If you are looking for a real story about a Black parent who navigated dyslexia advocacy in a time when no one wanted to name the disability in US schools, listen to this episode. The esteemed guest, Winifred Winston, shares her empowering story and honest challenges she faced ensuring her child learned how to read. 

Winifred A. Winston is a dedicated community organizer and a powerful voice for parents of students with disabilities. She co-hosts the award-winning Black and Dyslexic Podcast with LeDerick Horne, authored the engaging Dyslexia Word Search Puzzle Book with her daughter, and founded Dyslexia Advocation, Inc. to help families access quality, affordable remediation for struggling readers. As a member of the Maryland State Department of Education's Blueprint Special Education Workgroup, she actively contributed to discussions to ensure that parent voices inform policy. 

Winifred shares actionable tips and clarifies so many misconceptions. Bottom line, parent education is a must.

Follow the Guest on all social media:

@soallcanread

@blackandyslexic on Instagram

Guest's Recommended Resources:

BLACK AND DYSLEXIC PODCAST

DYSLEXIA WORD SEARCH PUZZLE BOOK

The Dyslexia Alliance for Black Children - THE COMPLETE ROADMAP 

Black Literacy Matters FB Page  

Dr. Dyslexia Dude's 8 Week Word Analyst Course

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

Teach Your Child to Read with resources designed for families based on the science of reading research at School.ReadingGardenClub.com.

Parents invest in their children’s education through time, energy, money, and often a second language. Part two of “Bilingualism via Books” with my guest Miss Vale Quintero explores how we invest in learning more than one language within our families. Miss Vale is passionate about how to improve her children’s lives through multilingualism. She shares how to leverage technology to provide equity or igualdad in multilingual education. She is a bilingual homeschool mom and teacher from Colombia, South America that inspires families on social media to teach English to their children. She is actively teaching her child to read and write in English and Spanish.

Visit the Reading Garden Club School Store for free early reading resources, including a “Good Readers” or “Los buenos lectores” awards or certificates for children. They celebrate early readers in Spanish and English and can be used by families or educators.

Guest Information:

Instagram - @⁠⁠MissVale.Teacher⁠

TikTok - @⁠MissVale.Teacher⁠

Website - ⁠https://missvaleteacher.my.canva.site/⁠

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on social media:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

Teach your child to read using a new paperback coloring book available at Amazon ⁠⁠⁠Teach Your Child to Read: A Mommy + Me Coloring Book⁠⁠⁠ or download from the Reading Garden Club ⁠⁠⁠School Store⁠⁠⁠.

Many parents around the world already live in bilingual households, but many of us do not. For those parents working to teach their child a new language, what obstacles do we face? We discuss this and more in part one of “Bilingualism via Books” with the Bilingual Spanish-English Teacher, Miss Vale Quintero. Miss Vale lives and teaches in Colombia, South America. She is a bilingual homeschool mom and inspires others in her home country to try bilingual homeschooling. She is actively teaching her child to read and write in English and Spanish.

Download or view the “Good Readers/Los Buenos Lectores Reading Affirmations'' free PDF. This free tool will support anyone teaching their child to read in Spanish and English. The 4 accordion style books were created in collaboration between #DearReadingTeacher podcast and @MissVale.Teacher. They encourage good reading habits for early readers in Spanish and English. 

Guest Information:

Instagram - @⁠MissVale.Teacher

TikTok - @MissVale.Teacher

Website - https://missvaleteacher.my.canva.site/

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on social media:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

Teach your child to read using a new paperback coloring book available at Amazon ⁠⁠Teach Your Child to Read: A Mommy + Me Coloring Book⁠⁠ or download from the Reading Garden Club ⁠⁠School Store⁠⁠.

Listen to the last minute of this episode! Dr. Destiny Huff, a licensed mental health professional, researcher, and special education advocate, is the guest for the 15th episode. Using her personal experience, Dr. Huff explains what drove her to research bibliotherapy and how she uses it in her daily life as a Parent. Dr. Huff also illuminates how her research in bibliotherapy to benefit children can have ripple effects among the adults that support children.

Guest Information:

destinyhuffconsulting.com

Instagram - @destinyhuff_iep_advocate

Facebook - @DestinyHuffConsulting

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on social media:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

Get started teaching your child to read using the new ⁠Teach Your Child to Read: A Mommy + Me Coloring Book⁠ available at the Reading Garden Club ⁠School Store⁠.

This special episode of the #DearReadingTeacher Podcast was recorded via Instagram LIVE on May 12, 2024. I answer the question many Parents ask themselves - Can I teach my child to read? Yes, Parents can! In fact, I explain why, how, when, and where.

If you have any additional early reading questions - big or small - ask me via social media!

Follow @DearReadingTeacher on Instagram or Facebook.

Get started teaching your child to read using the new Teach Your Child to Read: A Mommy + Me Coloring Book available at the Reading Garden Club School Store.

Episode 13 is recorded for Parents confused by sight words and for Parents who know their child is not learning to read by memorizing a list of words. Their early reader is guessing and/or staring. I start with a personal story in this episode, my lived experiences with sight words as an educator and parent. Then, I wrote a letter to the American kindergarten teacher (or any educator that is pushing sight words over decoding/sounding out) linked below. I hope this letter will push families and early childhood educators to find ways to immediately help our early readers stop guessing. Sight words should be the outcome of effective reading instruction, not the focus of the process.

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on Facebook/Instagram:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

https://school.readinggardenclub.com/

Do you have an early reading/struggling reader story to tell? Are you a homeschool Parent or reading educator?

Contribute as a guest - https://tinyurl.com/readingteacherpodcast/

The amazing podcast host of Explore Black History, Dr. Shannon Stanton Agbotse, joins me in what is my favorite #DearReadingTeacher episode so far. Dr. Shannon helps us explore the history of literacy practices in Black America. This conversation is a powerful testament to how important it is for Black Americans to do our scholarship and research as we reshape literacy practices for our children today. Dr. Shannon shares how her journey as an educator has led her to create intentional spaces of learning for Black children that are transformative and empowering. 

Guest Information:

www.exploreblackhistory.com

Instagram - @ExploreBlackHistory

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on Facebook/Instagram:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

https://school.readinggardenclub.com/

Do you have an early reading/struggling reader story to tell? Are you a homeschool Parent or reading educator? Contribute as a guest - https://tinyurl.com/readingteacherpodcast/

Remember the ‘shhhhhh’ rule from the library? Thankfully many strict library rules are gone, but families face new challenges raising readers at the library. In the first episode of Season 2, I discuss the competition between screens and library use with another Parent and a children’s author, Meredith Johnson. As library lovers we are already biased to enjoy the library and we want to raise our children to enjoy this community space. So, how did we maximize the library for our families?

Guest Information:

www.meredith-johnson.com

Facebook - @Meredith Johnson - Author

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on Facebook/Instagram:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

https://school.readinggardenclub.com/

Do you have an early reading/struggling reader story to tell? Are you a homeschool Parent or reading educator? Contribute as a guest - https://tinyurl.com/readingteacherpodcast/

The magical and special book gardens in Sheboygan, Wisconsin that has inspired thousands of families is called Bookworm Gardens. The guest in this is Bookworm Garden’s Director of Education and Community Programming, Cate Tinker. Cate shares how this beautiful garden has led a local community and so many families to get outside + read. In our chat as teacher moms, we discuss reading outside, community building, and our childhood love for books that we share with our children. I am so happy to end this first season on such a positive note!

More Research:

Book Deserts - https://www.unitebooks.com/book-deserts/the-book-desert-map

Guest Information:

Instagram/Twitter - @bookworm_gardens

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/BWGbookwormgardens/

Website - bookwormgardens.org

Follow #DearReadingTeacher & Reading Garden Club on Social Media:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

https://school.readinggardenclub.com/

Do you have an early reading/struggling reader story to tell? Are you a homeschool Parent or reading educator? Contribute as a guest - https://tinyurl.com/readingteacherpodcast/

In this conversation, Dr. JaNay Brown-Wood, a Children’s Author and Educator, shares her approach to reading instruction at home and the value of ‘‘bathing your child in language.” Dr. Brown-Wood and I discuss ways to intentionally promote literacy as parents and diversity in children’s books. Dr. Brown-Wood highlights her upcoming books and projects, including a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood called Mahogany that releases in 2024.

Recommended Resource for Parents:

Imagination Library - https://imaginationlibrary.com/

Guest Information:

Instagram/Twitter - @janaybrownwood

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/janaybrownwood/

Website - www.janaybrownwood.com

Follow #DearReadingTeacher on Social Media:

Instagram - @DearReadingTeacher

Facebook - @ReadingGardenClub

https://school.readinggardenclub.com/

Do you have an early reading/struggling reader story to tell? Are you a homeschool Parent or reading educator? Contribute as a guest - https://tinyurl.com/readingteacherpodcast/