Elyssa - Literacy
"My husband and I are so impressed with the summer programs that Loyola’s Speech and Language Department offer local children. They’re invaluable to the kids for building a positive relationship with reading and teaching them how to love literature.
Our daughter participated in the Reading Readiness program in person last year and is attending the on-line version this summer. Last summer, weekly themes and carnival style games disguised crucial reading readiness skills as a summer party. This year, the clinicians are juggling the content and rigor of pre-reading skills and the challenge of working in a virtual forum. Based on our experience last year we had no doubts about enrolling again for this summer even though we were entering the uncharted waters of the COVID-19 lifestyle. We know there is a mammoth learning curve for the transition from live to virtual, but from our perspective, it has been seamless—we are truly impressed.
Our son is participating in the new Reading Comprehension and Writing Program. The clinicians have been able to ignite a spark and light up text for him. They have a knack for teaching kids to step into a story and become a part of it. During one session, our son ran to grab the measuring tape to imagine how long one fictitious snake would actually have been. He was jumping in excitement and disbelief to discover it would have been ‘almost two rooms long!’ This is just the type of enthusiasm that breeds reading comprehension.
Parents are always looking for skills and strategies that help our kids shine—Thank you!"