2,600 Pages In One Month!! She Beams With Pride

She is Beaming With Pride! 

I became a teacher because I wanted to help ALL children learn. Even in when I was in elementary school, I loved helping my friends with their homework and teaching them new things!

 
When I began teaching, I dreamt of parents sharing that I had made a difference in their child’s life. “Because of you,” they would share, “our child now loves curling up with a book in bed, reading until we say, ‘Lights out,’ and on several occasions, we’ve caught our kiddo reading under the covers with a flashlight not wanting to put their book down!”
 
Well, dreams do come true. 😊
 
Recently, I received this letter from a sweet, lovely young lady who began learning to read with her mom homeschooling her using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.
 
Hi Miss Linda,
I was in the summer Reading Program, and I was selected as a Top Reader!! I read over 2,600 pages in one month. Thanks for helping me learn to read. I’ve enjoyed all the stories I’ve got to read and look forward to many more. 
Love,
Audrey
Age 8
P.S. Here’s my picture of me when I received my certificate for Top Reader.

I was so excited to get this wonderful email from Audrey and the darling picture! Audrey looks so proud of herself! Her “buttons are popping!”
 
I immediately wrote back:
Dear Audrey,
I love your beautiful smiling face as you hold your wonderful award! Your T-shirt is awesome too! I’m so happy for you and so proud of you! 
 
Every time I can help a child learn to read using Silent Elephant “e”, I am thrilled! I’m one step closer to helping ALL children.

Wondering how Silent Elephant “e” will work with your children? Contact either of us. ;)  
Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

WOW! TEN YEARS of SILENT ELEPHANT “E” DATA!

WOW! TEN YEARS of SILENT ELEPHANT “E” DATA!

WOW! It suddenly hit me. I have 10 YEARS worth of Silent Elephant “e” data. 10 years! I’ve been watching Silent Elephant “e” truly change children’s lives (and their parent’s lives!) for TEN YEARS!

 During those years, I’ve taught preschool through high school students who were struggling to read, write and spell. Some were staffed into special education. I have also had a few students who were not struggling at all but whose parents knew about Silent Elephant “e” and wanted their children to have a solid foundation in reading, writing and spelling.

 My students have included those with:

·       Dyslexia

·       ADD or ADHD

·       Speech and Language Disorders

·       English Language Learners

·       Autism

·       Hearing Impairments

·       Down Syndrome

·       Dyspraxia

·       Central Auditory Processing Disorder

·       Low to Extremely Low IQ

·       Other Learning Differences

·       Those with No Learning Differences

I share all their differences, because IN SPITE OF their differences, they have ALL SUCCEEDED in becoming fluent, confident readers, writers and spellers. Some needed the gift of time, to move at their own pace slowly but steadily, which is a powerful component of Silent Elephant “e”. Some quickly moved through the entire program. ALL HAVE SUCCEEDED.  

Are you ready to be impressed by the ten years of data, the quick, amazing progress my kiddos are making in a short amount of time?

Over the last ten years students learning with Silent Elephant “e” 1.5 to 2 hours/week (which is not much time!), on average:

·        Advanced 1 grade level for every 2.25 months of instruction. (Think of this: my students are not taking a school year to advance a grade level—they’re advancing multiple grade levels in one year.)

·        Advanced to their age-appropriate grade level in 4 months (some in as little as 2.5 months). (Some of them were 2-6 years behind their grade level when they began learning with Silent Elephant “e”.)

·        Advanced 4.25 grade levels with 6 months of instruction. (😊 Wow!)

·        Mastered Part 1, Phonemic Awareness within 3 months. (In 3 months, they understood the basics of written language and were ready to fly!)

In these last ten years, 9 of my students have successfully exited out of special education which is unheard of. All 9 of them are now competent, confident students who are having a good time in school, learning easily and proud of themselves.

Also in these 10 years, 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” and both the school and the parents knew the success of Silent Elephant “e” students.  

I’m so pleased to share all of this with you! 

I’m so proud of all those whose lives have been touched by Silent Elephant “e” (students and parents) from the beautiful, profoundly dyslexic young woman in her sophomore year of college majoring in neuroscience who is no longer struggling to the sparkling little one who began first grade this fall reading on a fourth-grade level after one year of learning with Silent Elephant “e” during her Kindergarten year.  

Thank you for celebrating with us! 

If you are wondering how Silent Elephant “e” can support your kiddos as their (and your) comprehensive pre-school to college reading, writing and spelling program, contact us with the links below.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Keep a song in your heart!

This Little Kindergartener Rocked It!

This Little Kindergartener Rocked It!

My editor, Nina Henson, has always said that Silent Elephant “e” is really for all children.
“Yes,” she says, “it teaches THE WAY dyslexics learn and it teaches using strategies for success of ELL students and any student at risk.

“But,” she continues, “the truth is that Silent Elephant “e” teaches the way every child deserves to learn to read. It involves the whole child; it teaches the way they process concepts. It’s fun. It teaches them to think about how they are learning and think about how they are processing concepts. It teaches them to express their knowledge and to express how they know what they know. It ensures success for all.”

I know all of this is true because I wrote Silent Elephant “e” for the whole child—integrating the whole learner into every lesson. Silent Elephant “e” stimulates thought and learning through multiple interactive multi-sensory activities in every single lesson.

As you know, I wrote Silent Elephant “e” because my daughter is dyslexic and I needed to learn how to best help her process and retain the concepts in reading, writing and spelling. It needed to be sequential: beginning with phonemic awareness and then moving step by step through all phonics concepts. It had to be taught the way she learns. I needed to support her learning from pre-k through college.

Silent Elephant “e” does that.

Until this last school year, all my tutoring students have had learning differences, many profound. I have seen amazing results for all of them.

This last school year, I had the delightful pleasure of experiencing what Nina believes: Silent Elephant “e” is the way every child deserves to learn to read, write and spell. I had the privilege to teach the Kindergarten sister of one of my third graders.

My third-grade student is profoundly dyslexic, but her little sister, “Lisa”, isn’t. Their Mom asked me to tutor Lisa as well because she was concerned about her missing out with their online schooling.

During the 11 months I tutored Lisa, I watched with awe as she picked up concept after concept so quickly and transferred what she was learning into other areas. She asked questions and made statements like: “This must be a word family, because there’s only one vowel in the middle of the word but it’s a long sound like the “i” was long in “find”. We need to put a purple wall after the long “e” sound in “before” just like we put a purple wall after the long “o” sound in “over”, because long vowels have long legs to see over the purple wall!”

It was thrilling to watch her mind absorb the concepts quickly and be ready and eager for more.

In our short time together, Lisa mastered all 700 Fry list words and finished her kindergarten year reading on a 4th grade level. I was amazed and delighted, yet not surprised.

Now because of this sweet, little one I have experienced how quickly Silent Elephant “e” supports the learning of every child.

She opened my eyes again to the power of Silent Elephant “e”.

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

Two Reasons We are Celebrating! And They Are BIG!

Two Reasons We are Celebrating! And They Are BIG!

It seems like a long time ago that I sat with my classroom students and talked about how they learned.

I asked questions, “How did this lesson work for you? Did you understand this concept the way I taught it to you? Was it difficult or simple to learn it? What did I do that made it easier for you to learn?” and many more questions. We had fun thinking about thinking and what made learning easier for them.

I remember their faces when I first began asking them to think about their learning. Many had never been asked to actually analyze their own learning process. I also remember their faces relaxing and how they became engaged and invested in helping me be the best teacher I could be.

At that time, I knew I was adjusting my instruction to insure every child would learn, but I didn’t exactly realize what I was setting in motion. My students’ answers to my questions lead me to writing Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” and then to the joy I am experiencing being a part of changing student’s lives as I tutor using Silent Elephant “e”.

That joy is day to day, week to week and especially vibrant for me, my students and their parents when we do our end of the year assessments.

This has been another year of changing lives. The numbers tell the story.

The average improvement for my students this school year is
3.625 grade level advancement!

3.625 grade level advancement is the average!

3.6 is an amazing grade level advancement, but when I add to that the fact that all my students except one have learning differences, most of them profound, 3.6 is a staggering number.

Here are some more numbers to enjoy:

Three students have been with me for 2 years:
One student progressed 5 reading levels in those two years and is going into 4th grade reading on a 5th grade level.
One progressed 4 years in those two years and is heading into 6th grade reading on grade level.
And one progressed 8 reading levels in those two years and will begin 4th grade reading on a 9th grade level! She is profoundly dyslexic.

Five students have been with me for only 1 year:
One improved 4 reading levels and is going into 5th grade reading on a 6th grade level.
Another is heading into 4th grade reading on a 6th grade level having improved 3 reading levels.
A young man with significant learning differences is excited about heading into 6th grade reading on grade level having improved 3 levels in just one year.
Another young man improved 6 reading levels this year to begin 7th grade reading on a 9th grade level.

Then there is my little Kindergartener without learning differences who is off to 1st grade reading on a 4th grade level! She mastered all 700 Fry list words!

There is an additional reason to celebrate this year.
All but one of my students who came to me with a Special Education IEP or having been in Chapter 1 have been staffed out.  That one has been in Special Education since Pre-school and will probably test out this next year at his 2-year review as he is already on grade level and will be an even stronger reader before that review. 

These are numbers worth celebrating and my kids, parents and I have been celebrating!

I continue to celebrate by sharing this data with you, because I know you will celebrate with us that Silent Elephant “e” is changing lives!

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

Such Overwhelming Responsibility - Maybe! Maybe Just Different

Such Overwhelming Responsibility - Maybe! 

I hope that as you’ve gotten to know me, you realize how seriously I take my responsibility of being an excellent teacher in every way for each of my students and their parents. 

Interestingly, I’m discovering a new responsibility and a new teacher/student relationship the longer I tutor. This has taken me by surprise.  

As a classroom teacher, I struggled having to say good-bye to “my” children at the end of each school year. I would be in tears—tears I needed to hide. I knew I’d miss each one of them, but I’d send them off knowing they were going to have wonderful teachers the next year. When they walked out the door, my responsibility as their teacher ended. 

I looked forward to the times I’d see them in the hallway. I looked forward to watching them grow. 

Tutoring is a whole different ball game! 

I’m discovering that I don’t have a set number of days to teach my tutees. I totally move at their pace, making sure they are successful and reach mastery of each skill I teach them. When they finish Part 14 in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, they are ready to graduate from me—at least that was my goal and anticipated outcome when I wrote my reading program.

But after 9 years of tutoring, I’m realizing that this is not always the case. 

Although my tutees are academically ready to leave me, many of them, and their parents, are not emotionally ready to let go of our relationship upon completion of Part 14. This was something I wasn’t prepared for. 

One time, a ten-year-old girl ran upstairs and hid in an upstairs bedroom on her last day with me. She wouldn’t leave. Her dad went up to talk to her. I went up to talk to her reassuring her that she was going to do beautifully in school and that she could visit me whenever she wanted. I gave her lots of hugs while telling her how much I love her. I then went downstairs to tutor two more children for the next two hours. She still didn’t come down.  

At 7:30 that evening, I went up again with some hot chocolate and cookies. We talked more and hugged. Finally, she was ready for my service dogs and me to walk her home. 

To this day, she still frequently walks by, waves through the window, texts me with holiday wishes and comes over to play ball with my new service dog. 

I love her so much. She’s like a granddaughter to me. 

She wasn’t the only one of my kiddos who wasn’t ready to graduate even though their reading skills were advanced.  

As the end of another school year was approaching, “Troy”, a sixth-grade boy, asked me, “What happens when I graduate from you?” 

I explained that he wouldn’t need to come to tutoring anymore because he was far ahead in reading now. “I’m so proud of you! You’ve worked so hard! You’re an advanced reader!” 

He slowly, painfully asked, “Do you miss the kids that graduate from you?” 

“Yes, I do, very much!” I answered. “But I still see them sometimes. I go to their football and basketball games, their gymnastics meets and their school plays. They come over at Christmas time for hot cocoa. I’ll still get to see you.” 

“Oh,” was all he said. 

At our next tutoring session, he bounced in the door with a big smile on his face! “My mom said I’m going to keep coming to tutoring! I need help with math now.” He was beaming ear to ear.  

I was so surprised! I knew he didn’t need help with math, I also knew it was difficult for his family to afford tutoring. I wasn’t sure just what to say. 

When Mom came in to pick him up, he happily ran out the door to climb the tree in the front yard. I somewhat tentatively said to Mom, “Troy told me he’s going to continue tutoring.”  

Mom winked, “Oh yes, he needs help with math. He’ll come only once a week. The truth is, Troy needs you. You’re his lifeline. You build his self-confidence. He needs you!” 

I didn’t know what to say—I hadn’t seen this coming. I felt honored and humbled, yet in some respects I felt somewhat frightened and concerned about this new role I was to fill in Troy’s life. 

I looked at her and smiled, “I don’t know what to say. I’m honored to continue tutoring Troy. I love him as one of my grandboys. Thank you!” But this left me wondering. I’m still tutoring him once a week for an hour. 

Then two and a half years ago, one of my 11th graders was completing Part 14 at the end of December. She kept stalling and stalling, not wanting to have our last lesson. She’d tell me, “I need help with an English paper. I need help with my algebra practice test. I want to do some more timed readings.” 

Finally, at the end of January I said, “Sweetie, you are reading at a college reading level now. When you started tutoring with me a year and a half ago, you were at a fifth-grade reading level. Look what you’ve accomplished in such a short time! You’re going to do beautifully for the rest of your high school career and in college! You’re awesome! I believe in you!” 

Then I realized that like Troy and my 10-year-old who hid in the bedroom, she was afraid of letting go of me and the support I meant to her.  I assured her, “You can call, text and/or visit anytime. I will always want to keep in touch, to hear about all the amazing things you’re doing. You’ve got this! I love you so much!”   

Finally, realizing she wouldn’t be losing me, she was able to let that day be her last tutoring day. We both had tears in our eyes and exchanged big hugs. She and her mom always call on my birthday and text on holidays. I send her birthday cards. She called a couple of months ago to discuss her college course selection that she’s considering for next year—her sophomore year! She’s majoring in neurology! 

I’m so proud of her! I love her dearly! 

Those three are not the only ones. 

I have 4 other high schoolers that text often, send pictures and call occasionally. Before COVID, I attended their sporting events and class plays and they dropped by at Christmas for chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa. 

Presently I have 4 kiddos that are tutoring with me one or two hours a week who have graduated from Part 14 but who are just not ready to end tutoring. They range in age from 9 to 14. I am tutoring them in advanced reading and spelling skills and helping with homework in language arts, math, science, and social studies.  

I have found myself quietly examining my new responsibility--one of continuing to support some of my students until they feel that not only are they excellent readers, writers, and spellers, but that they can trust themselves to confidently handle anything that comes their way. 

This responsibility can feel a little overwhelming but then maybe it’s the natural progression for them that I can’t rush any more than I could have rushed their learning phonemic awareness and phonics.  

When I feel it this way, I just relax and smile and LOVE that I get to continue to be a part of their lives as an educator and as a caring, loving person who will always know they will succeed.  

Now, I don’t have to let them go at the end of Part 14 - I get to watch them fly when they are ready to fly.

If you have any questions are Silent Elephant “e” or becoming a tutor, contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

A Stress toy - Who Knew Something So Simple Made So Much Difference

Something So Simple Made All the Difference 

I watched the peace and calm of my concluding tutoring session fly out the door as a new family happily bounced nosily in. They brought smiles to my face. I loved their joyful eagerness to begin tutoring!
 
After everyone introduced themselves, my departing family beamed saying, “See you next week!”
 
I welcomed “Amy”, her dad, her mom, and her older sister to have a seat in the office area of my home.
 
We settled down to get to know each other. I introduced my service dogs Sundance and Kona; they told me about their much-loved dog “Scooter”. We shared our favorite and least favorite colors, food, subjects in school, hobbies, and interests.
 
As we progressed through my “Get to Know You Session”, Amy and her mom became more and more restless. Amy repeatedly jumped up, ran all around my home, jumped on the couch, rocked powerfully on the rocking chairs, and rolled on the floor. She was obviously feeling tension about beginning tutoring. Her Mom kept jumping up trying to rein Amy in while smiling uncomfortably, giggling nervously, and making excuses for Amy’s behavior.
 
I knew immediately that Amy and her mom had ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

I’ve taught many such students during my classroom and tutoring teaching career. I was not concerned. I knew I could help Amy learn to read.
 
But to begin helping her, I needed to administer phonemic awareness and reading assessments. It definitely was a challenge to gently, positively and lovingly settle Amy in a chair and get her to focus long enough to complete the assessments.
 
We finished the phonemic awareness assessment during this first tutoring session and completed the other assessments during the second session.
 
She achieved 30% accuracy in her initial assessment in phonemic awareness and did not know most letter names and letter sounds. She was a nonreader.
 
No wonder she was feeling so much fear and tension about beginning tutoring--she knew she was a nonreader.
 
That was four years ago when Amy was in second grade and already 2 years behind in reading.
 
She had good reason to be frustrated and concerned about learning to read, as she hadn’t been able to so far.
 
Adding to Amy’s severe ADHD, she is also profoundly dyslexic. She has been on medication for the past 3 years for ADHD but she is still hyperactive during reading as her medication is wearing off by the time we have tutoring late in the evening.
 
Amy began to feel success almost immediately when we began tutoring together with Silent Elephant “e” thus helping her relax a little.  Even with all her learning challenges, she works very hard with a positive attitude. It only took her a year coming to tutoring twice a week to master phonemic awareness. And in 2 years she caught up and surpassed her grade level in word recognition and reading comprehension. She is so proud of herself.

I am still tutoring Amy, as her parents feel I provide her security and stability.

Presently she is 2 years ahead of her grade level in reading. Her word recognition is superb. Her reading expression is outstanding. She does struggle with sequencing and maturity of thought in comprehension. Thus, our tutoring sessions focus on these skills.
 

Here’s why I’m eager to share Amy with you: suddenly two months ago, her comprehension achieved a 180 degree turn around in an extremely positive direction!
 
Even though I tutor on Zoom, I could visually see a different young lady on the screen--a relaxed young lady ready to read. I could hear a calm voice (not the nervous, silly giggle I most often hear). As usual, she read the pages in the book beautifully.
 
Then I began to ask her questions about what she had just read, and this is where I became speechless. She always does beautifully answering simple recall questions: characters, setting, problems, and solutions. However, when we move to higher level questions: sequencing, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating, her weaknesses quickly become apparent. As I mentioned above, she struggles with sequencing and maturity.
 
But on this particular day two months ago, she sequenced the story she’d just read into thirteen steps using her own words in great detail in complete sentences! No detail was missed or out of order! I was shocked! Nothing even close to this had ever happened before!
 
When I began asking higher level questions requiring maturity of thought, a calm, confident Amy I’d never seen before self-assuredly answered every question! I couldn’t believe it!
 
I told her how proud I was of her explaining beautifully in great detail everything she’d just answered for me. Then I asked, “How do you feel? Are you proud of yourself? What’s different about you today?”
 
She said, “I feel good! The only thing I can think of that is different is that I have this fidget ball in my hand.” She held it up for me to see.
 
Could this small ball in her hand make such a difference?
“Tell me about it,” I implored.
 
“My mom got this and 3 other kinds of fidgets (not the spinning kind), stress relievers and neato sensory toys from a teacher supply store. My sister is using them too.
 
“When I squeeze the neato over and over again, I just feel so relaxed. I’m not so nervous. I can think better. What I’m reading makes sense! I feel happy!” She was beaming from ear to ear!
 
I could hardly believe this was the same little girl I’ve been teaching for 4 years! I was thrilled, but afraid to get too excited.
 
And here is why I’m eager to share with you: this wonderful transformation has continued throughout each tutoring session for the last 2 months.
 
After a month, I called her mom to share our wonderful experiences, Amy’s explanation for the change and to ask mom to share her thoughts.
 
Mom was thrilled to hear of the transformation. She said that Amy was using the stress relievers while doing her on-line school lessons now and when doing homework. The stress relievers were helping her sister too.
 
I am so pleased by Amy’s transformation and her newly found way to succeed. I believe Amy won’t need my tutoring services after this school year. She’s unquestionably a successful, advanced reader now. I couldn’t be happier.

I wanted to share Amy’s transformation with you because I want to try these stress relievers with 2 other children I tutor. It might just be what they need to help them relax and understand what they are reading.
 
As you read this, maybe you are thinking of some kiddos in your life that might benefit from fidgets (not the spinning ones), stress relievers and neato sensory toys.
 
If you have any questions or experiences you would like to share, contact us.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                               Nina Henson

Answering Your Questions

Home Educator - Your Questions Answered 

With the purchase of the Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” reading program and the purchase of my exceptional 9-hour personal training workshop, I will teach you how to be an outstanding parent educator. You will discover how children learning with at least 2 hours/week of instruction with Silent Elephant “e” rapidly become successful, proud, competent readers, writers and spellers.  

You will learn everything you need to know to be an excellent teacher for your children and you will learn how to set up your very own tutoring business in case you would like to help other children.  

You can relax knowing that the program you are using WILL meet the individual needs of ALL your kiddos.  

You can relax knowing you have the materials, instructions and support that will make it easy for you to teach with Silent Elephant “e” and possibly begin your own tutoring business. 

You can relax and join the rest of us in changing the lives of learners.

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. 

The Silent Elephant “e” workshop (click here for details) will set your home reading, writing and spelling program on solid footing.

Further, if you have been pondering ways to bring more stable income into your household and the thought of being your own “boss” sounds very interesting, with our Silent Elephant “e” workshop you will be certified as a Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” tutor and could start your own part-time business.  

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is a solid, researched based program with strong data that supports its effectiveness.  

I’m sure you are wondering how much you will invest to begin teaching with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 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 begin teaching your children, and possibly other children, with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” for a little more than $2217. You will not need to purchase any other phonemic awareness and phonics materials ever! Silent Elephant “e” is for pre-school to college age. :)

You can also get a group of friends to take the workshop together and share the $1000 cost. You’ll have FUN learning together! 

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.  

AND, MY FRIENDS, I HAVE TO END WITH THIS:

If YOU became a homeschool educator and/or tutor with Silent Elephant “e”, WE would be one step closer to fulfilling my dream:

ALL children become confident, successful readers, writers and spellers!

This is a very exciting thought!

If you are pondering questions that need answers about the workshop and/or the program, just contact either Nina or myself and we will happily help you make an informed decision about becoming a member of our Silent Elephant “e” community.  

Contact us even if you are just curious. 😊 You will not regret it. 

Linda Jones    208-859-4406    silentelephante@gmail.com

Nina Henson   208-860-3125     nhenson1@msn.com 

Nina and I look forward to hearing from you!

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones Nina Henson

A Workshop To Get Your Started on the Right Foot

Personalized Training to Get You Started on the Right Foot

Homeschool Educator 

As you know, Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is the program that teaches learners the way they love to learn. It is systematic, language-based, multi-sensory, and FUN! It’s fun for learners and teachers! It engages the whole learner and accelerates ALL children’s learning, even if they are dyslexic or have any other learning difference. Learning to read, write and spell with Silent Elephant “e” is a given.

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.  

The Silent Elephant “e” workshop will set your home reading, writing and spelling program on solid footing.

When you have Silent Elephant “e”, you have all of your step-by-step, thoroughly researched lesson plans at your fingertips and with the online 9-hour workshop you can relax and know you will truly be ready to enjoy teaching with Silent Elephant “e” as right before your eyes you watch your children having fun rapidly and easily learning what just a short time ago, they struggled with.

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

During our 9 hours together (click here for details), we will cover everything you need to begin teaching your children 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 your children 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 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 your children, and you will be certified to tutor hundreds of children and adults, if you wish. You could begin your own tutoring business from home! 

(Click here to see the 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 relive 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

Answering Your Questions

Answering Your Questions

Classroom Educator

With the purchase of the Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” reading program and the purchase of my exceptional 9-hour personal training workshop, I will teach you all of the “bells and whistles” of Silent Elephant “e”. You will discover how students learning with at least 2 hours/week of instruction with Silent Elephant “e” rapidly become successful, proud, competent readers, writers and spellers.  

You can relax knowing that the program you are using WILL meet the individual needs of ALL your students.  

You can relax knowing you have the materials, instructions and support that will make it easy for you to teach with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is a solid, researched based program with strong data that supports its effectiveness.  

I’m sure you are wondering how much you will invest to begin teaching with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. (This investment would be tax deductible for you.) 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 and 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 in boxes of a dozen in pink, green, blue, silver – You will need one star wand for each of your students.

·       1 cat toy mouse per student

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

·        Make a set of 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 – one set per student

·       Plastic zippered bags to store the 21 squares

·       Copy the 6 game boards from Part 1and laminate them – one set per student

·       Pocket folder per student

·       1-3 oz. paper cup per student

·       Box of 8 Crayola colored pencils per student

·       Box of 8 Crayola water markers per student

·       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 teaching in your classroom, or on-line, with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” for a little more than $2217. You will not need to purchase any other phonemic awareness and phonics materials ever! Silent Elephant “e” is for pre-school to college.

Here’s a bonus! You can get a group of friends who purchase the program to take the workshop together and share the $1000 cost. You’ll have FUN learning together!

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.  

AND, MY FRIENDS, I HAVE TO END WITH THIS:

If YOU teach with Silent Elephant “e”, WE will be one step closer to fulfilling my dream":

ALL children become confident, successful readers, writers and spellers!

This is a very exciting thought!

If you are pondering questions that need answers about the workshop and/or the program, just contact either Nina or myself and we will happily help you make an informed decision about becoming a member of our Silent Elephant “e” community.  

Contact us even if you are just curious. 😊 You will not regret it. 

Linda Jones    208-859-4406    silentelephante@gmail.com

Nina Henson   208-860-3125     nhenson1@msn.com 

Nina and I look forward to hearing from you!

Linda Katherine Smith-Jone Nina Henson

A Workshop to Get You Started on The Right Foot

A Personalized Training That Gets You Started on The Right Foot

Classroom Educator 

As you know, Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” is the program that teaches learners the way they love to learn. It is systematic, language-based, multi-sensory, and FUN! It’s fun for learners and teachers! It engages the whole learner and accelerates ALL children’s learning, even if they are dyslexic or have any other learning difference. Learning to read, write and spell with Silent Elephant “e” is a given.

With the goal of ensuring your children’s and students’ success in mind, we designed a comprehensive 9-hour online workshop (click here for details) so we can effectively instruct you on how to teach Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” in your classroom, or if you are virtual, right from the comfort of your own home.  

The Silent Elephant “e” workshop will set your reading, writing and spelling program on solid footing.

When you have Silent Elephant “e”, you have all of your step-by-step, thoroughly researched lesson plans at your fingertips and with the online 9-hour workshop you can relax and know you will truly be ready to enjoy teaching with Silent Elephant “e” as right before your eyes you watch every child in your classroom having fun rapidly and easily learning what they may have just a short time ago, struggled with.

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

During our 9 hours together (click here for details), we will cover everything you need to begin teaching students 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 with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”.

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 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 your students, and you will be certified to tutor hundreds of children and adults if you would like. You can begin your own part-time tutoring business from home! 

Click here for the 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 relive 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

Summer Loss Can Be a Real Thing

Summer Loss Can Be a Real Thing

How to make sure your children return to school in the fall

having advanced or remained steady in their skills not dropped in reading levels.

As educators, we need to ask ourselves what we can do to ensure all of our students advance their reading level during the summer. 

Summer usually presents unique opportunities for learning: traveling, camping, visiting relatives and friends, swimming lessons, educational camps, etc. 

Summer is also a time when we hopefully can slow down and catch our breath.  We relish quiet, peaceful times. We enjoy relaxing visits to grandma and grandpa’s house.  We delight in the time when we’re having fun baking, drawing, playing, and reading with our children at a much slower pace.  

We value and appreciate these gifts of summer so much so that it makes it difficult to pull ourselves and our children away to focus on their reading, writing and spelling skills. 

I know this. I’ve been in your shoes. 

I also know THIS:  

Struggling readers, writers and spellers especially must not experience a lapse in routine, review and practice over summer vacation. Their need for a predictable schedule that continues to reinforce and grow their skills cannot be overlooked.  

A daily routine of 30–180 minutes of reading aloud, reading silently, reading sight word cards, reviewing the previous school year’s worksheets and subject content is critical to prevent summer loss.  

I always end the school year by giving multiple suggestions and materials to parents to help maintain and advance their child’s skills over the summer. For further summer support, my summer emails share multiple fun and interesting ideas for engaging children’s language arts skills as summer progresses. I check in from time to time with parents to encourage them to continue striving towards their goal that their children will experience no summer loss. 

When tutoring begins in the fall, I ask my students’ parents about the reading, writing and spelling activities their child engaged in during the summer.  

I ask if their child read a book or books over the summer, reviewed their papers from last school year, practiced their sight word cards, and/or did other reading, writing and spelling activities such as writing plays and journaling their summer explorations.  

My students whose skills remained solid and my students who advanced a reading level practiced language arts skills plus they challenged themselves to read challenging books. Many parents actively participated in practicing their child’s reading, writing and spelling skills consistently with their children. Parents and children alike bubbled over with eagerness to share what they did over the summer. 

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

I am so pleased that this goal has come to fruition.  

Here’s another wonderful indicator of the power of learning reading, writing and spelling skills with Silent Elephant “e” - my students who have graduated from the program are flying with success in school.   

When they graduate from me, they are two to four grade levels ahead in reading! 

I know I don’t have to worry about summer loss with them, because they are doing so well in school and loving language arts so much that they read and write all of the time.  

I do know this, because I get lots of phone calls, letters and texts from my Silent Elephant “e” graduates and their parents. We miss each other so much after developing such a caring, rewarding bond that we need to keep in touch! 

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson

Silent Elephant “e” Will Help You Through the Summer and Beyond

Silent Elephant “e” Will Help You Through the Summer and Beyond 

How are you feeling about your kids as summer approaches? 

Do you have concerns about their reading, writing and spelling—

concerns about how ready they are for next fall? 

Do you want to spend productive learning time this summer that doesn’t cut into summer fun? 

Are you looking for summer school materials that insure thorough, complete, easy to follow directions that actually make learning to read, write and spell successful and fun? 

LET YOURSELF IMAGINE THAT YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

AND YOUR WORRIES ABOUT YOUR YOUNG ONES (OR TEENAGERS) HAVE DISAPPEARED! 

Imagine you have a program that is

easy for you,

successful for them,

doesn’t require hours a day,

is FUN,

and you can take it on the road!!

Imagine a program with a success record like this: Over the last eight year, on average, students:

Advanced 1 grade level for every 2 months of instruction

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

Advance 4.5 grade levels with 6 months of instruction

Mastered Part 1, Phonemic Awareness within 3 months

OF COURSE, that program is Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”!

Easy for you, successful for them, and FUN!

Here’s another important piece of data: Those wonderful results were accomplished in only 45-60 minutes of instruction periods TWICE A WEEK!

Just imagine the multiple grade level advancement children will achieve in a full week summer school program providing 60-minute instructional periods using Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. 

Now imagine they are feeling strong in their reading skills, proud of their knowledge and accomplishments and eager to take on the next school year. That is a GOOD feeling. 

OH YES, I get to share the data that makes my heart sing every time I share it: 

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. (Check out Testimonials - some of their stories are there.)

And now imagine that Silent Elephant “e” is not only

easy for you,

fun for them,

successful for everyone.

easily fits into your schedule, and

it’s easy to order!

Check out our store! 

Put a copy of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” in your hands! It will change things!

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Get a PLAN for Summer Activities and Do It

Get a PLAN for Summer Activities and DO It

A FUN summer (or anytime of the year) activity is practicing writing words in pudding. It’s a wonderfully fun way to begin educational summer activities and there are many different flavors of pudding which keeps it interesting.  

Sometimes when the warm weather arrives, it can bring a feeling of “It’s summer! The kids need a break from reading.” 

But here’s the truth!! 

Nothing could be further from the truth—especially for a dyslexic reader, a struggling reader, a child with learning differences, and really for every reader! 

It’s true that they’ll get a break from the “normal” routines of school,

but taking a break from practicing their reading, writing and spelling skills is not a good idea.  

In fact, it’s absolutely vital that you read to your children and have them read to you every day summer, winter, spring and fall.   

This is especially vital if they are dyslexic or struggling in any way.  

Taking a two to three month break in practicing their reading skills will cause them to lose ground on their skills they worked so hard to achieve.  

This sense of loss will cause their confidence to take a large dip when they return to reading, writing and spelling, because they will realize they no longer have the skills they worked hard to learn.  

This is a dip they do not need to take and one that can set them back further than the two to three months of summer break. 

What to do? 

Make a plan for reading, writing and spelling this summer!

·       Check out summer programs at the local library and bookstores.

·       Make a list of books you and they would like to read.

·       Make a list of subjects you and they are interested in exploring.

-Write a couple of sentences about why these subjects have caught your and their attention.

-Discuss why you and they are interested in learning more about these subjects.

·       Before you head off on vacation, explore where you will be going in books and on the Internet, and write plans for what you’d like to do when you arrive at your vacation destination. Exploring and planning practices their skills and sets up positive expectation of the fun they will have.

·       Review my blog post “10 Fun Spelling Activities” and get out the pudding! 

Make your main objectives –

KEEP THEM READING, WRITING AND SPELLING!!

KEEP THEIR SKILLS STRONG. 

If you have further questions about summer activities, feel free to contact us. We have MANY ideas waiting for you.

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

Fun Multi-sensory Whole Child Summer Activities

Fun Multi-sensory Whole Child Summer Activities

Our main objectives this summer –

KEEP THEM READING and KEEP THEIR SKILLS STRONG! 

What fun new books have your children discovered? Have they found a new book series with the same main characters? Are they identifying with those main characters?  

Please take a moment to drop me an email about your favorite new books and the fun summer programs or activities that have been meeting our objectives of keeping them reading and keeping their skills strong. Let’s share ideas and help each other. 

Here are a few more activities to keep children’s skills strong:

1.    Skits or plays use every one of their skills in reading, writing and spelling.

·       Write skits or plays together. As you are writing a skit or a play with them, discuss characters, character development and setting to help them create believable characters and action. Have them write out the script either by hand or on a computer.

·       Next do auditions for the parts, as this is ALWAYS fun. Film the tryouts, watch each other and have fun positively critiquing each other.

·       Together create scenery by researching the environment needed to make the scenery fit the play or the skit.

·       During practice, help them memorize their parts and make their portrayal believable.

·       Have them design invitations for the performance and send them out via hand-written cards, emails or texts.

·       Enjoy THE BIG EVENT—performing for family, friends and neighbors.

·       Lastly, review the performance with them by asking questions that encourage them to stretch their creativity.

2.    Review with your children topics they studied last year in science and social studies.

·       Explore each subject further to extend their learning using the Internet, books or magazines.

·       Write, draw, and/or paint about how this new information and knowledge has changed their thoughts or ideas about their previously studied subjects.

·       This expanded focus on subjects from last school year will keep their knowledge fresh and prepare them for the coming year.

3.    Explore locations that your children might want to visit and locations that are on your bucket list. 

·       Research these locations on the Internet and at your local library.

·       Together draw, paint, or build projects that portray these places in art form.

·       Write about what all of you learned in your exploration that either excites you even more to travel to these places or has you thinking about taking it off your bucket list.

·       Share your projects with other members of your family who might want to join you on an adventure.

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson 

More Fun Whole Child Summer Activities

More Fun Whole Child Summer Activities

Remember our main objectives –

KEEP THEM READING and KEEP THEIR SKILLS STRONG. 

Do you have any fun photos to share from your skits or plays?

What about photos from vacation adventures? 

I would love to see your photos and hear about your travels. 

I have traveled back to Idaho for the months of July and August.

Idaho’s dry climate is so different from Seattle’s that I always have to readjust to the weather. Thank goodness for air conditioning! 

I do get to do two of my favorite activities when I’m in Idaho – yard work and huckleberry picking. I’m hoping the huckleberry crop is a big one, as I’m eager to get in the mountains and very eager for huckleberry apple pie.   

Do you need a few more fun and engaging ideas? 😊 

1.    Study your own back yard—plants.

·       Explore the plants in your yard or in your neighborhood in books and on the Internet.

·       What do these plants need to thrive?

·       Write and draw a “How to Care For” booklet that includes all plants in your yard or in your neighborhood.

·       Explore YouTube for “how to” videos demonstrating how to make leaf prints, so children can include beautiful leaf prints in their “How to Care For” booklet.

2.    Study your own back yard—animals.

·       Write and draw a booklet exploring the animals that are native to your environment, wild and domestic.

·       Get a book about animal footprints and/or research them on the Internet.

·       Include drawings of footprints in their animal booklet.

3.    Review the previous year’s reading, writing and spelling skills.

·       If Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e” was their reading program last year, review the skills they learned and analyze with them how those skills made their summer explorations easier.

·       If they did not learn with Silent Elephant “e” last year, do the same reviewing and analysis with the skills they learned.

HAVE FUN WITH THESE NEW IDEAS!

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

Linda Katherine Smith-Jones                            Nina Henson