Cumulative Review: Why Reading Skills Need Constant Reinforcement
Your child worked so hard to master those tricky vowel teams last month. You celebrated together when they finally got it. But this week, you noticed them struggling with the same patterns. Did they forget everything? Are you back at square one? Take heart. This is completely normal. Reading skills require constant reinforcement to stick.…
Continue Reading Cumulative Review: Why Reading Skills Need Constant Reinforcement
Error Correction in Reading: How to Help Without Discouraging
Your child is reading aloud. They come to the word “house” and say “home.” Do you stop them immediately? Wait until the end of the sentence? Ignore it completely? You want to help, but you also don’t want to interrupt the flow or make reading feel like constant criticism. Error correction is one of the…
Continue Reading Error Correction in Reading: How to Help Without Discouraging
The Floss Rule: Why We Double F, L, and S
Your child is writing a story about their stuffed animal. They pause, pencil hovering over the paper. “Mom, is it ‘stuf’ or ‘stuff’?” You might wonder the same thing. Why do some words double their final letters while others don’t? Welcome to the wonderful world of the Floss Rule—one of English spelling’s most reliable patterns.…
Diphthongs Demystified: Teaching ‘oi,’ ‘oy,’ ‘ou,’ and ‘ow’
Your child sounds out a word: “b-oy… boy!” Then they encounter “boil” and pause. “Is that b-oy-l?” They’re puzzled because these letter combinations look similar but behave differently. You want to help, but diphthongs can feel confusing even to adults. Here’s the good news: Diphthongs follow predictable patterns. Once your child understands how they work,…
Continue Reading Diphthongs Demystified: Teaching ‘oi,’ ‘oy,’ ‘ou,’ and ‘ow’
Response to Intervention (RTI): Understanding Your School’s Tiered Support System
The teacher’s email arrives: “We’d like to discuss moving your child to Tier 2 interventions.” Your heart races. What does that mean? Is your child failing? Are they being held back? Should you worry? Take a deep breath. Response to Intervention isn’t a label or a punishment. It’s actually a framework designed to help your…
Continue Reading Response to Intervention (RTI): Understanding Your School’s Tiered Support System
Silent E: The Magic That Makes Vowels Say Their Names
Your child confidently reads the word “cap.” Then you add one letter to the end—a silent E—and suddenly they’re stumped. The word looks completely different to them now. “Cape” might as well be a foreign language. This moment happens in every early reader’s development. Silent E represents a huge conceptual leap. Your child must understand…
Continue Reading Silent E: The Magic That Makes Vowels Say Their Names