Sherri,

I’d like to thank you for Kaitlyn’s amazing reading progress. I have seen a complete turn around in her attitude toward reading and I can never express what that means to me as well as to her. In five weeks I have witnessed more progress than her entire first grade session.

When I first met with you Kaitlyn was at the point where she would either complain, whine or refuse when asked to read. She was so frustrated that usually all three would happen. When she would ask me what a label said or a book title was I would reply by asking her to try to read it to me. We would struggle daily with anything other than basic words or books with single sentence pages. She struggled with words that she knew and that should have been familiar. She was overwhelmed with all the words that she didn’t know. Finally she closed up and quit trying. I had to coax every word from her; it was heartbreaking.

I asked her first grade teacher if she would benefit from some phonics set or any reading programs. She informed me that Kaitlyn was reading at a passable level and I should not worry about it. I thought Kaitlyn was being shortchanged, or at the very least the problem overlooked. I sincerely feel that if you can’t read or just won’t for some reason that you just will not do as well in life. I read in the local paper about the Reading Window program and thought that it couldn’t hurt to try. I told kaitlyn’s teacher and she appeared offended that I thought she needed help and had signed her up. She implied that she didn’t think it would be of any use and Kaitlyn was passing after all.

All doubts I may have had disappeared the day Kaitlyn and I met with you to explain the program to us. You gave me a few tips that day on reading with her, namely telling her the unknown word immediately. we were at home the next day and when I tried doing that instead of the recommended sound-it-out method she looked up and said “Why are you telling me the word?” this has made the world of difference in her attitude. Instead of seeing a page full of words she doesn’t know she realizes that she actually can get through a paragraph and still remember what it says. The stories flow for her instead of syllables dragging out until she wants to cry. Kaitlyn is a wonderful reader and it was just shut up in there with doubt, fear of being wrong, and disappointment with herself.

While in this program she has embraced so many elements of reading that she didn’t know before. To hear her read with such expression and see that she clearly understands what she reads is not only amazing to me but has affected her older sister as well. Mariah is entering the fourth grade and is a straight-A student. She realized that her expressions and renunciations were not as defined as her seven year old sister so now she is asking what every punctuation means and how to say certain phrases. Her comprehension has increased as a result. She wishes she could take the class! I received a two-for-one benefit!

Thank you for investing so much time and individualized attention in my child. Your program has given her a new outlook towards and joy in reading. She will always remember her teachers “Miss Sherri and Miss Breanna!” I will recommend this program without hesitation to anyone I meet with any concerns over their child’s reading. And I will also pass along the tips I’ve learned about reading!

Kaitlyn looks forward to the second grade and reading in class thanks to your program. This is priceless and the effects will last a lifetime. Thank you again.

Sincerely,

Teresa [Meme] H.

P.S.
1st grade and at the end of the 6 weeks she was reading passages out of Harry Potter!