We wanted to drop a quick update on Joshua’s progress. It’s been about 1 year since Josh finished the Easy Read program and about 18 months since he started it.
It’s so hard to believe that it’s only been 1 year. In fact, you might want to fact check me on that, because it seems crazy what he’s been able to do in the past year.
He just finished reading Harry Potter (Book 1) 100% by himself. He loved the book so much and we’ve been able to have deep discussions about the themes of humility and good versus evil in the book.
He’s in 5th grade now. At the end of 4th grade, he passed the standardized STAR test. This is something his teachers and principal didn’t think he’d be able to do at all while in elementary school.
He’s reading on grade level in most subjects he’s 100% in with the general ed students. The school still allows some help in math and science while he catches up. The teacher he has this year is considered the hardest one and he has actually made straight A’s so far. This is just incredible. We asked her if she’s taking it easy on him because she knows he’s struggled and she insists that she is not. Just unbelievable. (Note: they are still allowing him a little more time to complete some assignments).
In the first 9 week school session, the teacher assigned 5 different books from 5 different reading genres. This would have been a challenge for me, even now. Josh completed the assignment like a champ.
Here are some of the books he’s read. Note: At first, I did help him by reading some of the books to him and deeply discussing the books (which we love to do together), but now he insists on reading on his own).
Most or all of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series
George’s Marvelous Medicine (Roald Dahl – fiction)
The Story Of Money
Who Was Jackie Robinson
Goose Bumps – Night of the Living Dead
Baseball Superstars
White Fang (really loved this one)
Holes (fiction) (loved it)
The Time Hackers (sci fiction)
Old Yeller (historical fiction) (amazing story – great moral)
Crispin (historical fiction – medievil) (loved it)
Harry Potter (fantasy) (loved it)
Knots in My Yo Yo (auto biography) (still reading this – great so far)
It’s easy to take for granted where he is and to forget the struggles and path he was on before we found Easy Read.
You should know and feel good about the value you bring to the world in the important work you do. Thanks so much to David Morgan for having the strength and fortitude to develop this system and deliver it to the market place. You deserve to be rewarded. Also, thanks to Maddie, Sara, and Sarah who helped to administer the program. It’s difficult to put into words what you’ve done for Josh and our family.
By the way, I’ve enjoyed seeing some of ya’lls Youtube videos explaining the program. I recently posted this comment here:
David Morgan’s Easy Easy System is amazing and it absolutely felt like a miracle for our son. We were at our wits end and had tried so many things. At the end of 3rd grade, our son was reading at a beginning 1st grade level. He is now reading at grade level in 5th grade. Thanks David and your team for all you did for us. We appreciate all of your hard work every time J finishes a book or when we get to have meaningful discussions about the themes of books.