Learning Syllables Involves Their Whole Body 😊

Learning Syllables Involves Their Whole Body 😊 

You know those big bouncy balls with handles that are FUN for young AND old while outside on a beautiful day? 

Have you ever thought of using an amusing bouncy ball as an educational tool? 

Now I have your attention, don’t I? Sometimes the most unexpected things help children learn and process what they are learning more quickly.  

This is true of bouncing around on a big bouncy ball.  

When my students begin Part 13 of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, which, along with Part 14, teaches the eight rules for dividing words into syllables, I always share teaching ideas with parents to do at home that are enjoyable and educational to help children not only hear the syllables in words but also to FEEL the syllables. 

You can begin helping your children hear and feel syllables in the language they are learning when they are as young as two years old. Below are some fun activities that help them internalize feeling and hearing syllables using their whole body.  

Blow up large balloons for everyone. As you begin to play with your balloon, tapping it in the air to keep it aloft, begin saying your child’s name in syllables. Using their name attracts their attention and they begin to wonder why you are saying it the way you are. Tap their name over and over, then tap your name (yes, it can be Mom, Dad, Mommy, Daddy), tap the names of the rest of your family and everyone playing with you, returning often to their name.  

Let this game progress into words you and they enjoy and move to tapping compound words that they are familiar with like cupcake or doghouse. Progress to three syllable, fun, picturesque words they know, such as: butterfly, caterpillar, chocolate, spaghetti. You will see their eyes light up and their ears cock to listen. So COOL! 

Enjoy watching their curiosity grow as you play with words and the balloons. They will be excited to come up with words on their own to tap. They won’t even realize that they are understanding their blossoming language on a deeper level and beginning their reading skills.  

When I had my own classroom of students, I’d team up with another teacher to introduce syllables to my kiddos. We’d meet in the gym. The older children are amazing balloon blowers and excellent partners for younger children. Again, I have children begin by tapping the syllables in their name, as their name is so personal and meaningful to them. Then I’d move to compound words and then to two and three syllable words that create clear vivid pictures in their minds. 

When I brought my kiddos back to our classroom from the gym, we’d tug on rubber bands to continue exploring hearing and FEELING syllables. Rubber bands also make a great educational tool when we are teaching syllables on-line! 

Let’s get back to that big bouncy ball – after your kids are beginning to hear and feel the syllables as you and they tap balloons in the air and tug rubber bands, you can take them into experiencing syllables with their WHOLE body with the big bouncy ball.  

The experience of saying words in syllables out loud, listening to themselves saying the words in syllables while their whole body bounces with those syllables stimulates all parts of the brain.  

And though they will be having a great time, it won’t be JUST fun!

 They won’t even realize they are assimilating part of phonics at deeper and deeper levels.  

Thinking of syllables and FEELING them in the words we say, makes me realize I want to draw your attention to a more structured learning note for you and your kiddos.  

Along with all of this fun, we do need to teach our students to listen carefully and learn all the number of syllables in words, especially words that we tend to say so quickly we connect syllables, such as the word “different”. “Different” has 3 syllables (dif- er- ent). “Temperature” has 4 syllables (tem-per-a-ture). “Camera” has 3 syllables (cam-er-a). 

If you are not sure exactly how many syllables a word has, do a quick Google search or look up the word(s) in the dictionary with your child. Practice the correct number of syllables with rubber bands, balloons or that fun bouncy ball, as mispronounced words will cause confusion when learning to spell words and on standardized tests. 

Here are a few words to carefully teach by stressing the correct number of syllables: camera, different, difference, every, everything, general, interest, really, temperature, usually. 

Have FUN with this whole-body experiential learning of syllables! You will enjoy it as much as they; there will be lots of laughter.

If you have further questions about phonics, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Helium Filled Balloons Add Another Dimension to Syllables!

Helium Filled Balloons Add Another Dimension to Syllables! 

Remember how we taught our kiddos to actually feel syllables by tapping balloons in the air? In my blog post entitled Learning Syllables Involves Their Whole Body, I shared tapping a balloon in the air for each syllable as they say a word. As you can imagine, this is a popular whole-body activity that helps them internalize the feeling of syllables.  

Let’s take the balloon idea a step further to activate even more parts of their brains after they have achieved the initial step of actually feeling and hearing syllables. 

Let’s advance to teaching children to read multisyllabic words.  

I begin with compound words.  

Compounds words are thoroughly taught in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, Part 9. However, I do introduce the easiest concept of compound words – two words being pushed together with no finger space – as early as the 67th sight word (into) in the Fry List. It’s just natural to begin teaching 2 syllable words with compound words and I begin this concept with helium balloons. Again, as you can imagine, this activity is a hit. It takes their learning into different parts of their brain. 

Ideally, I would give each child two helium filled balloons, one for each hand. In a classroom, the cost is a bit prohibitive, so I have the kids team up with their reading partners. Since they understand partner work, the child without the balloons knows they are the teacher in that moment and are listening carefully to their partner. (I’ve seen helium balloons as low as $.99/ balloon at Party City.) 

Here are my lesson instructions:

1.    Provide each child a list of compound words and/or write them on the whiteboard. (See below for a beginning list.)

2.    Tell children to release one balloon right above their heads as they read the first word in the compound word.

3.    Then have them read the second word in the compound word as they release their second balloon.

4.    After they have read the compound word and the balloons are floating above their heads, have them sequentially reach up and pull the balloons back to themselves as they reread the whole word focusing on listening and saying each word within the compound word.

5.    Ask them how it felt to let the balloon go free to float above their heads when they read the first word.

6.    Guide them to understand that letting one balloon go for the first word relaxes their mind/brain so they can confidently focus on and read the second word. This helps them realize and feel that even though the whole compound word may have looked so long at first, by focusing on the first word as they release its balloon, it becomes easy for them to focus on the second word in the compound.

7.    Praise them for being awesome readers of really long words! 

You can bring back the helium balloons as you continue teaching division of multisyllabic words when you introduce

·       Prefixes, root words and suffixes (Parts 4-14) and

·       Open and closed syllables using the VCCV, VCCCV, VCV and VV rules (Part 14). 

After they have the feeling of syllables within words using the real balloons, we begin pretending we have balloons as we practice more multisyllabic words.  

I remind the children to release their real and/or imaginary balloons within arm’s reach, so when they are ready to read the entire word, they can sequentially reach up and pull each syllable balloon back down into their hands as they reread the word. Most often, once they have pulled down syllable balloon number one and number two, the rest of the word just pops into their mind! It’s exciting! 

Often times, my severely and profoundly dyslexic children are filled with fear when they have to read a long word. This balloon “work” guides them to see and feel compound words, root words, prefixes, suffixes and open and closed syllables. This whole-body activity helps them relax and gain control and confidence in their reading of multisyllabic words.  

Here are some simple compound words to begin with: into, upon, something, somewhere, someplace, backpack, homemade, paperboy, housepaint, grandmother, grandfather, eyesight, lifelike, football, cakewalk, shortcut, cookbook, without, racecar, and nightstand. 

Have fun teaching rules for syllabification as you watch smiles of success spread on your children’s faces both from the fun of the balloons and the realization that they “get it”. Reading those long words just got easier.

If you have any questions about teaching syllables or Silent Elephant “e” contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

YAY for DATA!

YAY for DATA!

I am excited to share my incredible Silent Elephant “e” teaching/testing results compiled from the last eight school years. The results are simply amazing!

While tutoring my reading program, I have taught Kindergarteners through high schoolers.

Please keep in mind that I have been teaching the lowest 17-20% of the student population—children that are struggling to learn to read, write and spell and some were staffed in Special Education:

-Children with Dyslexia

-Children with ADD or ADHD

-Children with Speech and Language Disorders

-English Language Learners

-Children with Autism

-Hearing Impaired Children

-Children with Down Syndrome

-Children with Dyspraxia

-Children with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

-Other Learning Differences

Ready to be impressed by the quick, amazing progress my kiddos are making in a short amount of time?

Over the last eight years, on average, students:

·        Advanced 1 grade level for every 2 months of instruction

·        Advanced to their age-appropriate grade level in 4 months (some in as little as 2.5 months)

·        Advanced 4.5 grade levels with 6 months of instruction

·        Mastered Part 1, Phonemic Awareness within 3 months

In the last eight years, 9 of my students have successfully exited out of Special Education!

This really is special. Being staffed out of special education is pretty much unheard of. All 9 of these students are now competent, confident students, eager about learning and proud of themselves and their accomplishments.

I have been able to support parents and teachers in their decision to refrain from placing a child in special education because the student was being tutored using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.

I am thrilled to share this data with you!

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

A Language Arts Program that Delivers What it Promises!

A Language Arts Program that Delivers what it Promises! 

Recently a father of one of my students I tutor from home said, “I’ve been watching you teach my son this fall. Your reading program is not just the best program for my son because he has dyslexia; it IS THE BEST READING PROGRAM FOR ALL CHILDREN! It just makes sense! 

It does make sense: it teaches them the way they learn and it works! 

His comment made me start thinking about programs I had used while teaching in public education. 

Have you ever thought about just how much money a school district, a charter school, a homeschooling parent pays for their language arts program per year? It can reach millions of dollars! 

Several times during my public school teaching career I was on textbook selection committees. Each committee was composed of dedicated, caring teachers with combined years of experience reaching in the hundreds.

All of us had hopes of finding a reading, writing and spelling program that would meet the needs of all of our students and guide each and every one of them to excel in their learning of language arts. 

We attended curriculum workshops, piloted several programs, attended grade level meetings, and wrote critiques of each program.

In the end, after choosing what we felt was the best curriculum available, we dreamed of guiding and teaching every one of our students to reach their full potential in reading, writing and spelling every school year.

When the new program arrived, we meticulously studied it and then thoughtfully and thoroughly prepared lesson plans and materials. 

We diligently used the program to teach the children in our regular education classrooms, reading specialist classrooms, ELL/ESL classrooms, Title 1 classrooms, special education classrooms, profoundly disabled classrooms, and speech and language classrooms.  

We had children with no learning differences, children learning English, children with learning differences such as ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, autism, Down syndrome, dyspraxia, central auditory processing disorder, hearing and visual differences and more. We had children needing speech and language support, children needing emotional support, children with poor attendance, children routinely missing class to receive medication, children needing help feeding and dressing themselves, children needing occupational therapy—you name it; we had it all. 

What was the cumulative result of all of our best-intentioned efforts put forth to choose the “best” curriculum for all our students?  

At the end of a school year, on average 25% of our students were above grade level, 50% of our students were at grade level, and 25% of our students were below grade level. This was basically the same results we had been having for decades with whatever language arts program we used! It was disheartening, to say the least.  

But now, we don’t have to be disheartened!  

Today educators can teach children the way they learn using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, A Phonetic Reading Program for ALL Learners of Any Age Particularly Dyslexic or Struggling Readers! They can relax and trust that every child will learn to read, write and spell.  

The proof is here—as I shared in the last Data - Yay For Data blog post! I’m proud of my data. It’s not disheartening.

Back to that father who observed his son beginning to learn to read. When his young 4th grade son began tutoring with me, he had completed 4 years of Montessori school. He told me, “My favorite word is the word “the” because I know I can read it right every time!”

He did not know all the names of the upper and lower case letters, and he did not know all of the sound of the letters. He was frustrated reading at a pre-primer reading level!

After 4 months, he has just finished Part 5 in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” and is fluently reading and comprehending sentences with affixed short vowel words, consonant digraphs, and beginning and ending consonant blends. This profoundly dyslexic young boy is currently reading at a 3rd grade reading level! He jumped 4 grades levels in 4 months.

His pride and happiness radiate from every part of him as he confidently reads! He is seeing his future very differently than he was 4 months ago.

I am so proud of every one of my students. It is so rewarding to be a part of their success, to watch them begin to see themselves differently, begin to see themselves as a success.

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to look into, feel free to contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

My Dream Come True - No Summer Loss!

My Dream Came True! 

At the conclusion of each school year during my many years in public education, I looked forward with great anticipation to returning in the fall.

I imagined what it would be like to discover that ALL of my children had returned to class reading at or above the reading level they were reading at on the last day of school. 

That’s what I strived for every day of every year of my teaching career!

My dream finally came true this fall! 

EVERY SINGLE ONE of my children returned reading at or above where they were reading last spring! 

One of my goals when I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” was to write a reading program that prevents summer loss.

Silent Elephant “e” has proven once again just how powerful a reading program it truly is!

 It teaches children and adults the way they love to learn using their whole body in multi-sensory lessons that move abstract concepts to concrete knowledge. 

THEY ALL own their phonemic awareness and phonics skills!!!! These skills are a part of them for the rest of their lives.  

EVERYONE OF THEM is now FREE to read full speed ahead. I’m so proud of each of my kiddos I could burst!

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program that will fit your needs, feel free to contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

We Transitioned to Zoom Without a Hitch!

This is Something to Turn Cartwheels About! 

I was feeling so much pride in my students in February when they completed their mid-year assessments. Then in early March I suddenly had to stop tutoring in my home. The parents of my students expressed concern that their progress might falter; I was also concerned. In fact, I was filled with apprehension as I shifted to tutoring my full load of students online with Zoom.  

As the school year began to come to an end, I had questions about just how well my students had progressed because of these changes. It is difficult to maintain the same personal contact with a child through a computer screen. 

I was both nervous and eager to begin end of year assessments.  

Here’s what I found:

Even with the change of format and the stress within their young lives this last 3 months, they continued to make significant progress in reading, writing and spelling.  

With trepidation I began my assessments with two of my most profoundly dyslexic students. 

Truthfully, I was nervous. I was afraid they may have plateaued, or even worse, regressed. I didn’t think they had, but the assessments would show the truth. I was nervous. 

As my first student began to move through the assessments with clear confidence I began to relax. As he finished, my heart was singing. He had NOT plateaued, or regressed, he had made a solid gain from 6th grade level to 8th grade since the last assessment in February.  

I felt much more excited than nervous as I began the assessment with my other extremely dyslexic student. I shouldn’t have worried; she has also made solid gains since February. 

Both of these bright happy students are so confident, eager and proud of their progress. They both want to continue tutoring through the summer. They are ready for more success.   

My mind slides back to only 14 months ago to the young boy who had no clue about phonemic awareness and was struggling at a pre-primer level in reading as a third grader. Now he is reading at a beginning 8th grade level going into 5th grade! The young girl who is profoundly dyslexic also had no clue about phonemic awareness and was struggling at a pre-primer level in reading when she began tutoring with me. Now she is reading on a solid 3rd grade level going into 4th grade.  

This is something to turn cartwheels about. 

And I give the credit of their success to

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Even with all the changes that we and our children have faced in the last few months, their progress in Silent Elephant “e” remained stable because the program is systemic, progressive, multi-sensory—it teaches the way they love learning. When they move through Silent Elephant “e”, their success is a given.  

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program that will fit your needs, feel free to contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

What Are Your Plans For Next Year

Planning for Next Year—Now’s the time! 

This is one of my favorite times of the year. 

The sun is warm, the flowers are bursting out. It could be the perfect time of year.  

Within this past year I have had the pleasure of meeting many of you at conferences and/or visiting with you on the phone and/or through emails as I shared Silent Elephant “e”. 

I have many fond memories of our discussions. You had thoughtful questions. You were eager to learn about Silent Elephant “e” and how it could be an answer to many of your concerns.  

Since then, I have often thought about those thought-provoking conversations. I so appreciate your dedication and love of your children—whether your own beautiful sons and daughters you are teaching at home, those you are tutoring, or that classroom of sweet faces that you greet every morning.   

As April finds me smiling and enjoying the blooming tulips and cherry trees so fresh and ready for the sun, it also finds my mind leaping ahead. 

With these fresh eyes, my mind begins to envision the next year. 

I know I’m like you – we see the smiling happy faces of the children we love. We envision our children/students striding easily with self-pride through the next school year. We feel our hopes and dreams for them. We see them gaining vital information and skills to carry them successfully forward. 

We imagine them in their future—happy, successful, confident.  

While everything is fresh in my mind at this time of year, I love reflecting over the school year. My reflections guide my decisions about how I’ll actually accomplish my hopes and dreams for next year.  

Although it’s exciting to plan for the coming year, I must plan carefully right now. I encourage you to do the same: plan carefully right now. 

You want to begin next fall fully equipped—feeling like there is no question that you will be achieving your dreams for your children.  

This makes stopping, reflecting and considering purchasing Silent Elephant “e” an important step to take.  

You want to procure the BEST materials to accomplish exactly what you intend! 

I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” to be THE BEST phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program! 

I wrote it to be the program that I always wished I had had throughout my years of teaching:

·       One that would teach me everything I needed to know in order to be the BEST, most effective educator.

·       One that would ensure that ALL, let me say that again, ALL of my students would quickly, successfully and confidently learn to read, write and spell at or above grade level. 

I wrote Silent Elephant “e” for you too! 

My years of data compilation prove that Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” truly is the BEST phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program! 

With Silent Elephant “e” you can expect your children to:

·       Advance 1 grade level for every 2 months of instruction

·       Advance to their age-appropriate grade level in 4 months (some in as little as 2.5 months)

·       Advance 4.5 grade levels with 6 months of instruction

·       Master Part 1, Phonemic Awareness within 3 months

Then there is this statistic that always fills my heart with pride: in the last five years, 9 of my students have successfully exited out of Special Education!

This really is special. Being staffed out of special education is pretty much unheard of. All 9 of these students are now competent, confident students, eager about learning and proud of themselves and their accomplishments.

I have been able to support parents and teachers in their decision to refrain from placing a child in special education because the student was being tutored using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Are you visualizing your children’s heads held high, eyes sparkling with confidence, faces full of self-pride?

I am! I know you are! 

I also know that right now, at this time of the year, you have questions. You are wondering what to do differently next year. 

Call us! We have expertise in teaching ALL students including gifted, at-risk and dyslexic. 

Together we will sort through your questions, lay out a plan to achieve your hopes and dreams, and see if Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” would be the best fit for these plans. 

We will love visiting with you!

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program that will fit your needs, contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Set Yourself Up For Success - For Relaxed and Confident Teacher and Learning

Relaxed and Confident Teaching 

When I’m teaching children with Silent Elephant “e”, I feel relaxed and confident that every detail has been taken care of. 

Of course, I know that I wrote Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” to do just that. 

I wrote Silent Elephant “e” to be THE program that sequentially addresses reading from phonemic awareness forward leaving nothing to chance. I wrote it to be easy to teach with. And even though I wrote it, I have to say that I LOVE the calm and confident feeling I have that the exact learning needs of those I tutor will without question be met. 

Silent Elephant “e” makes it easy for you to meet the individual learning differences, developmental levels and needs of all your students.  

I have mentioned before that I have used multiple reading, writing and spelling programs during my teaching career in public education and that I NEVER felt 100% confident in any of those programs. Every program always had several weak spots.

Therefore, I wrote Silent Elephant “e” to be THE program for reading, writing and spelling—THE program that teaches children and adults to read, write and spell the way they learn using experiential lessons that stimulate all parts of the brain—lessons that engage all learners. This is especially important for students who are dyslexic or struggling in any way.

I wrote Silent Elephant “e” to be THE program with NO WEAK SPOTS.

My hope for you is that you have this same feeling of ease and sureness that I feel when teaching with Silent Elephant “e”.

Now is the perfect time to ask yourself questions to explore just how confident you are feeling about your reading, writing and spelling programs whether you are teaching a classroom, homeschooling or tutoring.  

If you are concerned about the program you are using, about how you are teaching, or are wondering how you can be more effective this year than last, contact us.

We can help you ensure that every student in your care is successful.

P. S. The fact that 9 children are no longer on the special education roles makes me proud enough to pop and then add to them all the other students whose lives that have been completely changed because of Silent Elephant “e”. I can’t stop smiling when I think about it.

It makes me stop and realize just what an amazing program Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is!

I’m so proud of it. I’m so glad I took those 1000s of hours to write it for you, for me and for all the students in our care.

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program that will fit your needs, feel free to contact us. We have answers for your concerns.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Answering Your Questions About Tutoring

Your Questions about Tutoring Answered 

To answer some questions that might be bubbling around in your brain about joining our Silent Elephant “e” community of tutors that are changing lives, let me tell you a little about my tutoring business. 

First question: “What does your tutoring day look like?” 

One of the perks of this job is that you can set your own schedule! I regularly tutor Mondays through Fridays, but on occasion I have tutored on Saturdays and Sundays. On some days, I begin tutoring at 9 A.M; on some days, I finish tutoring at 9:15 P.M. I create my own schedule around my family and other projects I’m involved in.  

Presently I am choosing to tutor 48 hours a week because I love tutoring and I have students who really need the systematic, multi-sensory teaching that Silent Elephant “e” provides.  

My full-time schedule is absolutely my choice because I’m my own boss. Silent Elephant “e” is my personal at-home business. I could tutor less hours, but the time flies by as I’m having so much fun watching my students realize how smart and capable they are and seeing that spark in their eyes when they learn something new.  

I personally love tutoring from my home when possible, as I don’t have transportation issues: slow traffic, being out on icy roads and sidewalks, and loss of teaching time while driving.  

Now, of course, because of COVID, I have completely transitioned to tutoring online using Zoom and have been over-the-moon happy with the continued success of my students. This opens up our ability to tutor from anywhere. I presently am tutoring children in three states. 

You might wish to tutor at a student’s home or a public library. I do not recommend tutoring at a coffee shop. Most of my students struggle with attention issues and would find it extremely difficult to focus outside of a quiet environment. 

Personally, I’m charging $35 an hour. If I did the driving, I would charge more. Check with other tutors in your area to determine your fee. One note: I do not charge for the first hour, because I want that time to be used as a relaxing time to meet my new student, to meet my student’s parents and to enjoy getting to know each other. Children truly begin to relax during this time and are much more comfortable the next time we meet when I want to begin assessing them. 

Since it is MY business, I have the freedom to take time off when I want. As my students’ progress is so strong, I am not worried about taking a week off. I know when I return, their skills will remain strong, and we will move forward. Also, because Silent Elephant “e” is ensuring that my students are progressing, their parents are relaxed about my taking time off. 

It’s a win, win, win – for my students, their parents and me.  

Second question: How do you find students to tutor?

I volunteer at my neighborhood school and have met many teachers there who refer their students’ parents to me. I am listed as a tutor with surrounding school districts and with the International Dyslexic Association.  

In the beginning, I only had a couple of students, but my business organically grew to full time because the success of my students got around and more people began to request me.  

Third question: How much will you invest to begin a Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” tutoring business. Here are the details:  

The full program cost is $2217.

This is what you will receive when you purchase:

·       Your teacher’s copy of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, A Phonetic Reading Program for ALL Learners of Any Age Particularly Dyslexic or Struggling Readers containing over 1800 pages of instruction in 14 user friendly spiral bound books

·       Over 100 instructional videos that I created so you can have an at-your-fingertips reminder of how to teach the lessons

·       44 colorful posters

·       The picture book My Awesome Grandma 

There are a few other materials for you to make or collect before beginning tutoring:

·       Magician hat

·       Elephant hand puppet

·       Magic wand

·       Tiny star wands: 1 doz. pink, green, blue, silver

·       1 set of cat toy mice

·       1 individual hand-held mirror (check the Dollar Store)

·        Make twenty-one 1” colored copy paper squares; three squares of each of the following colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and brown and laminated them

·       Plastic zippered bag to store the 21 squares

·       Copy the 6 game boards from Part 1and laminate them

·       Pocket folder per student

·       1-3 oz. paper cup per student

·       Box of 8 Crayola colored pencils per student

·       Two boxes of 8 Crayola water markers

·       Copy the 6 paper masks from Part 4 and laminate them

·       Set of orange, tactile, glittered construction paper letters for consonant digraphs for Part 4 

There you have it!

You will be able to start your Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” tutoring business for a little more than $2217. 

To quickly enhance your teaching of Silent Elephant “e” and to support you in setting up your business, purchase my 9-hour virtual personal workshop for $1000 or get a group of friends to take the workshop together and share the $1000 cost. You’ll have FUN learning together! 

That’s not much to start up a business and, as I have shared with my own tutoring business, that amount is easy to recoup in a very short time.  

Fourth question: What if you have already purchased Silent Elephant “e” and want to take the workshop?  That’s an easy answer, just contact us and we’ll get you in.

Last thought from some happy parents:

“It’s hard to describe how much this program has helped our daughter with her reading. In the relatively short time, she has been working with this program we have gone from taking hours of fighting and struggling to read books below her grade level to a girl who is comfortably reading books at or near her grade level and actually starting to ask to read to her younger brother. We could not be happier with the results so far and excited to see how much further this will go.” Kristina and Derek

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us. We will also gladly answer any other questions you may have.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

There is an Enormous Need For Tutors

Ever Thought of Becoming a Tutor? 

Many of you have expressed an interest in becoming a Silent Elephant “e” tutor. I am excited about this opportunity for you and for the students you will be tutoring. 

There is an enormous need for tutors! An enormous need for tutors using a program that is really going to work for those they tutor! I have a waiting list for children and adults who would like to begin tutoring with me.  

Imagine the already struggling student who, because of the number of kids in his/her class (the average class size in America is about 22 primary to 25 secondary students), has never received enough one-on-one time with the teacher. 

An instructional class period in reading, writing, or math lasts for 45 to 55 minutes. A lesson begins with a teacher presenting the lesson objective and content followed by students experiencing learning and enriching activities through guided practice. The teacher then summarizes and concludes the lesson presentation. At this point, the students have about 15 to 20 minutes to complete independent practice demonstrating their learned skills. 

During that independent practice time, the teacher will be able to devote less than one minute per student to answer individual questions and provide individual help to those who did not quite understand the concept. 

Imagine the struggling students that are never receiving enough one-on-one time with the teacher to completely grasp the concept. They continue to fall behind lesson after lesson, concept after concept, year after year.

This is why so many students need extra, individually personalized help with their studies after school hours. Many parents are desperate to find a good tutor using a proven successful program that is really going to work for their children.  

I would love for you to be the one to provide that much needed and much appreciated help at the same time as you earn extra income to help pay off student loans, pay bills, save for your child’s college education OR just save for that fun vacation you’ve been dreaming of! 

It’s a win-win-win! You enjoy tutoring and watching your students succeed while adding to your monthly income, they are succeeding and feeling confident in their learning and progress and their parents are relaxing knowing their children are in good hands with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, a proven program.  

Beginning your tutoring business with Silent Elephant “e” is simple. 

1.    Begin by purchasing one copy of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, A Phonetic Reading Program for ALL Learners of Any Age Particularly Dyslexic or Struggling Readers. Yes, ONE copy is all you need to help preschoolers to adults! You will be able to print individualized practice papers for each of your students.

2.    You will need a few supplies: a magic hat, a magic wand, an elephant puppet, colored pencils, colored markers, 4” X 6” note cards, toy cat mice, and a few other inexpensive supplies.

3.    I suggest purchasing the 44 colorful posters. The colored posters truly aid retention of lesson content by ALL learners! I use the posters all of the time with every student. (See my post How to Use the Posters and Why They are Important.)

4.    I suggest purchasing my picture book My Awesome Grandma as it solidifies learning of consonant digraphs and it’s FUN too! (See my post My Awesome Grandma Picture Book.)

5.    You may also wish to purchase the instructional videos of me teaching each lesson. My brother-in-law and I had so much fun making the videos for you! Just pop in a video, watch a lesson, and you are set to go!

6.    Register for my virtual Zoom workshop where I’ll teach you everything you need to know to expertly teach with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. It’s worth every penny, I even teach you how to set up your business. 

That’s it! That’s all you need to purchase to start your tutoring business.

My next blog post will tell you about my 9 hour on-line personal training for parents, teachers and tutors.

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Analogies Open Doors to Their Learning

Analogies Open Doors to Their Learning 

The use of analogies in learning is powerful. They give our learners tools they can identify with and use to help them process new information more easily. 

I love Sayra’s analogy that I shared in my last blog post (Now You’re Telling Me I Have a Bunny in My Brain?) for two reasons:  first, it’s an amazing analogy, so “kid friendly”, and second, I love rabbits!

 I have raised rabbits and adored them, even when they ate many of the flowers in my garden! 

Sayra’s analogy is so imaginative and clever and I am so pleased that she allows me to share it with my students. Her “tiny bunny in our brain” takes my kiddos into a whole new world in their imagination. They have a “new friend” supporting their learning that they can talk to, listen to, encourage and soothe.  

I begin sharing the tiny bunny analogy by reading an old book I have about rabbits that shows crosscut drawings of rabbits’ burrows. We learn about how rabbits make their tunnels and how they know exactly where each tunnel leads.  

We draw rabbits and their burrows and share the many things about rabbits we enjoy. Of course, I have many stories to share.

I have them draw their tiny bunny so it “comes alive” for them and we discuss what their bunny likes to do and likes to eat. We are personalizing their bunny, which helps them feel closer to it and strengthens their use of this analogy.  

I sometimes pat my kiddos on the head pretending I’m petting their bunny while saying, “You are such a smart, wonderful bunny! You know exactly where to find the sound of this letter combination.” 

I tell them to pat themselves on their head, too, imagining they are petting the bunny in their brain and talking to their bunny saying, “I love you! You are so smart! We work together to learn! We are SO good. We never give up on each other!” 

I remind them how they can truly focus and how natural it is for their brains (their bunnies) to find commonalities and patterns, to draw conclusions, to sequence, to analyze, to synthesize and to evaluate.  

We practice being truly focused and quiet while sensing how their teeny bunny feels relaxed and peaceful which makes it very easy for it to find commonalities and patterns and, therefore, the perfect place to store new information.  

We draw their bunny digging a tunnel and nest for the new information and talk about how it knows exactly where it put the information.  

Because many of my kiddos struggle with anxiety and low self-esteem, we practice realizing that when they feel anxious, it means their cute bunny is nervous and running around. 

I encourage them to imagine petting, cuddling, loving and cheering on their teeny bunny to find the carrot, apple wedge, pellet, watermelon rind, letter sound or word without giving up.  

I encourage them to teach their bunny that it knows exactly which tunnel to go to because it is making connections with their prior learning.  

Then we practice helping the bunny know exactly which tunnel to go to so it will find stored information. I have them draw their bunny calm and confident as it moves down a tunnel and stores new learning or retrieves a letter sound or word.

My kiddos giggle with the thought of petting and encouraging their teeny tiny bunny. They begin to smile and relax, and THEY persevere! 

As they become comfortable with the idea of a teeny tiny bunny digging tunnels and building nests to store information, I show them pictures of real brains on the Internet. 

I teach them about the neurons in their brain. I teach them about how one neuron connects to another, which is similar to how their teeny tiny bunny’s tunnels connect. I teach them that when they learn something, their brain has made connections or pathways between neurons.  

I tell them, “Each time you practice a skill, you’ll remember how to do it and you’ll be able to do it faster than you could before. You get better and better! Every time you practice, you strengthen your neuron connections.” 

We talk again about the importance of truly focusing so they aren’t activating too many neurons at one time and confusing their own learning. We talk about the importance of being quiet, breathing deeply and knowing they are building connections and pathways between their neurons so remembering what they have just learned will be easy.

I tell them, “Be good to your brain! Challenge your brain! Love your brain! Pet that bunny!!” 

Now over to you…

Please email or call (or send photos like below) to let me know how either or both analogies are working for your kiddos.  

These bright smiles are telling the whole story.

Their mom sent photos of their work with the chest of drawer analogy and shared how using the analogy is helping them understand how their brain is categorizing. I so love their happy faces!

If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Now You are Telling Me I Have a Bunny in my Brain!

Now You are Telling Me I Have a Bunny in my Brain! 

In my previous two Brain blog posts (Wait! I Have a Chest of Drawers in My Brain? , Yes There is A Chest of Drawers in Your Brain!), I shared how I use my analogy of a chest of drawers to simplify how our brains work and help children relax and realize THEY are in control of their brain, and therefore, THEY are in control of their learning. 

Not long ago over lunch, my dear friend Sayra shared her successful analogy.                                               

Sayra shared how she explained our brain to her son Matthew when he was young and struggling with learning to read. She shared that Matthew is dyslexic and that this analogy helped him relax into learning to read more easily. It helped him feel in control of his reading.  

Sayra shared that she made up a story for Matthew about how we all have a tiny bunny inside our brains. This tiny little bunny is our very good friend and helps us with our learning by moving around in the tunnels of information in our brain.  

This is the story Sayra’s used to introduce her analogy:  

One day when a little boy was playing in the woods, he saw a little, brown cottontail bunny. He watched the bunny as it hopped along the trail. Suddenly the bunny disappeared! He looked and looked but couldn’t find it anywhere. 

He went home to tell his mama. His mama had an animal book, so they looked up bunnies in her book. “Bunnies make burrows,” the book said. 

The little boy learned a new word – “burrows”. He wondered what burrows were. “Burrows are the homes of bunnies,” his mother read from the book. “Bunnies build nests underground. They sleep in the nests and raise their babies in the nests. They dig many tunnels to connect their nests. They dig at least two doorways. Bunnies are very good at making tunnels and nests.”  

The little boy’s mother looked at him with a smile and said, “Son, your brain is sort of like a bunny’s burrow. It has tunnels and nests and, just like the bunny, you make new tunnels and new nests when you learn new information.   

As you learn new sounds for letters, learn new words and read stories, you are making familiar places in your brain for those sounds, words and stories.  

A bunny making a nest for her babies is just like YOU making “nests” for letter sounds, for words and for stories.

 When you practice your letter sounds, your words and read a story over again, you use the very same tunnels to your nests - just like a bunny uses its same tunnels and nests. The tunnels and nests become very familiar as they feel like comfortable places. The tunnels and nests become easy to find.”

 His mama encouraged her little boy to pretend he had a smart, little bunny in his brain helping him learn.  

The little boy loved bunnies and he loved thinking about the clever, little bunny in his brain helping him learn to read! Soon he loved to read because he practiced each day with his bunny. His mama was so proud of him! 

Sayra continued to build her analogy by having Matthew imagine his tiny, smart bunny in his brain helping him learn something new. His bunny was right there with him. 

She had Matthew imagine just how clever and helpful his little, learning bunny was and how it knew every single tunnel and every single nest in Matthew’s brain.

 She shared with him how reading would become fun and easy because his bunny knew all the familiar tunnels and nests and how to connect all of Matthew’s old learning with his new learning.  

They talked about how his little bunny loves him so much and is SO HAPPY to help him, but sometimes his little bunny needs a little help from Matthew.  

Sometimes his sweet, little bunny would get over excited or nervous and start to run through the tunnels not knowing which way to go. 

Sayra shared with Matthew that he would always know when his bunny was running anxiously through the tunnels because Matthew would feel his bunny’s worry and nervousness. When Matthew felt worried, nervous or like he couldn’t remember what he had learned, that was the time his bunny needed HIS help. 

She taught him to sooth his bunny by saying loving words to it when it felt nervous or couldn’t remember. She taught him to pretend he was holding his anxious bunny in his arms while saying encouraging words. 

She had Matthew teach his bunny how to slow down, breathe deep and relax and that when Matthew relaxed, his bunny would know exactly which tunnel was the right one to use to get to the right nest. After all, HE had dug all the tunnels and built all the nests. He KNEW where everything was. 

Sayra shared that her analogy was extremely helpful for Matthew and that it helped him realize that he was in control of his own learning.

I love Sayra’s analogy! It’s so “kid friendly”. 😊

In my next post, I’ll share how I use it with my students and how I extend it into the science of our brain.

If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

We Created A Workshop Just For You

We Created A Workshop to Make Sure You Know Exactly How Silent Elephant “e” works -

Your Success is Importance to Us  

With the goal of ensuring our children’s and students’ success in mind, I designed a comprehensive 9-hour online workshop so I can effectively instruct you on how to teach Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” right from the comfort of your own home.  

You will learn how fun and easy it is to ensure that your children and students are thoroughly and systematically learning phonemic awareness and phonics quickly while having fun – even electronically. 

During our 9 hours togetherl (click here for details), we will cover everything you need to begin teaching anyone from preschoolers to adults to read, write and spell with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, A Phonetic Reading Program for ALL Learners of Any Age Particularly Dyslexic or Struggling Readers! 

With Silent Elephant “e”, everything you need will be at your fingertips. You’ll have the textbook, posters, picture book and videos as your incredible teaching tools with precisely sequenced, step-by-step, easy to follow directions guiding you to ensure the success of ALL of your students at their personal pace. During the workshop, we will cover how I use all of these components to ensure the success of my students.  

It’s important to me that you know the quality of the program you will be learning and teaching. Let’s review some of my Silent Elephant “e” data. 

These are some of the outcomes you can expect with students of all ages with all types of learning differences:

·       Progress one full year in reading with every 2 months of instruction with just two one-hour sessions per week

·       Advance to their age-appropriate grade level in 4 months (some in as little as 2.5 months)

·       Advance 4.5 grade levels with 6 months of instruction

·       Master Part 1, Phonemic Awareness within 3 months.

Just think—because you will be teaching your kiddos every day, not just two days a week, you could double their learning and progress! 

More data that makes my heart sing:

·       Our Silent Elephant “e” students’ lives begin to change immediately. ALL students begin to experience success right away. Even within the first couple of weeks of tutoring, profoundly dyslexic learners and struggling learners begin to feel differently about themselves and begin seeing themselves as able and successful readers, writers and spellers.

·       In the last eight years, 9 of my students have successfully exited out of Special Education! I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: this is unheard of! 

This short workshop will take you from:

“I’m not sure how to teach reading, spelling and writing.

What if I mess up?

What if they don’t learn?”

To:

“This is doable.

I have the tools.

I have the knowledge.

I CAN successfully teach reading, writing and spelling while having lots of FUN.

My children and students will become successful readers, writers and spellers.

I KNOW where to go for support.

I’ve got this!

What a relief!”  

When you have completed the workshop, I will certify you as an instructor of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

You will be able to confidently and easily teach not only your own children and students, but you will be certified to tutor hundreds of children and adults. You can begin your own tutoring business from home! 

Click here to see our workshop page.

Last thought—I always want to be available to promptly answer your questions, but if I’m tutoring, I’ll refer you to my editor and colleague Nina Henson.  She taught with me for twenty-five years. She knows Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” in her sleep!  

You can email me at silentelephante@gmail.com or call me at 208-859-4406 or call Nina at 208-860-3125 or email her at nina_henson@yahoo.com.

We look forward to helping relieve some of the stress of this time by helping you relax and achieve success in teaching reading, writing and spelling using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” with every child your heart touches! 

You are in our hearts and our minds. You are important to us! 

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson 

“Don’t worry, Mary! I can help.”

Now is the Time To Be a Silent Elephant “e” Tutor! 

Yes, now is the time!  

It is THE time for educators to reach out to children and adults (yes, adults too) through video communication technology such as Zoom to teach reading, writing and spelling using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, A Phonetic Reading Program for ALL Learners of Any Age Particularly Dyslexic or Struggling Readers. 

I never realized how grateful I would be to be able to teach children from a computer screen! When I had to tell the parents of my students I could no longer invite them into my home for tutoring, I was so downhearted. I was worried my kiddos would lose ground in their learning. I was saddened that I would not be seeing their sweet faces and watching their eyes pop in an “a-ha” moment.  

Then my son suggested I just take my tutoring online using Zoom. I had never heard of Zoom and was a little unsure. Within one day, he had me all set me up to tutor 19 children! I was back with my kids watching their smiles of learning! 

I am so grateful for this fun learning experience. Everyday I appreciate seeing delighted smiles on my beautiful students’ faces! I’m so happy to hear their joyful voices when they say, “Hi, Mrs. Jones!” I know they can see and feel my love for them in my eyes and in my voice! 

Homeschool educators, here is my thought for you at this time when your friends, neighbors and relatives may be juggling more balls than they ever thought they ever would and feeling great stress in their lives—reach out to them and offer them your expertise at this time.  

Since you already teach at home and know how Silent Elephant “e” supports you in making sure your children learn, I encourage you to think about how you could teach your children and other people’s children together using Silent Elephant “e” on Zoom or another platform.  

This idea burst forth into my brain a few days ago as I was teaching one of my students, “Carol”, an “ou” lesson in Silent Elephant “e” on Zoom. Carol’s mom, “Mary”, appeared on the screen close to the end of the lesson time. Mary’s face was showing her stress. “I’m sorry to interrupt your teaching time, but I really need your help! 

“Carol’s second grade teacher sent a note telling parents that they need to teach their child how to spell words with “ie” and “ei” in them. 

“I tried to teach Carol the best way I could, but after a half hour of struggling with both of us becoming extremely frustrated, we were almost in tears.” 

“Don’t worry, Mary! I can help.” I comforted her.  

“I can teach Carol how to spell words with “ie” and “ei” using the fun “ie/ei” lesson in Part 12 of Silent Elephant “e”. We’ll have lots of fun, because each of the six rules has a silly song to sing! The songs will definitely help Carol remember how to spell the words. 

SO, YES!

Homeschool educators you are an extremely valuable resource to your neighbors, friends and relatives right now. Reach out to them!! They will love, love, love you! 

AND, oh, classroom teachers, my heart goes out to you!

I know that you are deeply missing your kiddos.  

I also know that many of you have babies, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children of your own that you suddenly have to care for and teach while teaching your students on-line. 

I know too that you are so concerned that you are providing the best educational environment, the best educational instruction and the best educational practice materials for your much-loved students and your own much-loved children. 

With Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” you can rest assured that you are teaching lessons that are researched based using Structured Literacy. You will be able to use direct instruction to explicitly teach phonemic awareness, phonics, orthology, morphology, semantics and syntax while pulling in your students’ background knowledge. Further, Silent Elephant “e” will guide you to meet the individual reading, writing and spelling needs of both your classroom students and your own children you are now teaching.  

Silent Elephant “e” is powerfully effective for ALL learners K-Adult —especially those with learning differences such as:

-Children with Dyslexia

-Children with ADD or ADHD

-Children with Speech and Language Disorders

-English Language Learners

-Children with Autism

-Hearing Impaired Children

-Children with Down Syndrome

-Children with Dyspraxia

-Children with Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD)

-Other Learning Differences 

Silent Elephant “e” begins with phonemic awareness as the basis for understanding reading and how it “works”. Upon mastery of phonemic awareness, children are prepared to succeed in phonics, the most effective way to teach reading. Phonics rules are taught in a progressive sequence that builds one phonics skill upon another. Each multi-sensory lesson engages the “whole learner” through active participation using stories, puppets, plays, magic, food, drawings, writing, and games enabling students to make sense of the abstract rules of phonics through fun, engaging and memorable lessons. 

To make it even easier, all lesson plans are precisely organized with step-by-step “cookbook” directions. All lessons have at least three carefully designed practice papers that you can email to the parents of your kiddos to ensure that your students have plenty of practice to reach mastery of the skill you have taught. 

I am so thankful to be able to tutor my students using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e!  

And I am SO thankful that I now understand how easy it is to tutor online with Silent Elephant “e”. Six months ago, I would never have considered it and now it is a wonderful success.  

I still get to see their beautiful smiles and the sparkle in their eyes when they reach that special “Oh, I get it!” moment.

 We still give each other “high fives” and “fist bumps”—just on the computer screen now! Giggles!

 We give each other “computer hugs”! And yes, those “hugs” feel good, because we know they’re filled with LOVE! 

I still am a valuable part of their lives. My kiddos know I care about their education. They know I love them!

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

We Tutor Successfully From Anywhere

As We Now Know, We Can Successfully Tutor From Anywhere!

And Everyone Still Loves Tutoring! 

A couple of months ago, an older eight-year-old brother (whom I also tutor) came along with Mom to pick up his younger six-year-old brother.  

“Hi “Steven”, it’s good to see you!” I called out.  

He returned a, “You too, Mrs. Jones!” accompanied by his bright happy smile. 

“I bet you came along just to get one of my delicious chocolate chip cookies. That’s why everyone comes to tutoring,” I kidded him. I always give them a chocolate chip cookie at the end of our tutoring sessions.   

“Oh, no, Mrs. Jones. We come to tutoring because we love you!” 

Talk about melting my heart!  

“Oh!” I exclaimed as I gave him a big bear hug. “That makes me feel so good! I love you with all of my heart too!” 

I thought of Steven as I was virtually hugging one of my kiddos this last week at the end of our tutoring session on Zoom.  

I truly miss physically hugging all of them, but the children and I still feel the love! I can see it in their eyes at the end of each session; I know they can see it in mine. 

Last weekend a parent texted me to say that her husband had been furloughed from his job for a year, so regrettably they would need to end tutoring. I called her right away. 

As soon as “Amy” answered, I exclaimed, “I love tutoring “Maggie”! I want to keep tutoring her. She’s making so much progress and is feeling so good about herself.” 

I could hear and feel the conflict in Amy’s voice as she shared, “Yes, she is feeling so much better about herself! Just yesterday when she had Zoom time with her teacher and classmates, her teacher asked the children to share what they were doing that was making them proud of themselves.  

“Maggie told everyone she had just finished learning 700 words (the Fry List) in tutoring, and two weeks ago, she finished the caterpillar and train games that helped her to learn to hear ALL of the SOUNDS in WORDS!”  

I was so proud of Maggie for being so confident that she shared her success with her teacher and classmates. She had just passed Phonemic Awareness Assessments Part 1 and Part 2 with 100% accuracy! There’s no question that she now hears every sound in every word. 

Amy continued, “Maggie went on to tell her teacher and classmates that her tutor said she was going to BLAZE through phonics now even faster than she was learning it before! 

“She is so proud of herself!” 

I said, “Amy, that’s exactly why we cannot end tutoring. We can’t stop just when Maggie is feeling her success and is poised to become a strong reader. You do not need to pay me. Just please let me keep tutoring Maggie.” 

I could hear Amy take a long deep breath and relax, “Oh, Linda, I cannot thank you enough! We’ll pay you just as soon as we can.” 

“Please, don’t worry about paying me,” I replied. “It’s my honor and privilege to teach Maggie! I’m so excited about her progress. I can’t bear the thought of her not getting to continue on in her success. 

I love all of you, and I’m sending you all BIG HUGS. I’ll see you Monday.”

This is one way I can help my kiddos and their families at this time.

My students’ successful future is very important to them and to me.  

I can’t bear the feeling of them not succeeding because they aren’t able to pay for tutoring at this time.

If you are questioning whether Silent Elephant “e” is the comprehensive reading, writing and spelling program you’d like to purchase, feel free to contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson