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About TLC for Kids
Founded in Honolulu in 2001. Today we teach English and Japanese online to children around the world. Both are built on the Science of Reading, starting with the ability to read.
Raising children who thrive anywhere in the world
What will children need twenty years from now, when they enter the workforce? Our answer is in our name. TLC stands for three skills we develop in every child.
Thinking skills
What are my strengths? What do I value? What life do I want? We build the habit of independent thinking, so children make the best choices for themselves rather than following the crowd.
Language skills
English is the shared language of a global society. Our original curriculum, grounded in the Science of Reading, aims for English strong enough for university and work (CEFR B2 and above).
Communication skills
Using techniques from the performing arts, we teach children to build trust with people of different cultures and values.
Toru Funatsu
Founder & director, TLC for Kids · Creator of the TLC Phonics Program
Toru Funatsu has taught English to children for more than 30 years. He ran TLC for Kids in Honolulu for 25 years and has taught more than 5,000 children. Hawai‘i sits between Asia and America, and his students have grown up between both cultures. Among his alumni are children from non-English-speaking homes who went on to all eight Ivy League universities and were named U.S. Presidential Scholars.
He is the author of six books on parenting and education in Japan, including the bestseller Sekai Hyōjun no Kosodate (“World-Standard Parenting,” Diamond, 2017). His books have also been published in Taiwan, Korea and China. He writes a parenting column for Diamond Online.
- 2001Founds TLC for Kids in Honolulu, Hawai‘i
- 2002Moves all instruction to the Science of Reading
- 2017Publishes Sekai Hyōjun no Kosodate (Diamond), a bestseller in Japan
- 2020A TLC alumnus is named one of 161 U.S. Presidential Scholars
- TodayTeaches children online across the U.S., Europe and Asia
Start with a free consultation.
We’ll explain our approach and how lessons work — in English or Japanese.