9 Simple and Effective Ways to Teach Phonics to Kids at Home
Struggling to find time to help your child with reading? As a busy parent, it can feel overwhelming, but what if I told you there are practical and powerful ways to teach phonics at home—without adding more stress to your day? As a reading coach for Savvy Learning, I’ve seen how small, consistent steps can […]
What Are Decoding Skills in Reading? 7 Effective Ways to Teach Them to Kids
If you’ve ever heard your child guess at a word while reading or skip over a tricky one entirely- Congratulations-you’re a parent! These behaviors are typical since many beginning and struggling readers rely on guessing because they haven’t yet mastered decoding skills—one of the most essential building blocks of reading success. But here’s the good […]
9 Effective Ways Parents Can Help When Their Child is Reading Below Grade Level
Christopher Barzak ironically noted, “Normal is just a setting on your washing machine.” After teaching reading for twenty years, I can confirm that “normal reading levels” are arbitrary and many children fall behind in reading skills at some point in their early education. While this can be concerning, the good news is that reading skills […]
9 Amazing Benefits of Summer Reading Programs for Kids – Keep Them Learning All Summer!
Summer evokes fun and relaxation-maybe a day swimming or a sweet treat like ice cream-and a break from school. But for many kids, it also means a break from reading practice, which can lead to learning loss. Known as the “summer slide,” this decline in reading skills can set students back two to three months, […]
7 Key Benefits of an Online Math Tutor for Kids
Math can be a challenge, leading to frustration, anxiety, and even a loss of confidence in one’s abilities (And that’s just the parents!). In all seriousness, finding the right resources to support your child’s math learning can feel overwhelming. One solution that has gained tremendous popularity is online math tutoring. As a classroom educator and […]
9 Ways to Know if an Online Reading Tutor is Right for Your Child
As a parent, there’s nothing harder than watching your child struggle. What happens when your child struggles to keep up in school or you’re unsure how to help them improve? You’ve tried helping with homework, setting up study schedules, and even finding extra resources—but nothing seems to click. As a reading coach, I’ve heard this […]
10 Effective Ways to Help Your First Grader Learn Math
Math is everywhere—from counting apples at the grocery store to measuring ingredients in the kitchen. When I taught first grade, my students didn’t even know we were “doing math”; we were just having fun playing games and solving real world problems! It’s so important that your first grader grasps foundational skills and has a positive […]
7 Key Benefits of Accelerated Reading Programs for Kids
Private or public school? Classical education or homeschooling? Online or in-person learning? As parents, we are bombarded with conflicting claims regarding the best choices that will result in happy and healthy kids. We want our children to develop to their full potential and worry about whether we are making the right choices. As a reading […]
7 Ways Phonics and Sight Words Build Early Reading Skills
Peanut butter and jelly. Macaroni and cheese. Campfires and smores. Some things are better together, and you can’t think of one without the other. As a reading coach, my winning combination is pairing phonics with sight words. For your child’s academic success, they need a strong foundation in reading, but that doesn’t come naturally to […]
10 Effective Ways to Help Your Third Grader Learn to Read
Third grade is the absolute BEST grade! (My bias as a former third grade teacher may be showing.) In all seriousness, third grade is a time of increasing independence and growing confidence. By third grade, children are expected to transition from learning to read to reading to learn. This means they need to develop fluency, […]
12 Proven Steps to Help Your Child Learn to Read
Reading is a complex skill, and let’s face it, most of us don’t remember how we learned to read. We want our kids to love reading, but knowing where to start is daunting. Over my twenty years of teaching reading, I have chatted with many parents who feel overwhelmed and uncertain about how to help […]
Top 7 Benefits of Online Reading Tutors for Your Child
“I HATE reading! Do we have to?” Does this complaint about reading sound familiar? After 20 years of teaching students to read, I’ve heard this countless times. Parents long for their child to enjoy reading—or at least stop struggling. But when frustration takes over, it’s easy for kids, parents, and even teachers to feel hopeless. […]
10 Effective Ways to Help Your Kindergartener Learn to Read
In my experience as a classroom kindergarten teacher and an online reading tutor, learning to read is one of the most exciting milestones in a child’s early years. We love seeing the budding confidence as a kindergartener proudly announces, “I can read it myself!” However, for most kindergarteners, mastering reading skills takes time, practice, and […]
