Lisa Toleno homeschools her two sons through Heritage Christian School using the Charlotte Mason method. Last spring she started researching how to help her second-grade son who was struggling with dyslexia. By God’s grace, she discovered a community of teachers and homeschooling parents called the Science of Reading, also known as Structured Literacy. She has spent the last year reading and listening to experts, applying what she’s learned at home, and encouraging other homeschooling moms coming alongside their struggling readers.
Lisa has served HCS as the Lake Murray Park Day coordinator, a mentor, and a teacher of various elementary classes using the Charlotte Mason method at EC class day. She serves the greater homeschooling community, hosting a local Charlotte Mason reading group and moderating three Charlotte Mason Facebook groups.
Lisa is also a captain in the United States Navy Reserve. She flew S-3B Vikings for eight years on active duty and has spent the last 17 years as a military operations planner.
One of the great myths about children learning to read is that it will just naturally click by the time they are 10. That is a disservice to our children. There’s no guarantee that will happen and, in actuality, we should care and identify the gap that should be filled. Even though most of us use great phonics programs, often there is a gap in phonemic awareness. In fact, dyslexia is an auditory and not a visual learning disability. While only 5% to 15% of Americans are dyslexic, 60% of all people need systematic, explicit instruction in reading (i.e. structured literacy).
If your child isn't learning to read as easily as you expected and things just aren't clicking, come hear what Lisa has been learning this past year to help her dyslexic son fill his phonemic awareness gaps and her older son increase his reading comprehension. Let’s equip our kids for reading success!
