Staff Spotlight: Toni

Where were you born and how long have you lived in Louisville?
Louisville, 66 years..

My school/work background is?
Bachelor’s in Music, UL; M.A.T., Catherine Spalding; M. Ed. (Special Education) Bellarmine

When I was a child and thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I…
Wanted to be a musician or a psychologist..

In my free time, I….
Like to garden, read, splash in the water, and travel..

One of my favorite books of all time would be….
A Prayer for Owen Meany, or the one I’m currently reading!

One of my hidden talents is…
Oh, there are too many to mention… (But Ask Her About Singing in Carnegie Hall!)

I love and I hate…
I love the word ‘yes’ and hate the word ‘no.’.

People say I…
Am creative, dependable and tenacious.

I once won an award for…
Memorizing the most poetry in my English Class.

Is Your Child Learning To Read the Hard Way?

Four Signs Your Child May Be Learning To Read the Hard Way

Is your child developing habits that may make learning to read difficult? Here’s how to find out.

Listen to your child read aloud. When he comes to a word he doesn’t know, check to see if he exhibits any of these 4 possible warning signs:

1. Spending a lot of time studying the pictures first.

2. Often skipping, adding and misreading small words.

3. Seems to be just trying to memorize words.

4. Looking at the first letter of a word and then giving a wild guess, such as reading “dirty” as “dry” or “make” as “mess.”

Good readers have the ability to sound out new words. Memorizing and guessing from context are good skills to have but if they are used instead of sounding out, reading will be a much harder task than it needs to be.

There are about 44 sounds in the English language and readers who have the ability to hear and pull apart those sounds in words have a much easier time learning how to read.

If you think your child may be learning to read the hard way, talk to your child’s teacher for ways to help before frustration hits.