“Two summers ago, my son attended a reading program at a university. I was so nervous before the program started. I couldn’t wrap my head around sending my child, who was completely done with school, to another three weeks of school. I was afraid that every day would be a fight to get him there, that he wouldn’t fit in, and that we wouldn’t see any progress. I was afraid that we were going to sacrifice three weeks of our summer vacation, only to continue the struggle with reading. I couldn’t have been more wrong about this.
He loved the program, and I had no problem getting him up early every day to go. With this program, he had fun learning, felt supported in the small group activities, loved the food, and enjoyed the three weeks more than I ever could have imagined. Fast forward two years, and his grade 5 teacher (who also was his grade 2 teacher, so she knew his struggles) sent me an email at the end of the year to tell me that he not only was meeting grade level reading expectations but is above grade level reading expectations. I cried big proud happy tears. I know that he would not be achieving the same academic successes today without the help of the reading program. I will be forever thankful for this program and the confidence it has given my son.
Over the past few years, he has worked through several book series. He reads a lot of joke books, gaming books, and riddle books, and also enjoys his grandpa’s comic collections. He loves information and sifts through his dad’s old “How Things Work” book, asking questions about the interesting things he is reading. Just this year, he picked up his first full-length novel and read a story about a rover. He couldn’t put it down. I often find him reading to himself before bed, and sometimes far past his bedtime. Two years ago, I never would have imagined him here.”