Welcome to i-tutor Studio
Empowering learners with inclusive and innovative tutoring and courses
I provide inclusive and innovative tutoring for school-aged children with dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties (SLD), ensuring that every learner feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential.
Alongside my tutoring, I am developing online courses and resources for tutors, teachers, specialists, and homeschooling parents, fostering both student growth and educator development.
The Struggle I Kept Seeing - and the Solution I Built
After working with so many students over the years - especially neurodiverse learners - I kept noticing the same challenge: writing felt overwhelming.
I still see this struggle every day. Students of all ages and levels often find it incredibly hard to organise their ideas and structure their writing. No matter how capable or creative they are, building complete, well-structured sentences is a challenge they all seem to share.
I found myself constantly pulling together worksheets, sentence templates, and grammar tools from all over the place.
While some of these resources were helpful, (and I still use some of them in my sessions) nothing ever felt truly cohesive.
I wanted something that worked together as a whole - not just more bits and pieces. A practical tool that was hands-on, and visual - something students could move around and truly engage with.
And beyond the tool, I needed an approach - one that showed me how to teach writing with clarity and direction, yet was flexible and responsive to different learning needs.
That’s what led me to create the Colour-Coded Learning System - a tool and a method, designed to work together.
Now, colour coding in itself might not be new - but this isn’t just about colourful cards. It’s a clear, structured system that takes the guesswork out of teaching sentence writing.
With its visual layout and brain-based design, the Colour-Coded Learning System helps students understand how sentences work - and gives educators the tools to guide writing step by step.
This system was born from the kind of support I wish I had earlier in my own teaching journey - and now I’m sharing it with you. 💖
Want to learn how colour-coded cards can help your learners?
✨Download my freebie + mini guide to get a sneak peak - test out the Colour-Coded Cards for yourself and discover how the system works.✨
The Colour-Coded Learning System™
Online Course
My Colour-Coded Learning System™ brings the method I use with students every week into an easy-to-follow online course. It's designed for tutors, teachers and parents who want to help young writers build strong, confident sentences - step by step.
You'll discover how to teach grammar in a way that makes sense visually, connects ideas through colour and pattern, and turns writing into something structured and achievable for every learner.
Beta Group special available now!
Credentials:
Degree: Teaching in Early Childhood Education
Experience: 20+ years in teaching, 5+ years in tutoring
Specialties: Diploma in Children's Literature, Certificate in SLD Teaching
Hi! I'm Cydnee. As a teacher-tutor I have dedicated my career to empowering young learners to unlock their potential.
Trained in Christchurch, New Zealand with a renowned organisation known for its innovative, research-backed methods, I’ve gained specialised expertise in tutoring students with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties (SLD). My love for children's literature enriches my teaching, inspiring creative approaches to literacy and learning.
I divide my time between teaching in early childhood education with infants through to five-year-olds and one-on-one tutoring for primary and early secondary students, while also developing a resource-rich online course to support both learners and educators. With over 25 years of teaching experience and more than five years dedicated to tutoring, my approach blends developmental insight with creative, brain-based strategies that nurture growth in every learner - academically and emotionally.
I’m passionate about helping all learners thrive and grow - nurturing both their minds and hearts along the way.
"educating minds and hearts"
🥰 Grateful for these words ...
From a parent:
⭐ "I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Cydnee for over six years. She was my son’s teacher and an incredible ECE (Early Childhood Education) teacher. Both of my children still talk about the amazing memories they made at preschool with her. She has a special way of making kids feel seen, supported, and excited to learn". - Seline, parent
From a colleague:
⭐️ "I first met Cydnee when I was a teenage mum, she was my son's teacher and she supported us both in our development - my son as he was growing, and mine as a new mum. I had explained to Cydnee I felt silly reading to him as he was only a few months old, but she really helped me to understand the benefit of reading to him like language development, bonding time and a calming technique. This developed our life-long love of reading. I was so inspired by Cydnee, I decided to pursue Early Childhood Education as a career, and I was so fortunate to have her as my mentor on my final teaching placement. She was an amazing support in my training and gave me great guidance and feedback. 11 years later, and I have now reached a full circle as I work with Cydnee in that very same Early Learning Centre and continue to be inspired by her and her practice daily". - Mikayla, parent/student/colleague
i-tutor
individualised
For me, teaching is about recognising each learner as a whole person. It’s about building from their strengths, giving them voice, choice, and helping them see their learning as connected to who they are and what they can become.
Every child holds unique gifts and potential. My role is to draw those forward, through gentle structure, creative exploration, and authentic encouragement. Whether I’m teaching, tutoring, or guiding learners through the Colour-Coded Learning System, my aim is always the same: to help each child grow into a confident, capable learner who understands their own value and voice.
inclusive
I embrace diverse learning methods to engage learners through multiple pathways, reinforcing their strengths and supporting their challenges.
I believe that techniques developed to teach students with specific learning difficulties can serve as effective teaching practices for a broad range of learners. One example is structured literacy, which has long been used to support students with specific learning difficulties and dyslexia. This approach focuses on explicit, systematic instruction and has proven effective in improving literacy skills. It is now being recognised and adopted within mainstream education in New Zealand.
innovative
Innovation, for me, is about finding new ways to connect, communicate, and bring learning to life.
I draw on the latest educational research and methodologies, incorporating brain-based and metacognitive strategies to help learners understand not just what they are learning, but how and why they are learning it.
Across my work, from early childhood education to tutoring and developing the Colour-Coded Learning System, I blend science with creativity. I value the balance between evidence-based literacy practices and the imaginative, emotional side of learning that sparks curiosity and a love of learning.
By integrating both, I help learners think deeply, make meaningful connections, and feel genuinely engaged in their own growth.
💬 What others are saying about the Colour-Coded Learning System- and why learners love it!
From a parent:
⭐ “Now we’re using Cydnee's colour-coded sentence cards as part of our homeschooling, and it’s been such a hit! My kids love building silly sentences while learning how to structure them correctly. They’re understanding the different parts of a sentence - like verbs, adjectives, and adverbs - and how to make their writing more interesting and expressive.
It’s hands-on, engaging, and honestly, even I’ve learned a few things along the way! I absolutely love this. It’s a simple but powerful tool that makes learning fun. I highly recommend it to any parent or educator looking to support their children’s literacy in a creative way.” – Seline, Homeschool Parent
From my students in the tutoring sessions:
⭐ One of my students with anxiety used to freeze whenever we worked on sentences. Now, he confidently moves the cards around to build them - without that same fear or hesitation.
⭐ A Year 5 student suddenly noticed, "Oh wow, there’s a pattern!" while arranging the coloured cards to create a sentence - and proudly explained it back to me.
⭐ Children often describe the cards as fun - one student, full of excitement, asked, "Do we get to use the cards today?"
⭐ Another child was able to clearly articulate each step of building a sentence: start with a noun, add a verb, then expand with other parts of speech. - Cydnee, Tutor-Teacher
Feedback from fellow tutors and educators:
⭐️ Tutors who have tried the free sample set are finding that the colour-coding is clicking with their students and helping them notice sentence structure more easily.
⭐️ One tutor described the concept as "revolutionary", noting that it’s a simple but effective approach.
⭐️ Educators are also beginning to see the potential, not just in the cards themselves, but in the structured way they can be used to support students in creative and flexible ways.
💡 This is only the beginning. The full course takes that foundation much further, providing a clear framework for teaching writing explicitly, and showing how to apply the system with structure and clarity.