One of our golden rules for success is praise, praise, and praise again.

Most of the children we work with have a history of reading difficulties. Stress has built up over months and years and they are often at rock bottom confidence when we start to work with them. And because stress can actually block learning, it’s key to disable the stress response before it begins.

So your job, as an Easyread facilitator, is to lay on the encouragement and praise so that every lesson is a breath of fresh air. The child should feel supported, with every success celebrated.

Don’t forget to keep criticisms free of negative emotions. So instead of a harsh “no”, or “come on, we just read that!”, transition to phrases like “almost! that was really close!” or “oops, not quite… can you give that another go?”

It seems simple, but it is really magical how much praising your child will transform each lesson experience… and eventually their reading as a whole.