Now Liz reads for pleasure at night, is reading at grade level, and is gaining in fluency and speed every day

My daughter, Liz, is 9, homeschooled, and in 4th grade.

She got off to a much slower reading start than her brother, but I figured it was just her style. Then in 2nd grade, when her reading was not improving, she worked out every trick imaginable to keep from reading out loud to me, and any reading was becoming torture for both of us.

Her older brother had loved playing the phonics game, and he picked it up amazingly fast. For Liz, it was like a cruel punishment.

I didn’t know what was going on, but the only reading disorder I knew the name of was dyslexia. So I did an internet search. I was amazed how other parents were exactly describing my daughter.

Now that I had a diagnosis, I needed a solution. More internet searches. I came across the Barton System, watched their video, and decided to give it a try.

We are currently in Level 6. Her reading has improved so much it is amazing. Today she was asked to read out loud at church. She hesitated for only a second before she agreed to read a passage, unrehearsed, in front of 30+ people. The only word that tripped her up was “idolatry” – not a word she comes across too often in her 4th grade readers. I was so proud I was bursting.

Before Barton, Liz had wanted to read at church like her older brother, but when we tried to practice even the simplest reading, she would skip words, read them wrong, and quickly get embarrassed.

Now Liz reads for pleasure at night, is reading at grade level, and is gaining in fluency and speed every day.

Thank you for giving my daughter the gift of reading.