Toddlers’ Screen Time Linked to Slower Speech Development.  What Might Be The Implications for Toddlers with Special Needs or Children with Down Syndrome?While not addressing the big question swirling around in many moms’ minds, “How much time should my child spend with a mobile device?” a recent article on this topic does zero in on a […]

​Wordy Worm is Raising Robust ReadersWhen we first developed Wordy Worm reading, we focused on families with preschool children to give them a fun-filled foundation for reading.  Due to requests, inquiries and pleas in the following years, our program has expanded to include a much wider audience.  We now have a broad base of families […]

Syllables, Sight Words and Multi-Sensory TeachingNow I Know!Kris Grace, Elementary Teacher When I first became familiar with the Raising Robust Readers Program, I was drawn to the multi-sensory approach of teaching phonograms.  Children learn songs and gestures providing the auditory and kinesthetic modalities.  The brightly colored illustrations featuring Wordy Worm® himself provide attractive visuals as […]

High Five to Multi-Sensory Learning. Wordy’s Phonogram High Five is a great reminder to use multi-sensory learning tools when  teaching children.  Instruction is far more effective when  all modalities of learning are used:auditory (hearing)visual (seeing)tactile (touching)kinesthetic (body movement)​Multi-Sensory Learning ModalitiesUse these 5 points throughout the day to bring awareness to phonograms and how to incorporate multi-sensory learning while teaching them.  […]

Question:
We are teaching Julie, 3 (and her sister, Jamie, 4) sign language. Julie, who has Down syndrome, is not really speaking yet. Would the gestures that go with the Wordy jingles be too confusing for them, especially Julie?
Answer: click on title above

On Tuesday, we gathered to celebrate “Nana’s” 98th birthday. She fell a week and a half ago and is currently in rehab. But that doesn’t stop her partying! In addition to celebrating this remarkable woman and being grateful for the years I have been her daughter-in-law, it also reminded me to celebrate Casey’s participation. (click title to read more)

Whether in school or at home, learning to read can be stressful for both parent and child. More often than not, the problem lies in the teaching methodology rather than with the child who is learning to read. Finding the best method and teaching to your child’s strengths will yield results. (click title to read more)

​Could Conventional Reading Methods Cause Children to Struggle Teaching Sight Words Conventional methods have children memorize sight words. That’s because conventional thinking believes, like Dolchsightwords.org, “Many of the 220 words in the Dolch list, can not be “sounded out”, and hence must be learned by sight”.The Dolch Sight Words, commonly used by parents and teachers, […]

Could this be one of the reason our children struggle to read? I certainly think so. Below is an abstract from the “Journal of Learning Disabilities” that addresses teacher preparation and textbook content with regard to linguistic knowledge. There is also a link to the full article. While there are many excellent early elementary teachers doing […]