How many lessons do I need to purchase?

You can choose between 1 and 20 lessons at a time. Your child may need just 1 lesson to brush up on a certain concept (e.g. proper nouns or when c spells /s/ like in ice) or 20 lessons to working on reading fundamentals such as letter and sound correlation or phonemic awareness. If you choose more than 1 lesson, I will ask you to sign a contract to be sure you have all of the information you need.

How much do the lessons cost?

I am currently introductory rates that are guaranteed until August 31, 2025. The more lessons you purchase at a time, the lower the cost per lesson. I will connect with you regarding lesson rates during a meeting and they will be explicitly clear in the contract you sign. Lessons are created in alignment with the evidence based Science of Reading approach. As an Orton-Gillingham trained Associate I will charge more for lessons based on the OG approach. We can discuss this during our first meeting.

Are all lessons 60 minutes in length?

I understand that an hour can be a lot for some children. I am happy to adjust rates in 15 minute increments between 30 and 90 minutes. Older students may benefit from longer lessons while younger children may have an attention span that is better suited for a 30 or 45 minute lesson.

How many lessons should I sign my child up for every week?

The ideal is 2 lessons per week. I am happy to commit to 1 to 3 lessons a week. I find it is limiting to the child to participate in 4 or more lessons.

When are you available to provide lessons?

While Learning With Derek is in its infancy, I will do lessons between 3:30 and 8:00 pm Mondays to Thursdays and between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm on Saturdays. I will provide plenty of notice if my availability changes.

What platform do you use to deliver the lessons?

I am the most comfortable with MS Teams and Zoom, but we could make Google Meet work as well. I would just need some time (and patience) while I figure it out.

What does my child need to participate in the lessons?

My personal preference is to use MS Teams which works best on a desktop or laptop, with the exception of Chrome Books. Tablets to not allow as much interaction as laptops do, but we can make modifications during the lesson to make up for any concerns. I have some experience with the Zoom platform and will learn more about Google Meet if that’s the platform your child needs. Your child will also need a dark coloured whiteboard marker and a whiteboard. Depending on the content of our lessons, your child may need to have specific paper, reading passages or printing paper that I can email to your for you to print before the lesson. I can also email you specific items your child will need including cards with key words for letters and sounds.

How will you know what to teach my child?

During our orientation meeting, I will learn about your concerns. Many parents come to me with completed assessments such as Individual Education Plans, psychoeducational assessments, report cards or progress reports. I will also do some preassessments with your child to identify where they need support. Before our first lesson, I will share what I have learned about your child as well as any documents you have shared to provide an outline of your child’s lessons.

How will I know my child is improving?

There are a couple ways to know this. I will make time to talk to every child’s parent or guardian either before or after each lesson. We can chat informally about what you might want to focus on during the lesson before it begins or we could connect after the lesson to see what they did well and what they need to work on. If you have purchased at least 6 lessons with me, I will provide you with a more formal update on your child’s progress. Additionally, you may hear about your child’s progress at school. Monitoring progress is very important to me and I believe positive, constructive feedback also builds your child’s confident and engagement.

Will you give my child homework?

My thoughts on homework are that if a child has had a busy day at school, extending that day with homework is not a good idea. I have discussed barriers to homework with many parents, whether it was finding a good time to do it or bad experiences when the child refuses to do it. As children get older, they do need to get into a homework habit. Ultimately it’s your choice. If homework from me will benefit your child, I will give you access to https://ca.ixl.com/ to support concepts being taught during our tutoring time. In addition, I can share online games and activities that we play during our lesson.

My child has been diagnosed with ADHD. Will you be able to support them?

I have years of experience with students with ADHD and learning disabilities and will adjust your child’s lessons accordingly, including integrating multisensory components to each lesson. In addition, I have more recent training work with neurodivergent children with Level 1 autism and dyslexia. I believe every child can learn and I will continue learning about neurodivergent students and how to support them.

Will you tutor my child if she is in Grade 6?

Yes, I will tutor students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. My qualifications with the College of Teachers indicates that I can teach students those grades. I do not feel comfortable tutoring students in grades 7 and beyond.

What if we meet to arrange my child’s lessons and you are not qualified or don’t feel comfortable supporting them?

Fortunately, there are a number of organizations that work with exclusively with children with specific needs. In Burlington and the GTHA there are a number of organizations I can direct you to, but lets work on how I can accommodate your child best as a first step.

Do you have more questions?

We will discuss a number of things during our first meeting which will hopefully give you more answers. If you want to connect with me sooner than your first meeting, feel free to call me at 905-630-8074 and leave a message or send an email to admin@learningwithderek.com