The Summer Slide
I can’t believe I’m hearing all my students counting down the days until summer vacation! Where did this school year go? As the excitement builds and everyone is talking about summer camps, sports tournaments, and vacation, don’t forget to plan your child’s summer academic goals. The “summer slide” is the tendency for students to lose the achievement gains they made during the previous school year. Over two months of learning can be lost over the summer in both reading and math skills. Teachers spend six weeks reteaching old materials. A few hours a week can help your child avoid the summer slide! Here are some tips to avoid the summer slide:
- Have your child read for at least 20 minutes every day!
- Read all different kinds of reading material: cookbooks, directions, magazines, chapter books, and picture books.
- Use your local library.
- Listen to audiobooks when you are in the car.
- Start a book club.
I would love to discuss your child’s summer learning goals. Contact me today!
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and effective classroom instruction. It can also impact reading comprehension and reduce a child’s reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
There are many misunderstandings when it comes to dyslexia. Here are some of the most common ones I have heard:
- Dyslexia is rare or uncommon.
- Dyslexia is incurable and permanent.
- People with dyslexia cannot read.
- People with dyslexia see things backward and letters reversed.
Dyslexia manifests itself in many different ways. Two people with dyslexia can have very different deficits. It is estimated that 5-10% of the population has dyslexia. While dyslexia cannot be outgrown, with proper intervention dyslexic children can rewire their brain and learn to read. Many students who are learning to read and write are going to have letter reversals, it is developmentally appropriate. While dyslexic students may have difficulty attaching labels or names to letters, there is no evidence that dyslexic students see letters backward.
If your child has a reading difficulty or a diagnosis of dyslexia, I am here to help. I have been trained by the Dyslexia Training Institute with the Orton-Gillingham Approach. It is an individualized, structured, and systematic approach to teaching phonics. Contact me to learn more!
Learning Zone!
Mindful Moments is very excited to announce our partnership with the Learning Zone! The Learning Zone was designed to serve students who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Please check out the flyer below for more information!
Why Is Reading So Difficult?
In my time spent in education, I have worked extensively with struggling readers. I have sat through hours of professional development in how children learn to read, how the brain works, and best practices in teaching students how to read. While there are many different opinions and theories about this, research on how the brain develops has shown us that phonics instruction is crucial in teaching all students how to read. Reading is an unnatural process for our brain and we must teach it how to read. While some students pick up on the reading code quickly, for many students, learning how to read is very challenging. If you have a student who is frustrated and does not like to read, I am here to help!
https://www.apmreports.org/story/2018/09/10/hard-words-why-american-kids-arent-being-taught-to-read
PARCC 2018 Results
The results of the Colorado PARCC assessment that was administered in the 2017-2018 school year have been released. Use the link below to see how the state did, and more importantly, how your school did.
