LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR MULTISENSORY TUTORING
1-to-1 lessons using the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach.
Orton-Gillingham Based
All lessons are based on the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach. Generally speaking, OG is a highly effective, engaging way of teaching. Learn more about OG here.
One-to-One
All lessons at Symbols are 1-to-1. Your child will always have our tutor's undivided attention in the lesson, and your child's lesson will always be planned specifically for them, tailored to their needs and interests.
Multisensory
Our lessons are always multisensory. Material is presented in VAKT (visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic) ways. This ensures that concepts are taught and learned using your child's strongest learning pathways (helping the material to get through to them), and also their weakest (helping to strengthen those pathways).
Individualized
Lessons are uniquely prepared for your child, based on their strengths, weaknesses, interests and academic needs. This is initially made possible through our in-depth intake assessment, and adapts based on your child's progress and development with us.
Language or Math
Students join Symbols for either language support (reading, writing, spelling, grammar, comprehension) or math. Students needing help in both language and math typically begin with language only, and either switch to or add elements of math after language stabilizes.
Intake Assessment
All new students begin with a thorough intake assessment. This allows us to identify their academic strengths and weaknesses, so we can individualize our program to their needs.
60 Minute Lessons
Lessons are exactly 1 hour long. Students attend a minimum of 2 lessons per week on a recurring schedule week-to-week.
5 Minute Parent-Tutor Time
After every 60-minute lesson your child's tutor will spend 5 minutes with you to update you on progress, explain what was learned, and answer any questions you may have.
Emailed Lesson Summaries
After every lesson you'll receive an email that summarizes what was worked on. You can even ask us to include others, such as school teachers, to receive these emails and stay informed.
Bi-Monthly Progress Reports
Progress reports are emailed every two months, and include a summary of what was worked on in the previous 2 months, a summary of what will be worked on in the following 2 months, and general comments on your child's progress. Just like the lesson summary emails sent after every lesson, we can include any other people you'd like us to keep in the loop.
Emailed Lesson Reminders
We know that life's busy and sometimes activities and appointments are forgotten. You'll receive an emailed reminder the day before each lesson, complete with the appointment time and your tutor's name. If your child is enrolled in online lessons, the lesson reminder email also includes the link and password to the virtual lesson room.
Accommodating Policies
Our lesson cancellation policy and termination policy are fair and accommodating. While some learning centers allow only 1 or 2 reschedulings per term, we allow one per month. You can also stop at any time with just 1 month's notice. Click here for our detailed policies.
Incorporating Student Interests
Does your child like hockey? Horses? Puzzles? We ask you about that as part of our registration process. Then we'll work that into our lessons to heighten your child's interest and engagement.
Lesson Materials Library
All of our lessons are delivered using materials from our extensive lesson materials library (available to our tutors in both electronic and physical forms). It includes various multisensory learning aids, games, phonogram exercises, mnemonics and red letter words. Our materials are designed to be effective and fun, and their in-house development helps to ensure that lessons always meet our high quality standards.
Incentive to Plan Great Lessons
Unlike many learning centers and most private tutors, our tutors are paid separately for their prep time, not just by the lesson. This helps to ensure they put the time and effort into planning an effective, high-quality, fun lesson every single time, instead of just winging it.
Free Consultations
Interested in learning more about Symbols? Or is your child already one of our students and you just want to find out more about their progress and our direction with them? Book a free consultation with Kimberley, our Director of Education. She'll always make herself available to answer your questions.
Fun, Engaging Lessons
Your child will get up to do ball toss, draw letters in our sand tray, write words on the whiteboard, or hop along a pathway of words on the floor. Our multisensory method will engage them, and they'll have fun while they learn.
Focus on Self-Esteem
Many new students feel down about themselves because of their struggles in school. The success they see with our help will naturally improve their self-esteem, but we'll also help by celebrating their achievements along the way. Earning stickers for good effort and being awarded a spot on our Wall of Champions are just a couple of ways we make our students feel proud.
Years of Experience (founded in 2006)
Students Helped
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Online Lesson Hours During Pandemic
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