Hi, I’m Sherry! I love to blog about my favorite strategies for helping children learn, insights I have about home and school life, and self-care for us parents (because it’s impossible to take care of our kiddos when our own cup is empty).
In my professional life, I’ve worked as a resource teacher for more than 15 years. A lot of this time has been dedicated to helping individuals learn to read. In this position, one of the questions I was asked repeatedly by parents is, “Why is my child reading below grade level?”
To be honest, I sat in way too many meetings staring blankly at parents, not knowing what to say. It was heartbreaking!
I knew that a struggle with reading rarely meant a lack of intelligence. In fact, the vast majority of students I’ve worked with were highly intelligent, yet struggled with reading. Sadly, some were even placed in specialized classrooms simply based on their reading level alone. Yet they clearly didn’t belong there.
I became determined to do something about this! Not understanding what was at the root of reading difficulties was not acceptable to me. I had been trained in numerous reading programs over the years, yet none of them worked on their own for each and every student I taught that struggled with reading. I also trained in alternative methods, most of which I funded myself for to the tune of thousands and thousands of dollars.
The more I learned, the more fascinated I became! To add to this, a couple of my own children struggled a bit with reading for awhile. What eventually worked for those two were alternative methods… each of them required something different, yet neither of them required anything complicated! We were able to quickly rectify their struggles with reading once I understood what was at the root of their individual struggles.
This fascinated me even more! I became determined to put resources together to help other parents avoid long-term reading struggles with their child.
As a parent of 4 children, I have a strong sense of appreciation that, even within families, each child has unique learning strengths… strengths that need to be honored and valued!
I’m passionate about enhancing the lives of individuals by helping them to believe in themselves. Overcoming a struggle in life has numerous benefits. For example, overcoming a struggle with reading not only increases literacy skills, it also provides an increased sense of belonging and self-confidence!
I recently took a step back from teaching in the traditional school setting with the goal of focusing more on my family, health, and helping others.
I love being a more present person and parent. I’m also loving the fact that the time freed up from teaching in the school setting has allowed for me to blog here as well as put together a website, yliteracy.com, filled with valuable resources for parents looking to help their struggling young reader break through their reading barrier. I’m hoping that I’m able to support even more children and parents now than I ever could before.
My dream is to live in a world where everyone feels a sense of belonging and everyone learns to read using a method that works for them. Reading truly opens up a whole new world!
10 Quirky, Random Facts About Me!
1. Nearly every conversation or situation I’m in reminds me of either a song or a Seinfeld episode. The only ones fortunate enough to hear me break out in these songs are my hubby and children… although I’m not sure THEY would describe it as being fortunate! 😉
2. I make mistakes… never on purpose, but they definitely happen! I believe it is important to learn how to laugh at ourselves. I am still working on the latter part, but am getting better at it!
3. I have a blind dog named Sally… like totally blind! She has this sixth sense of when I sit down in “her” chair, my favorite chair. I’ve done experiments… within seconds of me sitting down, she somehow finds her way to me. So, when I sit in the chair, you can almost guarantee that my trusty dog is right there with me!
4. I love to cook, but hate to clean! Maybe I’m the only one?!? I sure do love the satisfaction I get, however, when the environment I live in is clear of excess clutter.
5. I am blessed to be the mother of 4 children who I’ve learned more from than I believe they will ever learn from me!
6. I grew up totally country… where we dished out directly from the pots and pans, something I proudly let my kids do when I cook as well! In fact, my hubby had to teach me which forks to use first when eating in restaurants and to put my serviette on my lap while eating, haha!
7. Besides our dog, Sally, we have a hedgehog and 2 fish. If it were up to my youngest, we would also have a horse, goat, and cow in our backyard as well as 5 cats and 3 rabbits in our house!
8. I spend a lot of my “free” time taking my kids to practices or watching their games. #parentlife
9. Two of my kids are easy to help out with homework … the other 2 not so much! I am grateful for this as it has really helped me realize that doing homework is often NOT conducive to relationship building with our kids. I also appreciate that doing homework is quick for some, but tedious for others.
10. I grew up in Saskatchewan, Canada where I learned that a “hoody is a “bunnyhug,” “hitting the ditch” is “hitting the rhubarb” and “chocolate milk” is “Vico!” I was so excited to go back for a visit awhile ago and be offered a Vico at one of the restaurants. I just had to order it! My daughter had no idea what I had ordered for her until it was served, haha! I was geekily excited about seeing “Vico” on my receipt as well!