EARLY LITERACY

This class is being offered as a part of our Discovery Days Program for Preschool Students!

This class is for 3 to 5 year olds that are ready to learn letter sounds, print tracking, and a few sight words, using clues in pictures to understand what the text says. We will have fun exploring the ways letters are formed and shaped with full body games and practice fine and gross motor skills like jumping out sight words and practice crossing the midline in ways to make letter sounds STICK! Sometimes this class is messy! 

Beth Gaskill has worked in Chicago for six years as a Reading Specialist.

"I have always been interested in the different ways in which children learn, which led me to study Psychology and Elementary Education. I became interested in reading as I finished my degrees and went on to study the Responsive Classroom and the Orton Gillingham Method, at the Institute for Multisensory Education. Orton Gillingham is a method that utilizes the three learning pathways in which children learn- visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.

I believe that all children learn to read in unique ways, and when students aren't grasping a concept, it's my job as an educator to find out the best way for them to learn. I needed to create a program that was not about one aspect of each child, but the whole child. Not just one of the approaches or methods, but parts of all of them!

My dream is for every child to have confidence in reading, and that comes from learning to support one another socially and emotionally as well as academically.  In every class we are reminded we are a team, and if one of us is stuck on something, we wait and praise and encourage our friends for trying. This small act of sharing and reminding is building new pathways for academic success in students' minds. It's beautiful to watch their confidence shift as they build problem solving abilities both academically and socially."

Launch into literacy, geared towards school aged students, (four and five year olds) builds early literacy skills with friends in a small group. Working with a certified Learning Specialist, students will build foundational skills (listening, rhyming, letter names and sounds, comprehension and more!) and confidence in a structured, cooperative learning environment. We’ll use multi-sensory strategies, brain based games and interactive materials that stimulate whole brain learning. Students will together to review and learn letters, sounds, story elements, and sight words. The goal is to build a lifelong love of reading in a fun, nurturing, hands on class.

About Heather Sommers + Focus Forward Learning LLC

Focus Forward Learning LLC is owned and operated by Heather Sommers, a certified educator with 17 years of professional experience. We provide multi-sensory learning for students from pre-kindergarten to fourth grade in our private facility in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. Stocked with multi-sensory materials, grade appropriate curriculum and with the space for movement based activities, we are able to meet the individual needs of students using hands-on tools to accommodate diverse learning styles. We develop cross-curricular strategies and use brain based games to support foundational reading, writing and math skills.

Focus Forward uses evidence-based programs and hands-on strategies to improve learning outcomes and foster students’ confidence. Our deep knowledge of grade level curriculum and connections with local specialists allows for true partnerships between student, family, school and community.

Heather’s professional experience includes establishing and leading a learning support program at a prestigious Chicago private school, as well as time teaching within the public school system in San Francisco, Montessori schools and consulting with parochial and private schools in Chicago. She is experienced in creating and implementing learning plans for diverse learners.