Dear Parents:
Calling All Neurons!

I am delighted to feature Anjanette McNeeley, Kindergarten Teacher in Davis County, Utah as a Guest Writer for my blog this month. Thank you, Anjanette—you are an inspiration! One of the most exciting things about kindergarten is unlocking the alphabetic code and learning to read. Years ago, on the second day of school, one student looked frustrated. When I asked her what was wrong, she replied that she thought we would learn to read in kindergarten. I explained that we would, but it would take time, learning, and practice. She was still unhappy. She thought reading would be unlocked…

It’s summer and the livin’ is easy! Or is it? Many kids find days without ‘something to do’ well, ‘boring’. It is a common tale of woe from the mouths of kids: “I’m bored!” And many parents literally panic when they know their kids don’t have any scheduled activities and/or play dates with friends. What can we do to quell the noise for both kids and families? Image by Mikhal Nilov on Pexels My Own Experience and a Nice Solution I spent many years–no, decades–working in a day camp as a counselor and/or administrator, parenting, and providing individual tutoring…

Do you know who penned this quote? Do you know why this person stated these words? I was given a copy of this illustration as a ‘thank you’ for presenting a webinar a couple of years ago. I didn’t truly understand the person behind the quote until recently. I happened to listen to this person’s biographer, Professor David Blight, featured on On Point, an always interesting show on NPR. I have been thinking about it all month. Screenshot by Lori Josephson Let me share the story of none other than Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave turned orator and abolitionist….

All 50 of our states ought to follow the example of my former home state. I raised my family and worked for 38 years in the great state of Ohio. And I am glad I did. You see, I was an invited speaker at the 9th Annual OhioReads Literacy Academy, which took place earlier this month. For the first time, an entire day was planned specifically for PARENTS!! “This Ohio Department of Education-sponsored conference was/is FREE to all attendees—truly amazing, as were many of the speakers.” I got to reconnect with folks I worked with, as well as meet…

I’ve been pondering the subject matter of this article for a good many days…every time I sit down to write, both my heart and my mind hurt…but keep reading… Here are the facts I have been reading/hearing about, and sights I am seeing confirming these facts: May is Mental Health Awareness Month I hate to resurrect the Covid pandemic, but nearly 250,000 children have lost a loved one or caretaker due to Covid, which was only several years ago…children continue to suffer from these losses. ‘Covid Babies’ born 2020-2021 were slower to develop oral language skills, who are now…

I have a lot to say about Liana Loewus’ recent article, “The Cost of Over-Teaching Phonics”, which appeared in Education Next this month. The article sparked a good deal of conversation amongst stakeholders in the literacy community on various forums including Substack, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I posted the article. It received no less than 90+ reactions and 120+ comments as of this writing (most on the FB page Science of Reading-What I Should Have Learned in College–I have been a Moderator for nearly 5 years now!). All reactions were a ‘thumbs up’. Many of the comments mirrored my thoughts….