Parents in Australia - early learning for kids

[agnes4eva]

Hi all,

I am a mother of a 4.5 months old baby R in perth, australia. Like most of you here, I want to start teaching her to read, math, languages etc. Initially i was looking at early learning centres practising Reggio Emilia philosophy, Gymbaroo etc, and then I came across Brillkids. 

I believe Little Reader works for many parents. What are your say in this?
If your child/children starts reading early, how do they fit in school?
Does your child/children goes/go to public or private school in Australia? or homeschool?
Is there anyone from Perth?
i noticed there are not much discussions anymore, are the parents in Australia doing other early learning for kids?

Please share. thanks.

[Kimba15]

Hi Agnes4eva.

My name is Kimberley and I am from Adelaide. I have been part of Brillkids since 2008 and I never left. I use little reader/music and maths and love it.

My eldest attended Gymbaroo and has recently been accepted to start school almost a year early. She was due to start in 4th term this year but was put up at the beginning of this year into reception. We send her to a Montessori school and even though we had a few teething problems Miss S has taken off with gusto and it has been the right move for her.

Miss S now attends Rythmic Gymnastics on a saturday morning as well as school 5 days a week. I also continue to afterschool her as well.

My other daughter who is 2 now reads at level 8-9 which equates to approximately the end of term 3 in reception so 5 1/2 6 year old. She does swimming and attends playgroup at the school she is also learning Chinese and french. as well as a exposure to maths and loves little Musician.

All the little Reader/music and maths is worth the investment and I promise you you wont regret it. My husband and I have decided that if Montessori school does not work out we will Homeschool our girls. Homeschool is growing considerably in Australia and you can join a group local to your area.

[Mandabplus3]

Hello fellow Aussie. I am from Brisbane. My 3 kids are all above grade level in most areas. They attend an inexpensive  private school and get some extension and a lot of revision!  two of them started school already reading and it doesn't seem to have bothered them at all. The school is generally lost as to what to do with them and really hasn't got much idea of the level they really are at but my children all happily get ready for school each day and eagerly await for school to resume after the holidays so clearly they enjoy it. I continue to teach them after school in math, history and give them a very broad reading diet for extension in all areas.
The do gymnastics at high levels and taekwondo ( state champions, yep all of us  ) and win every single race the school ever puts on.
Home schooling is a possibility in our future but I am hoping to continue to " gently manipulate" the system to get what I want from a school environment. Purely because I enjoy my job and want to keep it. My girls are also very social and I believe they would struggle without their school friends. Their friends are truly delightful, there isn't one among them I wouldn't claim as my own in a heartbeat. The girls have decided that I will be homeschooling them for high school so we shall see. 
Little reader and little musician are truly wonderful. Worth much more than the ticket price! Perhaps you don't see much conversation from the Aussies because we have our kids reading and learning well now and just arnt asking as many questions. ( moved up to expert status!      ) ???

[agnes4eva]

thanks for the reply.

kimberley, when did you expose your kids to LR and LM? did you follow the curriculum and showed them flashcards as well? any other things that you do? what about gymbaroo? when to start? for chinese and french, did you go for brillkids products too? please forgive me for asking so many questions. i am a first time mom and my husband doesn't think LR is worth the price. i am doing the trial and i really hope he could see some good in LR for baby R and let me buy it. thank you.

Mandabplus3, hi. how is little musician wonderful? i am not into music and we don't play music much in the house. i am trying to expose baby R to classical music now (hope it's not too late). when did you expose your kids to LR? any other things that you do? please advise. thanks.

i hope i'm not too late to start my baby into reading. i am reading books to her most days (when i'm not working, i work 2 days a week), play with her and try talking and singing to her whenever i can. i hope to bring her to library next month for story-telling session. i looked into gymbaroo and may start her when she's a bit older. am i on the right track? there's so many programs like YCCR, monkisee etc, i just don't know where to start.

[Mandabplus3]

Don't stress. You have plenty of time. I started my 3 kids all at different times. My son didn't start any early learning until he was almost 4 and he has started school reading, doing above grade level math and with a head full of information and a thirst for knowledge. When you start really doesn't matter for reading. The earlier the better but it isn't a deadline event.
Little musician will lay a ground work for a life long affair with music. It teaches perfect pitch a rare gift. It also teaches how to read music, recognise an instrument, all about different composers and clasical music, how to recognise chords and even how to make a tune on the piano. Amazing.
Again don't worry too much about rushing. You have plenty of time for this one too. My 6 year old is developing perfect pitch using LMusic now!
Talk hubby into getting little reader now and work on the others a little later on. The languages are very good also. The new French curriculum looks awesome but I haven't used it yet. My kids will probably get started on it soon. More as an experiment to see if it will work for older kids 

[Kimba15]

I understand exactly how you feel. I was exactly the same when I came across EL. I am with Mandab get Little Reader work on the rest later. Get a routine established with Miss R with LR and slowly work on Hubby to get the rest. You can download alot of flashcards for free on this site and an investment in a laminator and laminator sheets will see flashcards last for a no. of children.

Gymbaroo is worth the money but if it gets tight I would choose LR over Gymbaroo and just buy the Start Smart (Gymbaroo publish  this book)  and invest in some monkey bars for Brachiation. If you become to overwhemed you wont do anything. So best to start with one thing and then move on from there.

Best of luck. Sometimes the husbands are so hard to convince until they see some evidence.

Kim

[agnes4eva]

Thanks Kimberley and mandab for the reassurance. I feel much better now.    I will get the LR deluxe next week (when hubby is out working) and go from there. He is taking care of Miss R these days. He showed her LR a few times a day (at least 3 times) and he said she's not interested anymore, she prefers to watch twinkle twinkle star on YouTube. I think I will stop LR for a few days and see. I'm worried what if I get the full version and she doesn't like it? Will it go to waste?

Kimberley, thanks for the information on gymbaroo. We have to see what's our budget like. We are trying to save for a house at the moment, hopefully will get one in a few months. It's great to see that LR is helping the children in EL. I truly believe that early years are utmost important for future development.   I am working part time at the moment so thinking of getting LR deluxe which comes with everything. If I have time I would definitely get a laminator as I'm planning to have more children.    kids are just wonderful. Love them.

Mandab, thanks. I will take things slowly, start with LR then slowly expand. There are just too many products/programs for EL nowadays making me so confused. little musician is on my wishlist now, please let me know if the French curriculum works for older kids. If they learn a new language at such a young age, and not speak or write the language for a few years, will they still know the language? I wonder.

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