Teaching Your Child to Read: Not as Difficult as it Seems!

This year, I decided to teach my son to read. He is 5 years old, in Senior Kindergarten. Friends who know me well aren’t surprised by this; I am task-oriented, organized and just a bit competitive ☺ I am also a certified teacher. I want to make one point very clear though: these are not the attributes that have led to my son’s reading success, or to my success when working with him. The reason we have been so successful is because of the program I am using, and the quality time we have spent together.

Have you ever thought about teaching your child to read? It is a daunting task. Do you start at the letter A? How do you teach vowel sounds? How do you teach homonyms…what are those again? How do you explain that sometimes the letter c says /s/, and other times it says /k/? So many questions. Where do we even start?

The program I am using addresses all of these questions. In fact, it tells the parent which words to say in order to teach their child to read! It teaches children necessary pre-reading skills such as rhyming, blending, and sound-symbol correspondences before teaching them to read words and stories. It teaches them that the letters th together make a different sound than t and h do separately. It teaches the final-e rule. And the best part? Each lesson is 20 minutes spent with your child.  

If you have been following Cori for more than a minute, you’ll know that children thrive with structure, routine and predictability. Knowing what to expect and what is expected of them leads children to behave positively. This reading program turns learning to read into a success-based task that parents and children will succeed at together. It is based on taking small, predictable steps frequently over time. The child masters skills before learning new ones. They are successful in each lesson you do together. Each lesson follows the same format, which leads to confidence in reading. When a child feels confident, they are more likely to take risks to extend their skill set. For example, my son loves animals. He is reading well enough now that I have started writing a new animal fact for him each day. His motivation to learn and his confidence in reading led him to attempt to read the word crepuscular to learn about rabbits’ sleep/wake cycles. He could not yet read this word accurately, but was not deterred by his errors. He has a strong letter-sound base, and confidence in his skills and his learning. I was equally as proud of him for trying such a difficult word as I was about his self-regulation and attitude when he stumbled on such a tricky word.

Teaching him to read has an added behavioural perk: building the capacity to work at something that is not necessarily a preferred activity.  Working through these lessons with success and confidence will contribute to a positive attitude towards school and school-related tasks to be completed at home. In my job, I speak to a lot of parents for whom homework is a considerable source of conflict and frustration. With this reading program, I am laying the groundwork for a constructive approach to working together and completing academic tasks in the future.

There are several rumours indicating that it is possible our children are entering a kindergarten system that may not have a certified O.C.T. teacher in the classroom. Our children may lose the classroom caps placed in the primary years. Learning to read is a skill that is imperative for success in the early years of school, and a lack of strong reading skills will have ramifications for life.

Alana Silver,

Academic Specialist & Consultant

Angus Lloyd Associates

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Angus Lloyd Associates will be running workshops on how to implement this learn-to-read program on the dates below. We feel so strongly about this program that we want to teach parents how to use it with their own children. Please be in touch with us to sign up for this workshop.

We are offering the following training dates (located in mid-town Toronto):

Monday April 8: 7:00-9:00pm

Friday May 10: 12:30-2:30pm

Thursday June 6: 7:00-9:00pm

Connect with us!

Website: https://www.anguslloyd.com/teach-your-child-to-read

Email: alanna@anguslloyd.com

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Thank you!!

I am often asked why I love my job so much. Yes I love helping others, Yes I like making a difference, Yes I like working with children, but what I love most is knowing the work I do counts in the long run. I recently received an email from a client of mine- she has a non-verbal child on the Autism Spectrum who I started working with when she was around 4 years old. She is now a young lady at the age of 12. She writes....

Hi Cori,
This morning I saw G's close friend's Mom who works at Vaughan public library. This women is aware S. has autism, but not the severity. I told her S. Is non verbal and using a voice output app on iPad to communicate. Next question she asked ( appropriate for a librarian ). Does S. Know how to read ? I said yes and that is because of intensive teaching though her autism treatment centre. School teachers just supported the teaching strategies already implemented by S's Treatment director. Well that person is you! Over the years I have been asked by Friends or people who are aware of S. How she learned to read and I tell them about your commitment to her education. I will always be thankful and grateful for your commitment to teach S. How to read before even entering grade one! Clicker stories on my IPad remind me of those early elementary school years. You should be extremely proud of the work you have done to shape S. Mind before entering school full time. Now S can read , comprehend and type her responses. This is because of your knowledge and commitment to her treatment and care.
Ok, I am tearing up now and have to go and make the dinner pizza which S. Eats at 4:00.

My response to emails like this is "THANK YOU!". Thank you for allowing me to work with your child. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for supporting my approaches along the way. I am extremely grateful for each and every one of my students and clients. They #educate me, #motivate me, and #accelerate me to be the best educator I can be. 

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Keeping Kids Motivated over the Holidays

School’s out for the holidays and the kids are home for two full weeks. This can go one of two ways: you are either the type of parent that counts down the days until school’s out and the kids are home or the type of parent that dreads this time off because you just aren’t sure how to keep your kids busy and motivated over the break. As a Learning Specialist, I always try to find ways to keep kids learning without them really knowing it. The secret here is to give them fun and motivating activities to do that incorporate goals and skills they are working on in school. Go ahead and create a calendar for yourself to plan out different activities, spacing them throughout the holidays. Here are five great activities that you can try out. Each of these activities can be tailored to suit any child’s age and abilities.

1. Baking– Pull out that favourite cookbook of yours or go online with your kids and find a recipe that seems to be a crowd pleaser. Not only is baking a fun activity for the family, it incorporates a bunch of different learning skills across different curriculum areas. Baking integrates math (measuring ingredients), decoding and reading comprehension (reading and understanding the recipe), skills for following directions (following instructions) and health and safety concepts. If you have kids that are not reading yet, you can find many resources that have visual recipes instead of written recipes. The best part about this activity is that you end up with something really yummy in the end!
2. Find A New Hobby– Sit down with your kids and brainstorm a list of hobbies that are not currently a part of your daily life. The holidays are a great time to try something new! These hobbies can range from crafting, playing sports, scrapbooking, cooking, photography, board games, DIY projects, gardening, card games, painting, yoga and the list goes on…. Challenge yourself and your kids to dive into a new hobby that is likely out of your comfort zone. Picking up a new hobby means learning new skills. What better way to keep your kids motivated while learning at the same time?
3. Library Scavenger Hunt- When’s the last time you were at the library? A lot of families might not frequent the library as much as they used to in the past now that reading resources are so easily accessible online. The library is a wonderful place for tactile learning experiences. Why not take advantage of this and send your kiddies off on a scavenger hunt throughout the library? Start off by creating a list of things for them to search for in different books. I would advise creating a list that is broken down by people, places and things. For example, on your people list might be a princess, a dog, a mother and a baby. On your places list might be a farm, a school, a park and a shopping mall. Lastly, on your things list might be a bicycle, a sandbox and a tree. Once again, if your kids are at the stage where they are not reading yet, you can create a visual list for them by finding images online and pasting them into a word processing document. Print it off and you are ready to go! The person that find the most items from the list in a given amount of time wins a prize.
4. Make a Movie or Documentary- Nowadays kids seem to be quite motivated by technology. There is a lot of great value that technology brings to the world of education and learning. The best part about this is that there’s a lot of technology out there that makes it easy for kids to participate. This activity is great because you can stretch it over a few days. Have your kids create a script. You can provide them with guidelines for the script based on the writing skills they are working on in school. If they are too young to be physically writing stories, have them create them orally and jot them down as they share them with you.  Give them the option to exercise their imagination by either writing a non-fiction story or a documentary. Once they have written the story, they can put together their cast and sets and get filming. Filming can be done on any smartphone, tablet or a good old video camcorder. Once they have created their masterpiece, it’s time to call in the troops for the big screening. Pop some popcorn and sit back as your kids present their feature film. You are guaranteed to have very happy and proud kiddos once they complete this project.
5. Be a Tourist- One last activity that I highly recommend trying out is being a tourist in your own city. As parents, our lives are often so busy with day-to-day stuff that we sometimes don’t get much opportunity to burst out of our bubble. Touring your own city can provide a great geography and history lesson for your kids. Do a walking city tour, visit historical sites, get on the ‘hop-on, hop-off bus’ (if your city offers one). Check out a local museum, art gallery or science center. If you live in a multicultural city, you can consider visiting different restaurants or markets that represent those different cultures in your city. Go online and see if your city is hosting any special events for the holiday season that are family friendly. If you live in a very small city or town, you can always consider a road trip to a neighbouring city. Don’t forget to bring your camera!

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Tutor vs. Academic Coach

You are one step in the right direction when you decide that you are going to find support for your child, to help them at home with their school work. The next step is figuring out what that support is going to look like. Does your child need help understanding curriculum content? Does your child need help completing homework and assignments? Does your child just need a cheerleader in their corner to help build self-confidence and esteem? Understanding your child's needs is really important before you start shopping around so you can make sure you are getting the best support possible. Knowing what's available out there is really important. Based on my 10+ years of experience, I have found that now more than ever, there is such a great need for more than just the traditional type of tutoring. This is especially true for students who have Executive Functioning challenges, Attention Deficit Disorders, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, and other learning deficits we are seeing through assessment outcomes.  With need comes support, and the inception of our Academic Coaching service. We have come to differentiate Tutoring & Academic Coaching to ensure we are meeting the growing needs of all our clients. They are offered as separate services but often merge quite seamlessly. The feedback has been tremendous and a lot of families are seeing such positive results. Here's the difference between the two. 

Tutoring

• Helps students understand curriculum content in any or all subject areas

• Helps students complete homework

• Helps students study for upcoming tests and exams (having a study buddy can be quite beneficial)

• Helps students when it comes time to edit final assignments

• Helps boost confidence and self esteem when going through homework, assignments and test prep at home. Reassurance always feels so good!

• DOES NOT mean that someone is showing up to your house to complete your child’s homework or assignments for them

• Offers remediation and enrichment to catch up or move ahead in the curriculum

• Helps parents out when time is limited after school to help their child with homework, etc.

• The focus here in on the product

Academic Coaching

• Helps students who need support with organizational management and time management

• Helps students take larger tasks and break them down into smaller ones

• Helps students organize and manage their schedules and agendas

• Helps students set up systems at home for homework and assignment completion and test prep

• Involves communicating with teachers to align goals and learning strategies

• Teaches students study skills that target both their strength and weaknesses

• Primarily focuses on processes and then product

• Provides a solid foundation to allow students to learn effectively

• Boost confidence and self esteem when going through homework, assignments and test prep at home. Reassurance always feels so good!

• Reduces the needs for parents to play the role of 'teacher' at home- which often compromises the parent-child relationship

How to Hire the Right Tutor.

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When hiring a tutor you want to take the time to make sure you are finding the right person for your child. Investing in a tutor can have many beneficial outcomes for your child, given you find someone who is a perfect fit. So, how do you make this happen? How do you find that perfect fit? There are many things to consider when you are shopping around for a tutor. Make sure to have a list of questions or a checklist prepared as you conduct your search. This will help you know if you are on the right track. Here are the 5 most important things to consider when you are in the process of hiring/interviewing tutors.

#1. Before you start interviewing different tutors make sure you have a good grasp on your child’s academic needs. Ask yourself why your child needs a tutor. Does your child have a learning disability and needs extra support? Is it a motivation boost they need? Is your child unorganized and need help staying on top of their work? Study skills support? Homework completion? Behavioural challenges? Narrow it down before you make any calls.

#2. What are the tutor’s qualifications/certifications and teaching experiences? Since you are looking for professional academic support, the tutor should be a registered Teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers (or equivalent). If they are not registered, they should at the very least have Education training and a post-secondary degree in the field of Education. Depending on the needs of your child, you should ask if they have any ‘additional qualifications’ (AQs)- which means specialized training obtained at the University level in specific areas (ie; special education, reading, math, french, etc.). Have they ever tutored or taught kids the same age as yours? Do they have experience with the curriculum content your child is working on at school? Have they worked with kids who have similar needs to yours? Dig in and find out! An added bonus would be if they were qualified and experienced in more than one area and grade level. Once you find that perfect tutor you don’t want to have to give them up when your child moves on to the next grade. 

#3. Where does collaboration fit on the tutor’s agenda? Any good tutor will be more than willing to communicate and collaborate with your child’s classroom teacher(s). This is super important for the sake of consistency between home and school. It’s always beneficial for the child to be using consistent learning strategies across different environments. Tutors and teachers should be communicating to share what strategies work and don’t work. It’s also important for the tutor to understand the teacher’s expectations so the tutoring sessions can be geared in that direction. There should always be a bridge between school and home. Open lines of communication work wonders!

#4. When choosing a tutor, you have to find someone who fits into your family’s lifestyle. If you are busy juggling multiple kids’ schedules, you might benefit from a tutor who will come to you vs. you going to them. A tutor with scheduling flexibility is also beneficial, should you want to add in or move around sessions based on test and assignment dates. Standing appointments are important for consistency, however sometimes a little wiggle room is needed. Weekend availability is a bonus if you are the type of family that is scheduled with extra-curricular activities after school, during the week.

#5. Approach is everything! Ask the tutor how they approach their sessions. Two key words to listen for in this responses are; rapport and motivation.  A good tutor will always focus on building a positive relationship with your child before diving into anything too intense. Your child has to feel comfortable with the tutor in order to be productive throughout their sessions. There also needs to be a feeling of trust that comes from building good rapport. On the same note, understanding motivation is key. All learners perform based on some type of motivation- for some it’s getting a good mark, for other’s it’s task completion, for some it’s a simple external reward that has nothing to do with school (for example; getting an extra special dessert for finishing homework). Understanding motivation is a critical part of learning. It’s super important that your tutor is going to use your child’s strengths to boost their weaknesses. We all need to feel success to stay motivated! 

Finding that perfect tutor might take time, don’t rush the processes. Take the opportunity to speak to more than one tutor so you have an idea of how different tutors operate. When I hirenew tutors to join my team of Learning Specialists at Cori Stern & Associates, I always consider the first impression they make during their interview. Tutors inadvertently act as mentors for their students. So you should get the impression that they are confident, personable, friendly, outgoing, warm, and well spoken. Go with your gut feeling! If you walk away feeling good about it, your child will likely have the same impression.