I FIRMLY believe parents are their child’s best advocate and “mama gut” instinct  is real and should be listened to especially about when to seek private academic support for a struggling learner.  These are some signs your kiddo may need additional support to thrive: -not making progress in academic subjects; -falling assessment, test scores-though I don’t love assessments if scores and avoidance of testing sit uations occurs-this may be a sign of learning challenges; -reluctance and avoidance of academic work; -comprehension problems; -when reading aloud will substitute words; -negative talk relating to school (of course many students do this-but keep track of frequency); -negative self-talk relating to academic performance (“I’m stupid, I can’t read, I can’t do math”…) If your child is experiencing symptoms, it may mean there is an underlying issue needing to be addressed, trust your mama gut and seek support. What we know from decades of educational research is that EARLY, CONSISTENT, EVIDENCE-BASED (evidence-based means applying strategies that are proven through research and measurement to WORK) supports is KEY to improving academic skills. Please reach out to My Learning Farm for evidence-based support in reading, writing, math, spelling, assessments and farm classes (not evidence-based-just fun!) at www.mylearningfarm.com

From My Learning Farm’s Monthly Blog www.mylearningfarm.com : We in America, love our “buzz” words and it seems the new buzz word around reading is the “science of reading”- people, we have been studying reading for over 150 years!!! We KNOW a lot about reading and how to teach ALL children how to read and read well and it AIN’T the “science of reading.” This new buzz word seems to stem from those in charge have now realized California is the 50th of 50 states in literacy rates-HOW SAD-so they are looking for the next buzz word to save the day!!!!!!!! Legislators and educators have been ineffectively meddling into classroom reading instruction for years with some successes, but mostly failures! Let me provide some background… 1950s-1980s: On and Off Phonics Instruction: The 1950s was a time of great technological advancements as well as giant leaps in reading instruction.  The popular Dick and Jane books of basic phonics became the method of choice and did provide foundational phonics skills. However, in the 1960s our country shifted away from phonics to the look, say, read method (later known as the whole word method) with marginal success and reduced literacy rates. Those of us squarely in our 40s learned to read with phonics instruction-learning the alphabet and phonetic alphabet, vowel sounds, diphthongs, vowel teams, digraphs and syllables to decode and read.  Guess what? We are our nation’s most proficient readers-because it WORKS!!! 1990’s-2000: Whole Word Instruction: We shifted gears in the 1990’s from a phonics-based reading instruction to whole word language acquisition.  Basically, you look at the word, memorize it and-viola! you know it.  Well, this began our nation’s nosedive off the cliff of literacy.  Whole word instruction was a massive failure for many reasons, the biggest being that students don’t learn to read by memorizing whole words, instead students learn to read by understanding phonemes and syllable types, gleaning meaning from context and instruction in decoding unknown words. 2000’s-current: Common Core: As you may remember, a group of lobbyists, textbook publishers and mucky-mucks in theoretical education helped craft Common Core across all subjects to standardize our nation’s academics.  Common Core reading instruction incorporates the science of reading, collaboration, whole word principles and jumbles them all up a an unrecognizable soup of literacy instruction.  Teachers have sadly lost the ability to tailor instruction to the students in their classrooms, instead having to tick the MANY boxes of literacy standards. Common Core didn’t fund additional teacher literacy training. What resulted was high expectations without phonics instruction and teacher training has left California LAST in the nation for literacy-SAD, SAD, SAD!!! Now back to the buzz word of the day the “science of reading”…“The science of reading refers to a body of research from the fields of education, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, and neuroscience, that explains how individuals learn how to read and best practices for reading instruction” (Department of  Education).  This vague definition further explains elements within the “science of reading”-phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. FINALLY, there it is phonemic awareness and phonics-the two MOST critical foundations of literacy!!!!! This new buzz word the “science of reading” should be squashed where it is and replaced with evidence-based literacy approaches.  Evidence-based means it derived from or informed by objective evidence— IT WORKS. We have MANY evidence-based literacy efforts; the top being Orton-Gillingham structured literacy programs!!! My hope is that moving forward our state will scrap current literacy efforts that seemed to have benefitted few and will move toward evidence-based Orton-Gillingham structured literacy to build a society of STRONG, CONFIDENT readers!!!!!! If your child is a struggling reader, please reach out to My Learning Farm at www.mylearningfarm.com

Myth: Dyslexia is rare Fact: Dyslexia affects 1 in 5 people, that’s 20% Myth: Dyslexia only affects reading Fact: Dyslexia can impact: reading -fluency, prosody, comprehension, vocabulary, writing - formation, reversals, sizing, spacing, case mixing, spelling-phonetic, omitting sounds memory -short-term, long-term, retrial math -place value, math facts, word problems, multi-step problems, formulas directionality -before, after, left, right, days of week, months of year, greater than, less than oral language skills - making up words, not remembering words, not remembering names, rapid naming skills Myth: Dyslexia is not discoverable until 4th grade or later Fact: 92% of kids with dyslexia, can be identified prior to kindergarten Myth: People with dyslexia write & read backwards Fact: People with dyslexia struggle with directionality Early intervention Myth: Dyslexia is NOT genetic Fact: Dyslexia is genetic and is neurological in origin Myth: Kids with dyslexia will outgrow it Fact: People with dyslexia will have it their entire lives, but with proper remediation, they will have tools in their toolbox to succeed Myth: Kids with dyslexia DO NOT try hard Fact: Kids with dyslexia often work harder to accomplish tasks Myth: We don’t know to to help kids with dyslexia Fact: Thanks to the work of Orton-Gillingham over 100 years ago! Myth: If you haven’t given help to a dyslexic student by 5th grade-it’s too late! Fact:Early intervention is key, but people with dyslexia can seek evidence-based help ANYTIME! If you are affected by dyslexia, please reach out to My Learning Farm at www.mylearningfarm.com

Structured Word Inquiry (SWI) is a student-led methodology that uses an investigative process to help build spelling skills. It delves into how words are connected through history (etymology), structure (morphology) and parts (orthography: bases, affixes, vowels, morphemes and more). Through this process students discover the meaning of words, affixes, word parts, word families through examining the history of words and their spelling.  SWI focuses on understanding patterns are steeped in meaning.  SWI is a structured approach to learn vocabulary and improve spelling within context. All too many times, I’ve seen spelling taught as memorizing word lists that are made of similar word patterns without giving students any instruction into why these patterns exist and what they mean.  What typically results from spelling taught this way is short-term memorization and no real understanding of spelling within the English language. SWI helps students make connections, ask questions, form hypothesis, learn the history of the English language, create word families, understand and apply affixes in a student-led process to improve spelling and vocabulary within the English language. My Learning Farm applies the SWI methodology across several spelling frameworks. If your child is a struggling speller, please reach out to My Learning Farm at www.mylearningfarm.com

There are many nuances for parents to understand as they embark on the road of requesting psychoeducational evaluations for suspected learning differences through a public school, one of those is that the school is NOT required to provide a diagnosis of a learning disability-the school’s role is to determine eligibility for special education services, which are two VERY different things. If you are interested in seeking a diagnosis of a specific learning disability to better understand your child’s learning style, needs, appropriate curriculums, delivery models, methodologies- seek a private evaluation and diagnosis.  Please contact My Learning Farm, I have a great private licensed child psychologist who provides the most in-depth evaluation, analysis and next steps at an affordable price. You can take the evaluation report to any public school and the public school has to accept it, but your child's school may want to administer 1-2 evaluations as well to ensure testing validity.  Please contact My Learning Farm for advocacy support to ensure this process is smooth for your child, parents and school. The school’s responsibility through the evaluation process is to determine eligibility for special education services based upon the DSM-5 (Diagnostic Manual for Mental Disorders, fifth edition).  The school must administer a comprehensive evaluation which includes an appropriate cross-battery of tests; observations; parent input; teacher interviews and behavior scales across practictioners. Using this comprehensive testing model helps to determine if your child’s scores fall within the eligibility criteria listed in the DSM-5.  The DSM-5 lumps all learning disorders into one general name: Specific Learning Disability.  The school can create a learning plan tailored to your child’s areas of weakness for special education, but it will NOT include a diagnosis, if your child qualifies for specialized academic instruction through an IEP or a 504 plan. I hope this clarifies why your child's school is saying they will not provide a diagnosis of a learning disability for your child.  Please reach out to My Learning Farm www.mylearningfarm.com  for additional questions.

Back to school is such a hopeful time, full of backpack and school-supply shopping (my favorite), finding out who your child’s teacher is going to be, classroom friends and the excitement of new skill acquisition. As school gets into the swing of things, it may be less exciting and more anxiety-ridden for students who are struggling academically due to an undiagnosed learning disability or different learning style.  Here are some signs parents should look for to gauge your kiddo’s mental health and academic progress and assess learning needs… A rise in complaints and negative feelings towards school-sometimes kiddo’s aren’t yet capable of putting their exact feelings into words, but will verbalize negative emotions tied to school due to academic struggles Feeling ill before or after school-tummy aches, headaches, tiredness, unexplained symptoms more so on school days, academic anxiety can cause physical symptoms in children Crying, refusing to get out of the car at school, asking parent to walk them to class, asking parent to stay with them until they feel settled this is a sign that should not be ignored Hiding homework, graded school work, backpack or telling parents there is no homework, this is often a tactic to avoid unpleasant feelings of inadequacy measuring up to academic skill benchmarks Refusing to do homework, refusing to participate in school activities Declining playdates, birthday party invitations Withdrawing, seeing less joy and excitement in your child Telling parents they don’t want to go to school, refusing to attend school Crying at school and lack of participation in classroom activities Phone calls, notes from teachers requesting parent meeting It is NOT my wish for any student to feel this way about school, academics, their own skills and self-esteem.  As I write these words tears are streaming down my face because my sweet daughter, Ava experienced all of these in the first grade. I worked sooo hard with her school, teachers, staff and a private child psychologist to understand it.  I even asked her school several times for a psychoeducational assessment for dyslexia, but the school refused (illegally).  We left the school and started our homeschool journey to create a safe space for her to thrive in and a private diagnosis to better understand how she needed instruction and slowly built her skills, self-esteem and reduced her feelings of anxiety.  She is a THRIVING senior in high school who is maintaining great grades, challenging herself with college classes and fully involved in the excitement of back to school, joining sports, clubs, activities and she lets NOTHING stop her from reaching her potential.  She has more grit and determination than anyone I know. If your child is struggling, please reach out to My Learning Farm www.mylearningfarm.com . My wish is for EVERY child to THRIVE!

I will start with this…I LOVE what I do and I feel I am doing the work I was meant to do to help support kids in reading, writing, math and spelling-both for those kiddos with learning disabilities like dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia and those kiddos who are struggling in school. I work full-time and truth be told, I could work 24 hours per day 7 days per week and still have a long waiting list because there are too many kids who need the RIGHT support to help them build their academic skills and self-esteem.  I spend hours each week after a full day to take certification courses from the BEST and most highly regarded dyslexia centers in the nation including the Shaywitz Dyslexia Center at Yale and the University of San Diego Dyslexia Training Institute. Why do I do this? Because I want to provide the MOST appropriate remediation support for your kiddo! Your child deserves to have the BEST in order to achieve.  I want to be able to look a parent in the eye with the knowledge I have gained from these classes, courses, certifications, webinars, etc-and help them in their journey with evidence-based methodologies to help their child.  Please visit My Learning Farm, a place where learning grows if your child deserves the BEST support provided by someone who works hard to provide the BEST. For more information, please visit My Learning Farm at www.mylearningfarm.com

Executive function skills refer to a group of skills that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, recall important facts, collate information to be used to study and learn as well as attend to multiple tasks. These skills are the building blocks of learning! We know from research that many students with learning challenges often have underdeveloped executive function skills. What do underdeveloped executive function skills look like? It may look like scattered workspaces; poor time management; not understanding how to study; messy backpacks; binders in disarray; not understanding where to find/access information; poor note-taking skills; low recall; inability to start and complete multi-step instructions/assignments. Does this sound like your child? If so, here’s the takeaway and the good news: Improving executive function skills is possible! However, it requires daily practice that is clear, intentional, purposeful with explicit instruction, modeling and routine. I LOVE what I do and I LOVE learning from others. Currently I am working toward applying Mitch Weathers’ Organized Binder principles with students at My Learning Farm to build executive function skills with student-centered, explicit, and purposeful routines to give students a sense of agency and accomplishment to be powerhouse learners! Check Organized Binder out for yourself here: www.organizedbinder.com. You may also be interested in reading this new book, Executive Functions for Every Classroom, you can pick up a copy by clicking here.

I LOVE sharing my passion for agriculture, animals and nature with kids on my family farm in Penryn through hands-on activities, lessons, games, crafts and of course animal encounters.  Kids learn a deeper appreciation for our natural world and farm life by “doing.”  We build, work, play, dig, craft, pet and fully engage in all-things FUN on the farm in 8-week, 2-hour farm classes each spring and fall.  For more information check out www.mylearningfarm.com

Dyslexia is defined by the International Dyslexia Association as: “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” The most important part of this definition, for me, is the word “unexpected” because so many people with dyslexia are not only highly intelligent, but are among the hardest workers and often rise to the highest ranks in their professions.  Dyslexia has NOTHING to do with intelligence, potential or capability.  People with Dyslexia can do anything and achieve anything- especially with early detection, evidence-based interventions and support.  If your child is experiencing an “unexpected” difficulty in reading, please reach out to My Learning Farm at www.mylearningfarm.com to help unleash his/her potential.

As I see fall’s splendors abound in reds, yellows, oranges; feel the cool crisp air; smell dewy leaves- I feel such gratitude for all of the gifts My Learning Farm has brought to my life these past four years. I feel lucky to have met so many great kiddos and families. I feel in a place of peace, gratitude and a deep knowing that this is the “work” I have been called to do. I am humbled to be able to use the gifts I have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours in trainings, certifications, workshops to learn to help children build reading, writing, math and spelling, spelling skills here at My Learning Farm surrounded by beauty, animals and calm. Knowing I am helping families advocate on behalf of their children to receive comprehensive evaluations, goals, accommodations and services makes my heart smile. I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up-Me!- doing exactly what I am doing to help support kids and families. If your child is struggling in reading, writing, spelling or math, please visit www.mylearningfarm.com and contact me today!

I write this blog because it's that time of year for parent/teacher conferences and progress reports. If your child is struggling in school, please reach out for academic support, my wish for your kiddo is to rise like the phoenix and redefine themselves! I think about so many students over the years, but one student stands out particularly. She came to My Learning Farm for math support. She kept telling me she,”loved school, but hated math because I'm not good at math.” We spent the summer building math skills, particularly division facts and long division skills. She always came ready to learn, but was so timid in her math approach-little by little-her willingness to stretch herself, to tackle more complex problems, to walk and talk her way through them and get the correct results were emerging. Her confidence, scores and abilities kept increasing. On our last session, she told me, “I like math and I’m good at it!” Yes, Ms C-this is for you-you are a division diva, my dear girl! You can do it, you are doing it and doing it well. Redefine yourself as the amazing math student you are and tackle math head on-you’ve got this! Be like the mythical phoenix and rise from the ashes to achieve, to be who you are meant to be! Please reach out to My Learning Farm for 1:1 math support for k-8 students at www.mylearningfarm.com