Staff Spotlight: Rhonda

Over the last several weeks, we have been featuring one staff member a week. This week, we are featuring Rhonda (pictured above with LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow!) We asked her a few questions, and here are her answers.

What is your favorite book?: Which ever book I am currently reading! I recently enjoyed a novel called Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?: A teacher, a writer, a mother, and a dancer, depending on the day it was.

What do you do in your free time? Read books, play with my dogs, watch movies, cook.

It's That Time of the Year Again...

This is the time of year when many schools administer Early Reader Screenings. These screenings consist of a few key measurements to identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulties. These students should be closely monitored as they progress through school.

Research shows that learning to read is a process that begins long before children enter kindergarten. During the pre-K years, children develop early literacy skills that set the stage for reading.

Three of the most important pre-reading skills your child needs to become a successful reader are:

1) Print awareness (understanding the concepts of words and letters and directionality of text)

2) Alphabet knowledge (being able to identify letter shapes and their corresponding names)

3) Phonemic awareness (ability to distinguish the individual sounds within a word and to blend and segment those sounds)

An important note: screenings are a small snapshot of your child's overall learning profile. They may not identify all children who will have difficulty learning to read. However, the screenings have proven to be a good predictor of whether a child is at risk of having reading difficulties.  This allows parents and teachers to be proactive in addressing these areas.

If your school does not offer reading screenings, we specialize in reading assessments. If you'd like more information on reading and reading assessments, click here.

Staff Spotlight: Margaret

Over the last several weeks, we have been featuring one awesome staff member a week.

This week, we are featuring Margaret! We asked her a few questions, and here are her answers.

What is your favorite book?: To Kill a Mockingbird

What did you want to be when you were growing up?: I always thought highly of teachers. My dad was a teacher, and he put me to sleep with poetry, often Shakespeare's sonnets. Before I graduated high school, I knew I would be an English teacher. 

People say I . . . : should retire so I could have more fun, but I couldn't have more fun than I do teaching at Langsford!

What do you do in your free time? I sew, draw, and paint. I also play golf, and, of course, read.

Staff Spotlight: Roxanne

For the next several weeks, we will be featuring one staff member a week.

This week, we are featuring Roxanne! We asked her a few questions, and here are her answers.

What is your favorite book?: The Wright Brothers, because it describes the many years of patient problem-solving needed to invent the airplane. 

What did you want to be when you were growing up?: I wanted to be someone who teaches and guides. 

People say that I . . . : am always busy because I am. 

What do you do in your free time? Garden, spend time with friends, exercise, read, volunteer,  and help my parents.

The Best Literacy Apps for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners

The preschool and kindergarten years are important for developing a solid foundation for reading, spelling, and writing. There are many apps out there that will help you give your child the practice they need at this crucial time. Here are some apps that are shown to develop the early literacy skills necessary to become a better reader, speller, and writer in elementary school.

For Alphabetic Knowledge:

·       Handwriting Without Tears

·       OG Card Deck

·       I Can Alphabetics

·       Starfall Learn to Read

·       Bob Books Reading Magic 1 & 2

·       Alpha-read

For Phonological Awareness:

·       Partners in Rhyme

·       Beginning Sounds Interactive Game

·       ABC Magic 1-6

·       Blending SE & TE (Student/Teacher Edition)

For Writing:

·       Handwriting Without Tears

·       I Can Alphabetics

Click here for more information about the apps and the criteria used to review them.

Staff Spotlight: Toni

For the next several weeks, we will be featuring one staff member a week.

This week, we are featuring Toni! We asked her a few questions, and here are her answers.

What is your favorite book?: That changes often. Right now it is The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (or any of her books.) 

What did you want to be when you were growing up?: A nurse, then a singer, then a teacher. (I've been a teacher since 1969 in one facility or another!)

People say I . . . : am creative, tenacious, and have a good sense of humor.

What do you do in your free time? What free time? Ok, read, aqua exercise, write poetry, garden.