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Guest Post by Karen Autio

1/28/2016

Imagine you cannot read this sentence.

All you see is a row of jumbled symbols.

Yet everyone around you CAN read. Imagine the frustration, the embarrassment. There are many reasons why people struggle to learn to read.

I know someone who is passionate about helping struggling readers. I have the privilege of editing Michelle Kapelle's LETTERS© educational materials, to see firsthand the thoughtful design of the structured teaching that is presented in an interesting, fun format suitable for any age. Her curriculum and hands-on discovery kits are working, transforming struggling individuals into eager learners.

But Michelle and LETTERS© need help to take the next step.
Please join me in giving what you can to ensure she and LETTERS© can move forward in developing their unique educational resources.

Thank you so much!
Karen Autio

LETTERS© GoFundMe Campaign

Karen Autio

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Thank You for the New LETTERS Products!

1/27/2016

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Julian & Jessica of Creative Trophies & Gifts
have been hard at work manufacturing LETTERS© products.
We are so thankful for their time and talents!

Featured: wooden letters from LETTERS© Uppercase and Lowercase Puzzle Boards, LETTERS© The Printing House Animals, and LETTERS© Dry-Erase Sheet Protector manufactured by Creative Trophies & Gifts in Kelowna;
LETTERS© The Printing House Journal Booklet printed at UBR Printing Services;
LETTERS© The Printing House Animals were hand-drawn using a Wacom tablet by illustrator Emily Duncan.

Creative Trophies & Gifts

Ursula at UBR Printing Services
has done excellent work on LETTERS© printing projects.

Featured: a look-inside LETTERS© The Printing House Journal Booklet and the closed-cover LETTERS© The Printing House Practise Booklet printed by UBR Printing Services in Lake Country;
wooden letters from LETTERS© Uppercase and Lowercase Puzzle Boards, LETTERS© The Printing House Animals, and LETTERS© Dry-Erase Sheet Protector manufactured by Creative Trophies & Gifts.

UBR Printing Services

Check out the samples below to discover how LETTERS© uses these
and other resources in lessons with students:

 Discover. Educate. Inspire.

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How do we make changes to this broken system?

1/25/2016

1 Comment

I never thought developing curriculum would result in my feeling such strong emotions. Through connecting with parents, both in person and online, my heart breaks for the needs of those who are struggling, stressed, and overwhelmed.

I know LETTERS© can help. I am confident in the talents and skills gifted to me as an educator. The lessons I have been developing are working; LETTERS students are evidence of that.

I also know when a team of us join together we can make the impossible, possible. We can turn education upside-down. We can nurture students to become resourceful and successful.

We can help those who long to read with fluency. Those struggling readers who have only dreamed of being able to effortlessly surf through a sea of pages, to reach the end of a story like a sailor who reaches shore after being lost in the waves.

I dream of a day when there are not a thousand blog posts commented on by dozens of parents all suffering for their dyslexic, struggling children. The numbers are too many. The emotional cost is too high for everyone involved.

When reading these blogs, a surge of memories returns as I recall the heavy burden I first felt when Matthew and Stephanie were assessed with severe learning disabilities. At the ages of twelve (12) and ten (10), both were already lost in a sea of frustration, poor self-esteem, and the dreaded realization that they were different from their peers.

My heart ached and my eyes overflowed when I looked into their faces and heard their anguish. “Why was I created like this?” “Why can’t I be like my friends who can read?”

Every day blog posts and articles are written addressing the exact same feelings from parents and children. Those who are living in these circumstances understand the isolation and feeling of abandonment that consume our thoughts and make breathing difficult under the heaviness of the load.

We as community could pool our strengths and talents to throw these dear ones a life-line before the strain of their illiteracy takes them to the depths of despair.

Every day a struggling child is on the verge of slipping beneath the waves to be lost in the system that is seemingly not equipped to help them.

Too frequently I read the story of parents out of desperation pulling their child from school; who are now faced with the overwhelming assignment of leading their own child through lessons and life skills. The parents who now face the burden of finding and paying for a qualified tutor, finding quality curriculum and resources that address their child’s individual needs, and renegotiating time and talent to provide what the system cannot.

I heard about the teacher in their class of twenty-eight (28) has fifteen (15) struggling readers in their charge. That same teacher is suddenly held accountable to find seven-and-a-half (7.5) extra hours per week in an already full schedule so each struggling student receives thirty (30) minutes of individual reading assistance per week.

It is mind-boggling. The burden being placed on parents and educators is criminal. But it happens. Each and every day. The system isn’t capable of sustaining all of its students and the parents refuse to sit on the shore and watch their child drown. So we as parents and educators lay aside concern and feelings of inadequacy to muster courage to navigate the unchartered waters. We’re called to be the captain of individuals desperately seeking guidance—the children who risk being lost to the sea of illiteracy when intervention doesn’t surface.

How do we make changes to this broken system? How do we support parents and educators so they are better able to teach the ones they have been assigned? How do we team up to support and advocate for those children who are ready to give up learning as young as age seven (7)?

We should begin with proactive measures by giving early assessments to all children whether or not learning challenges have surfaced. Curriculum and resources should be implemented in preschools and kindergarten which would establish foundational concepts to be linked together like a chain as skills develop.
Struggling students should be supported and encouraged so the waters of anxiety and ridicule are calmed. The students’ desire to learn would be restored through the use of educational materials suited to their individual learning styles.
Educators and parents would be trained to understand their role in manning the life boat and be ready to assist in case rough waters are encountered. Before long, each student would be confident enough to become captain of their own education and well prepared to take initiatives toward career and successful adult life.

Together we can provide the lifeline that guides struggling learners and their families into calmer waters. We can provide them with the tools and techniques to navigate lessons and gain independence so they in turn can assist others to shore. Then developing curriculum would be filled with joy! It would be so delightful to let the students lead and tell us what they’d like to learn. The students would no longer succumb to the storm but would instead navigate the waters of discovery. The culture of education would be innovative and successful prosperous.

We can rescue these struggling learners—but something has to be done now. Will you join with me before the system entirely capsizes leaving broken lives and a broken society in its wake?

Click the button below to find out how you can be part of the change:

LETTERS GoFundMe Campaign

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Author

I am Michelle Kapelle. I have been an educator for over 29 years.

I have learned a lot through my experiences in tutoring, parenting, and observing; I look forward to sharing what I have learned with the hope that you will find helpful information and encouragement within these posts.

You are welcome here!

Guest Post by Karen Autio﻿

Thank You for the New LETTERS Products!

﻿How do we make changes to this broken system?

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Guest Post by Karen Autio

How do we make changes to this broken system?