Teaching Tips
What Homeschooling Kids With Dyslexia Really Looks Like
I talk to lots of parents who are pulling their kids with dyslexia out of school and choosing to homeschool. They've done the research and have their ducks in a row but the actual day to day teaching is still a mystery. Because I've been homeschooling for so long, its...
How to Teach Students With Dyslexia to Use Assistive Technology
I received an email last week from a reader asking how to teach kids with dyslexia to use Assistive Technology. Assistive technology is a game-changer for many of our kids with dyslexia and other learning struggles. But how do we teach students with dyslexia to use...
Choosing Homeschool Curriculum: A Grade by Grade Guide
I remember the days when my oldest child was still not reading fluently or independently at 11-years old. I had a houseful of little guys - 9, 5, 4 soon followed by 4 more beautiful children. It was super stressful because I didn't understand what this homeschooling...
From Ordinary to Extraordinary: Growth Mindset Tips for Teachers
Cultivating a growth mindset in my kids has had an amazing impact on our day-to-day interactions. Where I used to hear a lot of negative self-talk, I now hear my kids actually coaching themselves to use another strategy or telling me to wait while they 'find the...
Be More Productive With a Minimum Viable Homeschool Day
There's not a mom out there that doesn't desire a more productive homeschool day. Juggling the many needs of running a home, caring for family needs, and nurturing a marriage can often leave us out of time or out of energy when it comes to teaching our kids at home. I...
A Day in the Life of Our Homeschool With Dyslexia
One thing I've always loved to read is homeschool day-in-the-life posts. There's just something fascinating about seeing how other families teach their kids at home. I've been writing my own day-in-the-life posts since 2012. I just went back and read some of them and...
When Orton-Gillingham Isn’t Enough
Several years ago, one of our kids was majorly struggling with learning to read, despite 3 years of intense professional Orton-Gillingham (OG) reading instruction. In fact, at 11-years-old, he was still struggling to do much more than sound out three letter words! It...
Visual Processing and How it Affects Learning
Does your child think that a square and a circle look the same? Does he bump into things, spill things, or seem unaware of where objects are in relation to his body? Does he skip words or entire lines when reading, or read the same sentence over?  All of these issues...
Auditory Processing and Learning Struggles
Do you have a child that has trouble following directions, keeping up with conversations or understanding jokes, or has trouble with reading, spelling, speaking, or rhyming? These could be a sign of auditory processing weakness or auditory processing disorder which...
What is Executive Function Weakness?
What is Executive Function? Executive Function refers to the set of mental skills that help people plan, organize, remember things, prioritize, pay attention and get started on tasks. They also help people use information and experiences from the past to solve current...
Working Memory and Learning Struggles
Do you have a child who fails to follow directions despite repeated instruction, has difficulty staying on task, has a poor attention to detail, or often looses track of their belongings? Weak working memory may be at the root of their struggles. What is Working...
How Teaching Advanced Phonemic Awareness Boosts Reading Fluency
One of my goals for this year is to read more. Not with my kids - but for my own learning! Coincidentally, I have stacks of books around our house that have been recommended to me as a dyslexia tutor/advocate. I'm plowing through some of these now by reading a little...