Let’s be honest:
Summer reading can feel like a battlefield for some families.

If your second grader is avoiding books like they’re broccoli, you’re not alone—and you’re not doing anything wrong.

But here’s the good news:
With just a few simple tweaks, you can turn “Ugh, do I have to?” into “Wait, can we keep reading?”

Below are 3 unexpected tricks that actually work—especially for second graders who are on the edge of building reading confidence and comprehension.

We dive into a listener question: “How do I talk to my child’s veteran kindergarten teacher about them saying to memorize sight words? I don’t want to be rude.”

Wondering about what is going on with reading in America? I’m here to break the literacy crisis down for you.

What’s the Reading Crisis in America?

If you've been around here for a while, you know I like to keep things light and easy to understand.

But today, we're touching on something a bit different. It's tough, but really important. So, while I'll do my best to keep things clear and approachable, let's brace ourselves for a deeper dive than usual.

Wondering about what is going on with reading in America? I’m here to break the literacy crisis down for you.