Strong readers.
Bilingual thinkers.
For 25 years in Honolulu, TLC for Kids has taught more than 5,000 children to read, think and communicate in English. Since 2002, every lesson has followed the Science of Reading. Today, children join our classes live on Zoom from around the world.
Our alumni have gone on to all eight Ivy League universities
Our classroom is in Hawai‘i.
Our students are everywhere.
Every week, our Honolulu teachers meet children live on Zoom. Right now, students join us from:
- Czechia
- Italy
- France
- Switzerland
- United States
- Canada
- Singapore
- Japan
- Hawai‘i (home base)
- and more
All you need is a computer, tablet or phone with Zoom. Our bilingual staff help you get connected.
Small groups mean teachers can hear every child read and see every child’s progress.
Native-speaker teachers teach entirely in English — even when parents don’t speak English at home.
Fluent speakers still struggle if they can’t read.
Many children from non-English-speaking homes in the U.S. speak English easily. Yet some still fall behind at school — because they never learned to read well.
Reading is not a talent. It is a skill that can be taught, step by step. Once children can read, they open books on their own and keep learning for life.
Reading grows in stages, not by age.
The Science of Reading is the research-based approach to teaching reading now spreading across American schools. It rests on five pillars: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. At TLC, we teach these pillars through five stages, in order.
Hear the sounds
Notice the small sounds inside spoken words.
Link letters to sounds
Phonics: the code that connects letters and sounds.
Read words
Decode with phonics; recognize high-frequency sight words.
Read sentences
Put known sounds and words together.
Read lots of easy books
Build fluency through volume.
25 years of results
Children who become strong readers early keep up with demanding coursework as they grow. Here are some of the places our alumni have gone.
Teaching in Honolulu since 2001
Children taught
Ivy League schools attended by alumni
Admissions to Punahou School
One of 161 high school seniors in the nation.
Koichi grew up speaking Japanese at home. He learned his first English sounds at TLC when he was three. By kindergarten he was reading on his own, and in 2020 he was named a U.S. Presidential Scholar.
Koichi O., Iolani School, Class of 2020TLC gave me far more than English. I developed the ability to think critically on a global stage — and the confidence to know I belong there.TLC alumnus, graduate of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Classes and tuition
All classes are live, face-to-face lessons on Zoom — small groups or one-on-one.
English group class
Two to four children. Stages 1–4 build the foundation; confident readers move on to fluency and comprehension.
English private lesson
Fully personalized to your child’s level and goals, including Eiken and school admissions preparation.
Japanese group class
For children growing up outside Japan. Reading-centered, built on Science of Reading principles — from hiragana to books and kanji.
One-time registration fee: $100. Your first consultation is free.
Toru Funatsu, founder
Toru Funatsu has taught English to children for more than 30 years. He founded TLC for Kids in Honolulu in 2001 and created the TLC Phonics Program. His parenting books, including the bestseller Sekai Hyōjun no Kosodate (“World-Standard Parenting,” Diamond, 2017), have been published in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China. He writes a parenting column for Diamond Online.
Raising your child abroad?
Their Japanese grows through reading, too.
Your child speaks Japanese at home, but can’t read hiragana or kanji. They never reach for a Japanese book. Many families raising children outside Japan share this worry.
Children abroad have limited time with Japanese, so it is natural for their Japanese to develop more slowly. Our Japanese class follows the same Science of Reading principles as our English classes, with reading at the center. Hiragana starts with あいうえお, and children combine the kana they know into more and more words — just as they do with phonics in English. Step by step, they become able to read Japanese books with ease.
- Hear the soundsTLC’s original Japanese alphabet songs build phonemic awareness in Japanese.
- Learn hiraganaStarting with あいうえお, children learn to say each character’s sound on sight.あ・い・う・え・お
- Read words with known kanaChildren join the kana they have learned into two-character words, then three-character words — the same idea as phonics.あお・いえ・あい・うえ・えい
- Read sentencesKnown words connect into short sentences read aloud.
- Read lots of books, plus kanjiWide reading at the right level; kanji reading and writing from age six.
Our teachers
English lessons are taught by native-speaker teachers who are also trained performers.
Ms. Angie
Iolani School and University of Hawai‘i graduate. Actor in CBS’s “Hawaii Five-0” and “NCIS: Hawai‘i.” Currently studying law at UH.
Ms. Cathy
M.A. in Theatre and Asian Performance, UH Mānoa. Trained in physical theatre in London and Madrid.
Kazu-sensei
Conservatory graduate (piano). Directed a children’s learning center in Okayama for 14 years, teaching more than 1,000 children. Certified counselor.
Toru Funatsu
Founded TLC for Kids in 2001. Creator of the TLC Phonics Program and author of parenting books published in four countries.
Start with a free consultation.
Tell us about your child’s age, experience and goals. We’ll recommend the right class. Available in English and Japanese.