The Sound Reader

My oldest daughter gave me her birthday wish list the other day. This may not seem like much, but we have fought hard to get her here!

When she entered school, none of my coworkers seemed all that concerned about her reading and writing abilities. I kept mentioning to her teachers throughout her K-2 years, but no one gave it much thought because she wasn’t the MOST behind in her class, and she was doing OK technically. It didn’t matter that we were working over time at home to remediate her gaps.

It wasn’t until she was in third grade that I was finally able to make some headway and get her diagnosed with dyslexia. Throughout that time, and until very recently, spelling has been the hardest task for her.

In fact, until we started homeschooling in 4th grade, her writing was mostly unintelligible because of her inability to spell. Unfortunately, most public, charter and private schools do not value or teach spelling appropriately. But now, after diligently, systematically and explicitly going through the spelling program I created with her in mind, she can do it!

I am so proud of how hard she has worked to overcome the struggles she has had due to dyslexia. There isn’t a quick or easy solution, but dyslexia absolutely can be fully remediated! 🥳🥰

Exciting news! I am now a direct pay provider through Step Up! If you are a scholarship recipient, you can now search for The Sound Reader under the providers tab and your lessons can be paid directly from your scholarship funds.

In-person time slots are FULL, but I do have a few openings for Zoom lessons (and yes, online tutoring is just as successful as in-person, even with neurodivergent and/or young learners. ☺️).

If your student is struggling to read, please reach out! I'd love to help your student become a strong and confident reader!

The absolute best part of the work I do is getting to work directly with children and watch them grow into happy, confident readers. But another awesome piece of this work is creating interactive and engaging games, puzzles and activities that children actually enjoy doing. Learning to read may be hard for many people, but it certainly doesn't have to be boring! 😃

Due to increasing demand, I have added a few more openings to my Zoom availability. Please reach out with any questions or if you'd like to schedule an initial assessment!

I get asked a lot how parents can support their preschool aged kids and make sure they are prepared for school. This can be a complicated question and very much depends on the individual child, but I always start with this: kindergarteners do not NEED to enter school knowing how to read, knowing all of their letter names and sounds, etc. Focusing on academics too early can have the opposite effect from what is desired and intended.

But, I follow up with this: what IS an excellent use of academic time at that age is to play games with the sounds in our language. Kids love it and it is invaluable to their future reading skills! For example, you can have the child guess the word you are saying when you only say the sounds of the word, e.g., you say, "/f/ /i/ /sh/" then ask the child what word you just said. They have to figure out how to blend the sounds in order to know what the word is.

Training the ear to hear the separate sounds in words is the first step to being able to read successfully and this is an easy and fun way to do it. It also works very well for older children who are still struggling to learn how to read. They likely need the practice just as much!

Middle of the year state testing has recently wrapped up and I couldn’t resist giving a shout out to two of my students!

Congratulations, Braeden for moving from a one to a two in reading!

And congratulations to Avery from moving from a one to a THREE in reading!

You guys are working so hard and I am so proud of how far you have come! 😊🥳

Helping children overcome challenges when learning to read has always been my goal with The Sound Reader. When my oldest was diagnosed with dyslexia, I knew I had to do something for her that she wasn’t getting at school.

This week, one of my other children was diagnosed with both dyslexia and dysgraphia. I am so thankful I am able to offer her the support she needs, but I know that many parents don’t know where to begin with this stuff. THIS is why I do what I do. ❤️

I’m looking forward to seeing how far my students can grow in 2024. I know it’ll be the best year yet! 😊 Happy New Year, everyone!

Today marks one year since launching The Sound Reader...and what a great year it has been!

Throughout year one, I was able to work with and help improve the reading levels of over 20 children by an average of 1.5 grade levels. To say I am proud of my students (both current and former) for all of their hard work, is an understatement!

I am excited to see what year two brings and what kind of positive impact I can bring to even more struggling readers.

Thank you everyone for your support and for trusting me to teach your children how to read! I love what I do with a passion, and you guys make it possible! 😊

-Hayley