they have started to make the connection that those letters on the page somehow come together to "mean" something- like their favorite story! It is exactly that curiosity and excitement that Alphabet Advancement will build from.
This class will focus on reading readiness skills that your child will need to take the next step into reading- skills such as distinguishing upper and lowercase letters, auditory and visual discrimination, sequencing, and story order. All these skills will be presented in FUN ways, through songs, games, and stories.
Equally important is nurturing your child's oral language through class discussions and use of authentic literature. The small group size enables each child to be an active part in this process. Successful completion of this level prepares your child for level 2 in this program- Superior Sounds.
Superior Sounds- Level 2
The Superior Sounds curriculum is for those young children who are already familiar with all of the letters of the alphabet. Children enrolling in this class should be able to identify all upper and lowercase letters in the alphabet.
In this program we will begin to explore letter/sound relationships. There will be an emphasis on beginning and ending consonant sounds in words. Instruction will also include auditory discrimination skills, blending, word awareness, and phoneme manipulation.
Your child's oral language skills will be strengthened as they are encouraged to share and discuss ideas and stories that they create. Through a progression of simple word lists, short stories, and the use of authentic literature, your child will learn phonemic sounds and begin their reading adventure!
Wonder Words- Level 3
The Wonder Words program is the next step in your child’s early adventures into reading. This class begins teaching your child basic sight words and sight vocabulary in order to help them become readers.
Research has found that these skills are related closely to successful early reading and writing development. The more words a child knows by sight the better reader and writer they will become.
Children enrolling in this class should be able to identify the majority of letter names with the letter sounds that they produce. Completion of the Superior Sounds class is highly recommended.
Bubble Blending- Level 4
This class is yet another step in the acquisition of reading skills by introducing your child to the phonemic principle of Onset/Rime.
The Onset is the part of the syllable before the vowel - the Rime is the remainder of the syllable, from the vowel onwards. Children learn to identify groups of letters which (bigger than simple vowels) which create predictable sounds. Where the same vowels can give different sounds in different words, the Rime helps them quickly work out the specific sound - by referring to the letters after the vowel.
Children enrolling in this class should be easily able to identify all letters and corresponding sounds. They should also be in the beginning stages of being able to sound out simple Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) words. Completion of the Wonder Words class is highly recommended.
Reading Rabbits- Level 5
Reading Rabbits is the fifth level in the Foundations Reading Readiness program. This curriculum emphasizes long and short vowel sounds, introduction into identifying blends and digraphs and also word family recognition. In addition to the phonemic emphasis, this class also covers beginning grammar skills along with story comprehension and emergent writing skills. Completion of the Wonder Words class is recommended for admission into this level program.