The Reality of Reading Struggles
Did you know that a staggering 60% of high schoolers are not effectively educated by graduation? In addition, more than 75% of first-year college students require remedial classes in reading, math, and writing. We've had more than 80 years of evaluating student outcomes and we've never had the majority of students at a proficient level.
Our children are not failures.
The educational system has failed our children.
By third grade, the number of children diagnosed with learning disabilities skyrockets. Not surprisingly, this is also the age at which most curriculums transition children to in-depth reading without substantial illustrations, intending to put together all of the fundamental learning skills they've acquired in Kindergarten-2nd grade. Unfortunately, if the learner didn't master one piece of the foundational skills, this is the age where it is likely to become glaringly obvious.
"Strong academic success leads to lower chances of high-risk behaviors as a teen."
- Dr. Mary Ladd
Yet, our teachers are often not equipped with the time, patience, or know-how to go back and fill-in-the learning gap and our children are left fumbling along throughout the rest of their educational journey. What's worse is that many are being misdiagnosed with learning disabilities or are suffering from other related disorders, such as anxiety and depression.
The school system isn't perfect. This has been an ongoing problem since its conception and the system is in a constant state of change. Yet, a systematic improvement is years away - our kids need help today.
The Science of Reading
For more than 20 years, teams of experts, scientists, and psychologists have researched, studied, and tested how we learn to read throughout the world. The conclusion?:
Although teachers have been taught many ways to introduce students to reading, there is only one way we successfully learn to read proficiently. Students need explicit, easy-to-digest instruction in the five essential parts of reading:
Phonological Awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Your Child Can Learn to Read
I have been an educator for 15+ years and have worked with hundreds of students with varying ability levels. In that time, I have learned that reading and spelling skills come naturally to some students, but ALL children benefit from explicit and systematic language instruction. Where can you find that type of research-based instruction? Here!
As parents, we have to make sure that we are helping to provide a strong foundation for learning so that our children are confident and motivated to learn. With my years of experience in research-based literacy instruction, I am excited to be able to put research to practice and teach your child in the comfort of your home! Here you will find effective phonics instruction for 15-30 minutes a day, 3-4 days a week. The Young Learning Reading Program will provide the teaching and tools necessary for your child to become fluent in reading and spelling and foster a lifetime of academic confidence.
“If we prevent reading problems, we never have to fix them.”
- tavia young
Frequently Asked Questions
The Young Learning Reading Program is broken down into four different phases: Seed, Sprout, Seedling, and Plant. Each phase addresses an essential part of learning to read, broken down into several short, 10-15 minute learning video tutorials. These learning videos are intended to be completed in order for the best success rate as each builds on the previous lesson. Each of the 4 phases also includes supplemental materials to ensure mastery has been achieved.
Although a struggling third-grader could theoretically use this program, this program is intended more as a proactive step for early learners ready for the process of learning to read. Therefore, the most effective age range is pre-kindergarten through 1st or 2nd grade. As older learners may get bored and lose interest. After completing the program, learners can expect to continue progressing toward reading mastery and fluency through regular practice.
All of the lessons and materials in the Young Learning Reading Program are pre-recorded and can be instantly downloaded upon purchase. You can complete the lessons according to your own timeline. However, the recommended pace is 2-3 video lessons per week with supplemental activities sprinkled in between video lessons, avoiding information overwhelm for your child by completing too many or information loss by doing them too spread out.
There are two tiers available to suit your needs.
Limited Access: These videos are available for 60 days. The "Limited Access" option is a cost-effective option that is ideal for families with one child.
Unlimited Access: Intended for long-term use. Ideal for teachers, homeschooling families, tutors, or parents of multiple children that may need to access the program at different times.
The Young Learning Reading Program
Before Getting Started:
Phonological Awareness Guide
Parents are key players in the development of a child's character and academic well-being. The Phonological Awareness Milestones Guide walks you through exactly what you, as parents, can be doing with your child to encourage learning at a young age and ensure essential foundational skills are modeled and practiced. Some phonological awareness skills include rhyming, counting syllables, and recognizing word endings. The goal is to prepare our children's brains for learning by playing with words!
who:
Parents of children ages 1-5
what:
A downloadable guide recommended as a prerequisite to the Seed Program.
cost:
$0
DOWNLOAD THIS Guide
(It's free!)
The Seed Program:
Phonemic Awareness Series
After 50+ years of research, we now know that phonological processing is the underlying skill needed to learn to read and spell. Therefore we have to prime our children for print by first helping them understand that spoken words are made up of smaller parts and these parts can be broken down into individual sounds, which is phonemic awareness. Not only will I walk you through exactly what you can be doing to facilitate excellent learning opportunities for your developing child, but I’ll also teach your child a solid phonemic awareness foundation before learning to read. This program is unbelievably valuable to parents and children ages 3-5 years old, as it is not yet involving print. It's all about learning to hear, segment, and manipulate sounds in words. There is no prerequisite knowledge required to complete this video series.
who:
Children ages 3-5
what:
The Seed Program contains a complete phonemic awareness video teaching set 6 8-10 minute teaching videos), a video guide and downloadable checklist for parents, and a comprehensive set of supplemental activities. You will also receive materials by mail for your child to use during instruction.
time:
Students should have time available to participate in 2-3 videos per week, with supplemental activities completed for practice on non-video days. The Seed Program should be completed within 4 weeks.
Purchase this Lesson
cost:
Limited Access Seed Set: $89 (teaching videos expire after 60 days)
Unlimited Access Seed Set: $199
COMING SOON!
The Sprout Program:
Mastering the ABCs
Kindergarten through 2nd grade is the window of time when children learn the building blocks (or essential components) of literacy. In this series of videos, your child will be explicitly taught the foundational literacy skills needed to become a confident, successful reader. These skills include: letter names, phoneme segmentation and blending, letter sounds, decoding one-syllable words for reading and writing, sight words, and auditory phonemes. Mastery checkpoints are also included in this series to ensure fluency (a measure of speed and accuracy) of taught skills is achieved, which can, in turn, increase attention span and give the learner the ability to apply these foundational skills to more complex tasks. The Reading 1 Series is an essential prerequisite to the Reading 2 Series as learning gaps could result if mastering the vital components is incomplete before moving on to the next. Learning gaps can contribute to bad academic habits and tragic outcomes.
who:
Children ages 4-7
what:
The Sprout program contains a complete "Mastering the ABCs" video set, video guide and downloadable checklist for parents, and a set of supplemental activities and materials that support the Sprout program.
time:
Students should have time available to participate in 3-4 videos per week, along with completing supplemental activities in between for practice. The Sprout Program can be completed within 7-10 weeks.
cost:
Limited Access Sprout Set: $259 (teaching videos expire after 60 days)
Unlimited Access Seed Set: $499
Coming Soon!
Learning Consultations
A Learning Consultation is typically completed 1-on-1 with the parent. These are available both online and in-person (location dependant). Once complete, together we can create a learning plan specific to your child's needs.
Using the results from our consultation, I will be able to answer questions such as:
Do you feel as if my child is meeting essential milestones for their age?
Are there areas of learning where my child can improve? If yes, how so?
Can you advise on a curriculum to use to homeschool my child?
Do you have specific product recommendations to help my child with?
Schedule a Consultation
Educational Workshops
Available in person or virtually, an Educational Workshop is ideal for any group of parents interested in their childrens' academic journeys. These sessions are popular among small groups of parents with younger children but can be structured for larger groups, and varying age ranges if the group has similar educational intentions.
Common discussions include:
Inquire About Hosting a Workshop
How to Teach Your Child to Read
Public or Private School: Which is Better?
Defining an Effective Educational Journey
proactive Parenting: Advocating for Your Child's Future
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