Hello,
Greetings from Canada! I came across this forum earlier this month and it totally changed my view on early childhood education in just a few weeks’ time. It is amazing to find what the other parents are doing and I find it really inspirational. My daughter is turning 3 soon and I hope it is not too late to start this now.
I am ready to start but would like some advise on this. I speak Chinese to her at home and my husband and everyone else speak English to her. Her Chinese was good in the beginning and now she prefers to use English most of the time. My daughter watched Baby signing time since she was 1 and she really liked it. She also watched Leap frog letter factory and word factory and she knows the sound of the letters for some time already. I would like to start little English now. Do you think it is a bit late? Would she benefit much from it? It seems most parents here started when the baby is 2 or under. Should I just use program like the reading bear instead?
If I understand it correctly, I think I still need to get Little English since I will need the platform to learn how to read other languages. If I get it, should I get the basic or deluxe at this point? I am planning to start Little Chinese with her in a month or so after I start the little English program and perhaps some other languages down the road.
Sorry if I repeat some questions that is already posted in other threads. There is so much to read and at times it is overwhelming.
Thanks and best regards,
Marrtai
Hi Marrtai,
I am from Canada too!
It’s never too late to teach!!! I have used Little Reader since my son was around 17 months old. I actually used the combination of Flesch (readingbear) and Little Reader to teach my son to read. You will love Little Reader. To me, it is not just teaching a child to read. You can teach your child many other subjects with Little Reader. My son watches Little Reader downloadable contents every day. He learned about solar systems, shapes, human organs, national flags, and many more with Little Reader.
As for the Deluxe vs Basic, if you already have many reading materials, I suggest Little Reader Basic but if you are looking for more books that specially designed to teach young children to read, then the Deluxe package is a way to do.
I own Little Reader Deluxe. I am happy with it. My son likes the books too.
BTW, I am also trying to raise my son bilingually. I am the only person who speaks Thai to him while his Dad and the rest of our family speaks English to him. His Thai was almost perfect but when he starts going to school, he speaks less and less Thai. Little Reader is my lifesaver. I am using Little Reader to teach my son Thai. 
It helps me alot!
Elle
Well 3 isn’t too old at all. My son is 4 we started him just before his 4th birthday and he has learnt heaps!
So you can choose where to spend your money. As your child knows their letter sounds you could just use reading bear and teach sight words for free. This would be my choice but I know what I am doing LOL little reader is truely fabulous, you kiddo will be exposed to so many new words and all that builds the brain so it won’t be a waste of time.
Like you say you need the Chinese content more than the English content, I would focus on that as it’s clear that English is almost guaranteed, the Chinese is what you need to focus on.
I would say little reader basic plus Chinese and reading bear, sight words and starfall.com should cover everything
Thanks for the great advise. I just got the LR today. Can’t wait to start the program with my little one.