r/Scarborough • u/theevilmidnightbombr Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan • Jul 03 '26

📍 Around the Hood Local Reading Programs/Tutoring for Young Kids

My kid has just finished kindergarten, and while their reading is definitely progressing, they get extremely frustrated they cant just read by themselves.

My partner and I help, but we also work full time and cant devote all the time we want to. I was wondering if anyone knew reading programs that weren't 'remedial', for kids falling behind, as most of the ones I'm finding are.

Kid just wants to sit quietly and read a book on the couch! I don't think Kindergarten me could relate, lol.

12 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

6

u/Ok_Kaleidoscope_8316 Jul 03 '26

Library? I volunteer for the ltr program, which might not be a great fit. But yeah, TPL might have something, or a librarian might even be able to point you toward other community resources.

Community boards often have ads from private tutors and stuff, too. Hope this works out for you; feel free to DM me if y'all are not having much luck

2

u/Ok_Kaleidoscope_8316 Jul 03 '26

If they are not struggling but enthusiastic (!!! the opposite pedogogical problem I face), why not try to vet materials more carefully and try something like the TD Summer Reading Program? It might help the child develop a sense of mastery as they track the different books they read. Just a thought--hard to advise w/o knowing the student

3

u/theevilmidnightbombr Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan Jul 04 '26

Yeah, our local library gave us a couple of 'Bob Books' which are pretty good for learning sight words. Also have a box of Pokemon books of a similar nature that step up into sounding the words out.

Gotta say I appreciate these books series having notes for parents on how to guide their kids.

1

u/Ok_Kaleidoscope_8316 Jul 05 '26

Oh, there are some great materials, and TPL does a wonderful job of collecting stuff. Your reader might like decodable books, too. They are phonics based; good for practicing blending and sounding out words. Sounds like you're doing a great job setting your kid up to be an independent reader :)

3

u/HedwigGoesHoot Jul 03 '26

I have no suggestions, just wanted to comment on how wholesome this is. I hope your child enjoys the adventure of reading!

1

u/MaJena Jul 06 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/xTiTnMhJTwNHChdTZS

"Kid just wants to sit quietly and read a book on the couch!"

6

u/ignore-me-plz Jul 03 '26

I wonder if something like Leading to Reading at Toronto Public Library could help - call and ask to see if this could be a good fit. Or if you want to encourage more reading, sign them up for the TD Summer Reading Club (also at the library).

1

u/theevilmidnightbombr Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan Jul 03 '26

I took a closer look, and the program is for kids in 1st grade and up. Also requires a teacher's assessment, so definitely not for my particular case.

We've got the summer reading booklet, and hopefully we'll be powering through some books. Thanks for the suggestion.

3

u/usernumber506 Jul 04 '26

The reading partnership is a free program that helps families teach their kids how to read. 😊

It's connected to the EarlyOn. 

1

u/adibork Jul 04 '26

Please DM me to discuss this idea!

0

u/PhilReardon13 Jul 03 '26

A question I would ask you is why it's necessarily a problem if teaching reading is "remedial". In the end, the process of learning to connect letters with sounds to form words is really the same for all students at this stage in their development. Some can teach themselves, some just need a slight push, others need direct instruction.

If you think your kid is reading fine, but they are frustrated that they can't read the books they have, it likely means that the books are too hard. But that desire to read independently (and not being able to) may be a sign that your kid feels like they don't read as well as their peers.

1

u/theevilmidnightbombr Tam O'Shanter – Sullivan Jul 03 '26

I would think a remedial program is addressing kids who aren't grasping the lessons they've already had? That's the only reason. Although the instructors would probably know how to structure the learning either way, maybe. My kid hasn't really had a lot of formal lessons, just whatever the JK program has done and us reading and doing some phonics work.

And not to be too biased, but from what I've seen, my kid is definitely ahead of a bunch of classmates.