Award-Winning Kindergarten English
Tutors
Award-Winning
Kindergarten English
Tutors
Private 1-on-1 tutoring, weekly live classes for academic support, test prep & enrichment, practice tests and diagnostics, and more to elevate grades and test scores.
Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
UniversitiesSchools & Universities
DeliveredHours Delivered
ProficiencyGrowth in Proficiency
Who needs tutoring?
No obligation. Takes ~1 minute.

Hello! I'm Ms. Pattion, M.Ed., and I absolutely love helping students build confidence and discover their love for reading. I'm a child-first tutor who makes phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and ELA feel approachable and attainable. My students love having those "aha" moments when everything starts to click. I believe every child can grow as a reader with the right support, encouragement, and a learning space that feels safe. With a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and an M.Ed. in Instructional Design, I've utilized my education for over 20 years teaching in the classroom and virtually tutoring children from PreK through upper elementary school. When I'm not tutoring, you'll find me creating web-based educational games and reading/math printables for children and families. Let's work together to build your child's confidence and make reading fun and possible.

I'm excited to join Varsity Tutors as a contract tutor focused on literacy, learning support, and special education intervention for learners ranging from age 4 through adulthood. I help students build confidence as readers and writers, especially those who have experienced ongoing difficulty with foundational literacy skills. For many years, I've worked with diverse learners and their families in a collaborative intervention model, supporting growth in reading, writing, and comprehension through individualized, responsive instruction. I partner with families to clarify learning goals, instructional approaches, and progress so that literacy development feels transparent and actionable. I support early and struggling readers by building foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, letter-sound relationships, and decoding through multi-sensory instruction. For more advanced readers, I strengthen fluency, comprehension, and written expression through structured, step-by-step skill development that promotes independence. My approach is informed by my work with Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, where I learned and taught two of the most valuable evidence-based programs for literacy development: Seeing Stars and Visualizing & Verbalizing. These programs strengthened my understanding of how phoneme awareness, symbol imagery, and concept imagery work together to support accurate decoding and deep comprehension. I have consistently seen meaningful progress across a wide range of learners, from non-readers with strong listening comprehension to fluent readers with significant comprehension challenges. I provide clear, explicit instruction in reading fluency, language comprehension, vocabulary, spelling, and verbal expression, carefully adjusting support to ensure measurable growth. Above all, I create a structured, encouraging learning environment where students feel safe to take risks, engage deeply, and grow with confidence. I would be honored to be part of each learner's success journey.
I am committed to providing academic support to students to help them reach their full potential. With a background in education and a passion for empowering learners, I strive to create a supportive and engaging learning environment. My goal is to inspire students to develop critical thinking skills, improve their study habits, and achieve academic success. By building strong relationships based on trust and respect, I aim to make a positive impact on each student's educational journey.
I'm not tutoring or buried in my textbooks, you will either find me rock climbing at the Triangle Rock Club, playing Ultimate Frisbee, working on my car, or enjoying the great outdoors (beaches, mountains, forests--you name it, I love it). On rainy weekends I enjoy tinkering with computers and old electronics, playing Pokemon, or picking at my guitar.
I am an interdisciplinary educator with an Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Dartmouth College. My background is primarily in integrated arts learning and museum education and I specialize in visual arts, history and art history, and object-based learning. In all subjects, I take a creative, inquiry-based and learner-centered approach, designing opportunities for each unique individual to meet their learning goals.
I am a recent graduate from a masters program in biostatistics at Columbia University. I received my Bachelor of Arts in biological sciences, with a focus in neurobiology at Northwestern University. In August, I will be starting a doctoral program in biostatistics at NYU. I was a teaching assistant at Columbia University in my department and also have tutored graduate students and undergraduates privately as well. My primary areas of tutoring are math and statistics coursework in addition to math sections on standardized tests such as the GRE and GMAT. I am very passionate about helping students feel more confident and excited about math. In my spare time, I enjoy running, playing piano, and spending time with friends and family.
I am a graduate of Wesleyan University, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with High Honors. With eight years of experience working in education, I've tutored students in math, science, history, and English, as well as helped students prepare for standardized tests. I've guided adults towards passing the US Citizenship Exam and taught English in India, where I lived for six months. Whenever I work with a student I personalize the lessons to fit their particular learning style, since I know every student is unique and having the right fit can make all the difference in making learning fun and effective. My strengths are tutoring the social sciences and humanities, as well as making math and standardized tests approachable to students that normally don't like those subjects. In my spare time I like traveling, spending time in the outdoors (climbing & backpacking), meditation, and playing soccer. Next fall I will be beginning my PhD in Education at Harvard University.
I am a graduate of Washington University in St Louis, where I received my Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Humanities and Anthropology. Since graduation, I have worked as a tutor, teacher, and director of tutors at a charter public middle school in Boston. During this time I also received my Masters in Mild to Moderate Disabilities from Simmons College. I have worked extensively with students with a range of abilities, including students with specific learning disabilities, emotional impairments, dyslexia, and ADHD. My teaching experience has given me a deep understanding of the knowledge and habits essential to academic success and has given me the opportunity to hone a variety of strategies that ensure students at each level can achieve their academic goals. While I tutor a broad range of subjects, my favorite ones are Reading, Elementary/Middle School Math, History, and Test Prep. In my experience, tutoring is the most rewarding when a student has that "aha!" moment and achieves a new level of understanding and confidence in his/her abilities. I am a firm believer in the transformative power of education, and I see my role to be that of a facilitator and coach who is there to help the student reach his/her goals through individualized support and rigorous practice. In my free time, I enjoy reading, running, practicing my Spanish, and discovering new music. I am also an avid traveler and just got back from a 3 month trip to South America. I look forward to the opportunity to work with you!
I am a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Yale, and I hope to become a Naval Aviator after college. I am also a varsity sailor, and enjoy playing music with friends when I can get some free time. I have been tutoring my fellow students throughout my entire academic career, and I would best describe my tutoring style as one that adapts to each students' needs. For example, I have always tried to frame questions in a different way so that the student can better understand the question. Some students need visual representations of numbers and systems to understand them, and others benefit more by understanding the concepts behind each formula. I prefer to tutor in math and physics, and especially with real world application problems. I hope to help students improve their standardized test scores and their understanding of the math and sciences so that they can achieve their academic goals!
I am a rising sophomore at Harvard College and am about to declare as a Mechanical Engineering concentrator, working towards a Bachelor of Science degree. I've always enjoyed sharing my knowledge with my peers and those around me and have done so in both formal and informal settings. I've been a tutor for both Math and Spanish programs in high school and enjoyed the strides I made with students. I am willing to tutor any subject I have a background in, but am strong in mathematics, the sciences, Spanish, history, writing, and ACT prep. I enjoy teaching mathematics most due to the joy I can see in children once they master a topic and can answer even pointed questions meant to stump them, and maybe even put their knowledge to real world use. As a tutor, I like to give a strong foundation to orient my student, and then gradually grant them more freedom and independence until they can feel themselves grasp the concept, pointing out pitfalls or common errors along the way; teachers who used these methods on me always left the most lasting impressions. Outside of my studies, I really enjoy listening to music, both old favorites and new interests, reading classics, and gaming/playing basketball with my friends.
I'm Solange - a recent graduate from Harvard where I studied Sociology & Women's Studies. I've been tutoring for eight years now, and have worked with a wide range of ages and in a wide range of subjects. Some of my specialties are college prep/test taking II worked in the admissions office on campus); social sciences; and literature/writing.
I am proud to be a part of Varsity Tutors! I am originally from San Antonio, TX; I completed my undergraduate education at Rice University in Houston where I received a bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology. Currently, I am in my second year of medical school at Baylor College of Medicine.
Testimonials
Because the right Kindergarten English tutor makes all the difference.
Average Session Rating – Based on 3.4M Learner Ratings
Top 20 English Subjects
Top 20 Subjects
Frequently Asked Questions
Kindergarteners are building critical early literacy skills including letter recognition (both uppercase and lowercase), phonemic awareness (hearing and manipulating sounds in words), and the alphabetic principle (understanding that letters represent sounds). They're also developing print concepts like left-to-right directionality, sight word recognition, and beginning phonics. A strong kindergarten English foundation in these areas sets the stage for successful reading and writing development in first grade and beyond.
Phonemic awareness—the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in words—is one of the strongest predictors of reading success. Children who struggle with this might have difficulty rhyming, blending sounds together to make words, or segmenting words into individual sounds. They may also struggle to identify which words start with the same sound or have trouble clapping out syllables. A tutor can use targeted activities like sound games, rhyming exercises, and oral blending practice to strengthen these critical pre-reading skills.
Some kindergarteners struggle to recognize letters or form them correctly, which impacts both reading and writing readiness. Tutors use multi-sensory approaches—tracing letters in sand, forming them with playdough, or practicing on whiteboards—combined with repeated exposure and games to build automaticity. Personalized instruction allows a tutor to focus on the specific letters a child finds most challenging and adjust the pace based on their progress, rather than moving through a standard curriculum too quickly.
Sight words (high-frequency words like 'the,' 'and,' 'is,' and 'to') are essential because they appear constantly in early readers and can't always be sounded out phonetically. In kindergarten, students typically learn a small set of these words through repeated exposure, flashcards, and contextual reading. A tutor can personalize sight word instruction by identifying which words a child already knows and focusing practice on unfamiliar ones, using games and real books to reinforce recognition rather than rote memorization alone.
Fine motor skills—the ability to control small hand muscles—are essential for holding a pencil, forming letters, and eventually writing. Some kindergarteners struggle with pencil grip, pressure control, or hand strength, which makes writing frustrating and slow. A tutor can incorporate strengthening activities like playdough manipulation, scissor practice, and pre-writing exercises (lines, curves, shapes) before moving to letter formation, ensuring a child has the physical foundation needed for writing success.
Oral language—speaking and listening skills—is the foundation for reading and writing. Children with limited vocabulary, difficulty following directions, or trouble expressing ideas verbally often struggle with literacy later. Tutors build oral language through conversations, read-alouds with discussion, storytelling, and language-rich games that expand vocabulary and help children practice using new words. Strong oral language skills make phonemic awareness activities more effective and give children the language foundation they need for reading comprehension.
A tutor evaluates kindergarten reading readiness by observing skills like letter recognition, phonemic awareness, print concepts, and oral language development. They might use informal assessments like asking a child to identify letters, segment words into sounds, or point to where a book starts. Based on these observations, a tutor can identify specific skill gaps and create targeted instruction to address them, ensuring a child enters first grade with the foundational skills needed for reading success.
Kindergarteners who experience early frustration with literacy can develop negative attitudes toward learning. Personalized tutoring provides a low-pressure, play-based environment where a child can learn at their own pace without comparison to peers. Tutors use encouragement, celebrate small wins, and choose activities matched to a child's interests and skill level, helping rebuild confidence and intrinsic motivation. This positive early experience with literacy learning is crucial for long-term academic success.
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