Kids Talk Workshops Are Open!

Montessori Professional Development

Earlier this year I reopened one of my Kids Talk Workshops, Unscramble Spelling, after revamping it. I was curious to see if there would be any interest in the course, as it had been closed for over two years.  The response was favorable, so I’ve revamped three other courses, just in time to help out for […]


Why Can Johnny Still Not Read?

Doing some research the other day I reviewed some statistics on the literacy rate in the United States. The national literacy test is given every ten years, with the last results from 2014. These 2014 statistics are what I quote in my reading webinar.  Since the late 70’s I have been involved with adult and […]


Questions About Multilingual Children

Questions about Multilingual Children

Today in my Understanding How Children Learn To Read webinar, I received this question about teaching young multilingual children how to write and read. I seem to be getting these types of questions frequently, so I thought I’d do a blog post about it. Maren, Wondering why age 4.5 is recommended for introducing a foreign […]


Read The Children’s Literacy Series

understanding how children learn to read

Here are ten articles from my Children’s Literacy Series to help you understand the process of how children learn to read. Most reading difficulties might be avoided if we as parents and teachers knew the importance of the right kind of preparation for reading we could offer to our young children. If you have a […]


Current Ideas on Teaching Reading

current ideas on teaching reading

Over one-third of the fourth graders in America can’t read. This number hasn’t changed in the past 10 years. You might ask, ”What is the problem?” Reading instruction for the most part hasn’t been based on science, but instead has been based on ideas such as whole language or phonics, without systematic testing of hypotheses […]


Use a Purple Pencil

Use a purple pencil

Harold, the hero in Crockett Johnson’s classic book Harold and the Purple Crayon, uses his imagination and crayon to create an adventure. Off Harold goes, using his waxed stick to draw a path, along with a moon to use as his navigational aid. During his escapade, Harold’s crayon creates a forest, an ocean and a […]


Add A Little Drama

add a little drama

Summer is upon us and ideas for vacation fun can start to run low after a couple of weeks. One of our perennial favorites for serious merriment is the drama box. Our drama box began with remnants of Halloween costumes, old dress shoes (cowboy boots and red sparkle heels!), and a forgotten black dress. From […]


Liberty, Freedom and Responsibility

liberty, freedom responsibility

“Freedom is not the last word. Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is responsibleness. In fact, freedom is in danger of degenerating into mere arbitrariness unless it is lived in terms of responsibleness. That is why […]


Creating Phonemic Awareness

creating phonemic awareness I spy game

Around age two-and-a-half to three, your child becomes aware that words are made up of individual sounds. This skill is called phonemic awareness. “Phonemic” comes from the word “phonics,” which means sounds. When you help your children become aware of the individual sounds in words, you are helping them develop a very important skill for […]


How to Help a Child Learn to Read

how to help a child learn to read

Observing a child learning to read words and numbers is one of my life’s pleasures. These two skills, literacy and numeracy, are critical to a person’s reaching his or her fullest potential. Numeracy is the ability to read, write and speak the language of numbers. By the time a child is six years old, he […]