The Program

Reading Rockets focuses on learning about:

At Reading Rockets kids have lots of fun learning through:

At Reading Rockets we introduce children to some educational programs that are widely used in Victorian schools.  These are taught at a level that is appropriate for 4 and 5 year olds. They include:

• Cued Articulation,
• THRASS (Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills),
• Magic 100 Words,
• Take Home Readers.

To find out more about these programs go to

www.cuedarticulationtraining.com.au

www.thrass.com.au

www.magicwords.com.au

Reading Rockets is a unique program.  Some of the ways in which it differs from other pre-Prep programs include:

• A focus on literacy and numeracy.
• Parents are involved and help out in one or two sessions per term.  Parents are also given information after every Reading Rockets session regarding the learning in class that day and any follow-up activities they can do at home.
• It is a one-hour, fast-paced session.  This is an ideal length of time for 4 and 5 year olds to concentrate while making them want to come back and learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to stay at Reading Rockets with my child?

Parents are welcome to stay for none, some or all of the session in the beginning as their child settles. 

Then parents are not required to stay at Reading Rockets except when they are the parent helper.  You will be rostered on as the class helper once or twice a term (for dates that suit you).  Usually parents find this a fun experience helping out with some of the activities and pick up a few ideas as well!  If you are not able to be a class helper, that is okay too.  We also love dads and grandparents being class helpers too!

Why do you focus on reading, writing and numeracy skills at Reading Rockets?

Parents and Kindergartens do a fabulous job at working on and extending children's speaking and listening skills, social skills (such as sharing, compromising and cooperating). 

However, parents do not feel as confident teaching early reading and writing skills in a way that in consistent with the way their child will be taught at school.  And lucky for kids now, literacy teaching and learning has come a long way since we were all at school!  For these reasons, we focus on early literacy at Reading Rockets.  We also focus on a lot of early numeracy concepts at Reading Rockets (e.g., recognising and writing numbers, counting forwards and backwards from 1 and other numbers, time & clocks, patterns, 2D shapes, money and lots more) and we incorporate at least one numeracy game or activity each session as well as this is an equally important part of the school curriculum as well.  

What will my child learn about in term 1?

In term 1 we will focus on:

• Naming letters of the alphabet, both lower case and capitals
• Starting to learn some letter-sound relationships (e.g., Mm and /m/, Ss and /s/)
• Holding a pencil correctly and using scissors correctly
• Tracing and writing own name (in Vic cursive)
• Differentiating between letters and numbers
• Recognising numbers 0-12 and beyond
• Counting objects 0-12 and beyond
• Writing numbers 1-10
• Writing letters in their Alphabet Handwriting Book
• 2D shapes such as circle, triangle, hexagon, rectangle ...
• Telling the time (o'clock)

What does my child need to bring?

Nothing at all to the first class!

All materials are provided for the children.  Your child will be given a Reading Rockets bag and workbook.  They take this home after each class so that they can share what they have been learning with their parents, and bring it back each session.

Can I do a trial class first to see if Reading Rockets is right for me and my child?

If there are some spaces left in a class, you may be able to do a trial class first.  Please contact your local Reading Rockets teacher to discuss.