ALPHA-MANIA®
For the Love of Letters
An interactive pre-reading program
for ages 3 to 5

Introduce your pre-schooler to the magic and excitement of the alphabet.

Alpha-Mania is a pre-reading play program designed to excite children about the alphabet, while significantly improving their phonetic awareness. Ruth Rumack opened the first Alpha-Mania class ten years ago at the Jewish Community Centre in Toronto’s Annex, and it has been a success ever since. Alpha-Mania has taught hundreds of pre-schoolers a love for language, and helps children overcome the literacy barrier in a fun, warm atmosphere.

Each week, children will explore a new group of letters by sound, name, and shape. Curiosity is encouraged and a love for language developed. The program is based on researched principles, and is designed to encourage young children to acquire a love for letters.

Alpha-Maniacs will gain the ability to recognize and manipulate different sounds through interactive games, stories and songs. Parents are enthusiastic about Alpha-Mania, because of its research based approach, and its use of the five researched predictors of reading success; rhyming, blending, segmenting, recognizing sound-letter combinations, and recognizing sounds within words.

A Student's Day in Brief

• Lunch time (brought by camper)
• Introduction to the letter of the day
• Songs, stories and poems to reinforce the letter
• Arts & Crafts and movement activities based on the letter
• Snack time (brought by camper)
• Phonemic awareness activities to reinforce the five researched predictors of reading success; rhyming, blending, segmenting, recognizing sound-letter combinations, and recognizing sounds within words.
• Storytime
• Letter writing practice
• Free play time with specific, carefully chosen toys and activities

ALPHA-Mania FAQs

Who Should Come? Children ages 3-5 years old.

What makes ALPHA-Mania different from other reading programs?
Where other programs concentrate on reading skills, Alpha-Mania is a pre-reading program, designed to familiarize young children with concepts that they will need when they begin reading in earnest. It warms them to the pleasure of words so that they see reading as fun and positive.

What reading level is required to enter the program? Some children will be reading entire words and/or sentences, and some will only be able to recognize some letters and sounds. Alpha-Mania is suitable for young children at all early reading levels.

Is the program the same every semster? No. Each week, ALPHA-Mania will have a different theme, and will be working with different letters. This means that Alpha-Maniacs who come for more than one session will be able to explore a host of different activities.

Are children pressured to be reading at the end of Alpha-Mania? No. Alpha-Mania is designed to encourage children to explore the alphabet and language. It is a building block for good reading habits in the future, but children are not expected to read fluently at the end of the program.

Can Alpha-Mania help parents recognize if their child may have future reading issues?
Yes. Alpha-Mania can help alert parents to a child’s potential reading challenges based on observations of a child’s ability to recognize and manipulate elements of the five researched predictors of reading success. If the instructors feel that there might be challenges, he or she will discuss various options the parents may want to consider. (Alpha-Mania Instructors are not trained clinicians and cannot provide a diagnosis)

What Are The Instructors’ Specific Qualifications?
Each Alpha-Mania instructor is a certified teacher with experience in early childhood education.

Testimonials

Praise from Parents

“My 4 year-old son was already interested in letters, and
Alpha-Mania gave him a chance to really play with his knowledge.
The ideas were creative and there were a great variety of activities!”
-– Harriet W.


“...at age 3 my daughter quickly learned to associate the letters of the alphabet with their phonetic sounds and to read 3-letter words with confidence...With humour and creativity, Ruth engaged the children in language games, songs and crafts, creating a gentle, no-pressure setting for early learning. Two (paint-stained) thumbs up!
– Karen T.

“Noah loved every minute of Alpha-Mania! He came home every day singing songs about the alphabet. He even wanted to duplicate all the fabulous arts-and-crafts projects he had done under Ruth's supervision. It was a great experience--fun, enriching, stimulating and exciting”
--Karen W.

POV Ruth Rumack

“Parents now know that awareness of letters is an important part of early childhood development. It’s been well studied that young children who are comfortable with letters will have an easier transition in becoming readers, and will be more confident and assured when they reach grade school.”

Enroll now

Click here to register for Alpha-Mania Senior for 4.5 to 5.5 year olds