Updated June 2022 Over the last few years as I’ve learned about evidence-based reading instruction, something I’ve seen over and over is the importance of vocabulary and content knowledge. With kindergarten kids, this isn’t something they can independently get from their reading material (while “The cat sits” is fantastic for decoding practice it’s a teeny […] Read more…
I was thrilled to be invited to chat with Kathryn Garforth from Right To Read Initiative not once, but twice this past week. In the first video, A Journey to the Science of Reading, I talk about my teaching background, the ineffective practices I was using before, my deep dive into the science of reading, […] Read more…
In my latest segment on Global’s The Morning Show (video below), I debunked six common reading myths and misconceptions with hosts Jeff McArthur and Carolyn MacKenzie: Reading is natural All kids learn to read differently Reading to your kids teaches them to read If your child doesn’t know a word they should guess Your child’s […] Read more…
I was back on The Morning Show today chatting with hosts Jeff McArthur and Carolyn MacKenzie all about report cards: how important they really are, what I look at first as a parent, whether to expect differences due to COVID, how to approach the teacher with concerns, and whether or not I recommend paying for […] Read more…
I was back on Global’s The Morning Show today with Carolyn MacKenzie and Cheryl Hickey to share educator-approved holiday gifts for kids. To prepare for this segment, I did a social media callout to my fellow educators and they had some great recommendations which I have incorporated here with my own. We ran out of […] Read more…
I am so proud of the package of articles all about reading that I was part of for the fall 2021 issue of Today’s Parent magazine. My editor was Claire Gagné, and addition to my individual pieces Claire and I worked together on a couple, and she also shared her own personal story […] Read more…
I was back on Global’s The Morning Show today (before dashing off to my classroom) chatting about the importance of parental involvement with education, and how busy families can make that happen. We discussed ways to streamline school communication, how to get your kids to share more about what they do at school (and what […] Read more…
I made my post-cancer return to The Morning Show today to share some teacher tips for another COVID back to school! Jeff and Carolyn greeted me back so warmly and it seems like one more meaningful recovery milestone. In this segment we chat about the importance of managing expectations this year (your kids’ and […] Read more…
{Originally published July 2021, updated June 2022} For more than two years now I’ve been conducting a self-directed research project on the Science of Reading, and I’ve been sharing what I’ve learned in #ScienceOfReadingSaturday posts on Instagram. Many people have asked for book/podcast suggestions, so if you’re interested in learning more, below you can find […] Read more…
I absolutely loved Jessica Lahey’s first book The Gift of Failure (I consider it a must-read for parents, and even had her on the podcast to talk about it) so I was really excited to dive into her latest, The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Thankfully, it did not disappoint! […] Read more…