How are you?
"Actually, my husband and I are so discouraged and I'm actually amazed at the timing of seeing you today - of all times. You specialize in reading, right?"
Yes, I do and I'm really sorry to hear you're discouraged. How can I offer you some hope?
"You have no idea how much I need hope. My son is struggling in school and we have no idea how to help him."
Where is he struggling specifically?
"Anything to do with reading. Reading homework is a battle. He has no interest in books. He actually hates school altogether so it's even a struggle to get him there."
He is in 2nd grade, right?
"Yes."
Has he always hated school?
"Not at first. But when he realized that he was not keeping up with his peers in reading there was a major drop in attitude."
In what way?
"He acts out. He cries a lot whenever he hits frustration."
What does he sound like when he reads?
"It is so painful to listen to him read! He struggles with every word and it takes him so long to get through one sentence. I finally just read it to him to help his sanity and mine."
This is a common conversation I have with moms on a daily basis. Can you relate to this? If so, can I offer you some hope?
You do not need to do this alone. That is not how God designed His creation. We were meant to journey alongside one another and use our gifts to build each other up. My gift is teaching. I was meant to be a reading and writing teacher. It is my specialty and it is my life's work to ensure that everyone, everywhere has the ability to pick up their Bible and read it on their own. There are some basic literacy skills that all readers need in order to accomplish this and I can help.
There are over 70 behaviors that struggling readers exhibit and 100's of strategies that researchers have identified that help a reader overcome those struggles. The key is knowing your reader (as mom you are the best person for this) and identifying that struggle. I have been trained to identify the struggle and match up what you know about your reader and what I know about research-based instruction to design a personalized plan to meet those needs. You can hire me to assess, interview, and design that plan so you can implement it. OR you can hire me to assess, interview, and design a plan that I implement as I tutor your reader. You choose based on what works best for your family and your reader's specific and unique needs.
I am not worried about the struggle. Yup, you read that correctly. Every reader struggles. I am worried about what you do when you struggle. (Notice I did not say if you struggle.) When a good reader struggles they automatically put to use a storehouse of strategies to help them through their confusion. The key is identifying where a reader struggles and giving them the tools to overcome it.
The impact I can have on your life as your an educational consultant is significant because I am not leaving you when it gets tough, and you will have hard days. I am here to talk to you and implement strategies to help you through it. Someday you will look back on those hard days as good days because it forced you and your reader to grow. If you're anything like me watching a reader thrive as a reader where before they only struggled (and remembering those hard days) - I cry like a baby.
The impact I can have on your life as your reader's tutor is also significant because I believe in forming a relationship around their favorite things, building background knowledge, helping them find a book they love, giving them tools to overcome the struggle they're going to face, and being someone who cares about the struggle they're facing. I care because I've been through it myself. Every time I sat down to do math as a student I was in tears - all the way until high school. I've now identified where my gaps lie and as an adult, I've been able to employ those same strategies I give my students to my own struggle - and have overcome them. You can too!
That is the message of hope I want to give you. We can do this together. If you don't believe me head on over to my educational consultant and tutoring pages, scroll down to the testimonies and read how people's lives were impacted because they contacted me.
With a bit of elbow grease, time, and the right strategies - those results can be yours as well. Instead of hearing,
What should I do? I'm at a loss!
I want to have conversations like,
Thank you! My son is reading and loving it!