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Kate Winn

Kate Winn

Kate is a teacher, freelance writer and TV guest, as well as a wife and mom to two girls. She launched This Mom Loves in 2010.

 

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It’s Science of Reading Saturday, and today I’ It’s Science of Reading Saturday, and today I’m reporting on the science which debunks a commonly held belief about reading: that it’s natural. It’s not. Our brains are not biologically wired for reading and writing (relatively recent human inventions, recent being 5000-6000 years ago) like they are for speaking and listening. If you surround a child with spoken language, they will learn to talk. If you surround a child with print, they won’t learn to read. (A mistaken tenet of “whole language” instruction. More on that another day.) Reading is a skill that must be taught, and the brain actually gets “rewired” (the same way in each child) to make it happen. While it’s absolutely true that some kids learn to read much more easily than others, and with a lot less direct instruction required for that rewiring, the majority of children must be explicitly taught to read, and the fact that it’s not natural partly explains why it’s so hard for some kids to do. “Reading is about creating an interface between the visual and spoken language system. This causes changes in the brain after children have learned to read. If you can read, your brain has been dramatically changed.” - Stanislas Dehaene “The idea that learning to read is just like learning to speak is accepted by no responsible linguist, psychologist, or cognitive scientist in the research community.” - Keith Stanovich Have questions or want more information? Feel free to reach out - more #scienceofreading coming next Saturday!
#TBT I can’t wait until things open up again and #TBT I can’t wait until things open up again and we can try another @guesswheretrips! This photo was taken on a fun day out in October (on the Fall Farms and Buttertart Trail), which seems like a lifetime ago, as it was a week before the biopsy that changed everything. I’m definitely looking forward to big travel (will our extended family trip to Ireland finally happen in 2022?) but also to checking out some great local destinations - and definitely more Guess Where Trips!
For almost a year now I’ve been passionately res For almost a year now I’ve been passionately researching the science of reading, and promising to share more with you. Lucky for me, the amazing magazine editor @ariel.e.brewster was intrigued by the tidbits I was dropping and enlisted me to write a detailed piece for @todaysparent magazine, which will be in the September issue. For now, every Saturday I’m going to share a quote, resource, myth or tip based on the science, starting today with the best answer to the question, “What is the science of reading, anyway?” According to teacher, author and researcher Louisa Moats, the science of reading is “the emerging consensus from many related disciplines, based on literally thousands of studies, supported by hundreds of millions of research dollars, conducted across the world in many languages. These studies have revealed a great deal about how we learn to read, what goes wrong when students don’t learn, and what kind of instruction is most likely to work the best for the most students.” This is not expert “opinions”, it’s not a fad or a program or a theory, it is settled science. And if you’re anything like me, some of it will blow you away, whether you’re an educator, a parent or both. Stay tuned! #scienceofreading
One down, one more to go! (AstraZeneca - I’ll sh One down, one more to go! (AstraZeneca - I’ll share any post-shot side effects in my stories if you’re curious.)
Last week my husband kept joking that I was the ha Last week my husband kept joking that I was the happiest teacher in Ontario, and he probably wasn’t wrong. I wish I could have returned from my medical leave to in-person learning instead of remote, but after five months off I have to say it still feels really good to be back. I am a homebody and an introvert but I’ve had my fill for a bit, and while I love my downtime (TV, movies, books, baths, lots of sleep) I am also someone who loves work and productivity and that’s okay. Lockdown is ensuring that there’s still lots of family time to be had, and I’m in a very fortunate position when my daughters are old enough to be at home and do their work without me - my heart goes out to educators who are trying to do that double duty. Thanks as always to the amazing @saryoung99 for easing my transition and to our fantastic families who are so supportive (and have reasonable expectations about what remote learning for kindergarten students should look like) with a special mention to the little monkey who interrupted this afternoon’s end-of-class goodbyes to say “Mrs. Winn...I love you.” I’m still pondering the whole “How has cancer changed me?” question, but I do know I’m trying to focus on gratitude as much as I can...and I’m very grateful at the moment.
This will be the final chapter of the story that I This will be the final chapter of the story that I share for now - I return to work in 10 days! Down the line there will be more updates I’m sure, but I’m wrapping up this part of the series with the extremely important topic of mental health, and another very personal post. (link in bio)
Flashback Friday: pre-reno, during the days of the Flashback Friday: pre-reno, during the days of the “Eva’s Kitchen” video series, produced and directed by Olivia. “Any advice for young cooks?” asks Liv. “Have fun with it,” replies Eva, “and don’t be surprised if it doesn’t turn out the way you expect!” Words to live by.
New on the blog (link in bio) I’m providing an u New on the blog (link in bio) I’m providing an update on the last few weeks of this journey. Things are really looking up!
It’s been years since I had my own school photo It’s been years since I had my own school photo taken! Usually I’m in the group photo with the class (and one with staff), but for COVID reasons this year the class photos are being done as composites of individual shots. I missed the first picture day as it was right after my surgery, but I managed to sneak in quickly on retake day, on my way to radiation. I will always remember this as the only day of my career that I entered the workplace braless. (The company provided cute bookmarks to staff with their photo on them too...when I saw mine, I thought that I’d much prefer to have my kids’ photos on bookmarks than my own face...which gave me the idea to pass them along to my parents!)
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In Case You Missed It

  • Top 10 Quotes from The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence by Jessica Lahey
  • My Breast Cancer Story Part 15: The Mental Health Piece
  • My Breast Cancer Story Part 14: Radiation Wrap-Up
  • Your Spring Reading List

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  • Kate’s Print Articles
  • Kate’s TV Appearances
  • Kate’s Celebrity Interviews
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