Ep #83: From Teacher to Entrepreneur: How to Launch a Thriving Reading Coaching Biz

What if you could start a successful business from home teaching kids how to read? My guests today have done exactly that, and they’re here to tell you their stories today. Both of my guests today, Valerie and Amanda have become certified Elite Reading Coaches through the Elite Reading Coach Academy and have started businesses at their home, teaching children to read. This program is for parents and teachers and retiring teachers that want to be able to help support their families and still bring in income, but also change the world.

Recent data has shown that 67% of fourth graders have fallen behind in reading in the United States. That is an unfathomable number. And these women are on the frontline making a difference. Come be inspired by their stories, hear how they started, some of the bumps they’ve had along the way and the difference they are making. And find out how to become an Elite Reading Coach yourself, if that’s something that would be beneficial to your family. It’s all coming up right after this.

Welcome to the Raising Healthy Kid Brains podcast where moms and teachers come to learn all about kids’ brains, how they work, how they learn, how they grow and simple tips and tricks for raising the most resilient, kind, smart, compassionate kids we can. All while having lots of grace and compassion for ourselves because you know what? We all really need and deserve that too. I am your host, Amy Nielson. Let’s get ready to start the show.

This first reading coach that you’re going to meet is Amanda. She’s been a kindergarten teacher and taught other grades for the past 10 years. And then was trying to figure out a way to balance all of the things she has going on, four kids at home, her church responsibilities, with being able to help support her family and make a difference in the world. She’ll tell you how she thought that was going to be teaching kindergarten and then had a big surprise coming. And how reading coaching is something she kind of always wanted to do but didn’t quite know how to get started and how that changed. Here’s Amanda.

Amy: Hey. So, tell me a little bit about what was going on before this. Tell me a little bit about what you were doing before you signed up for the Elite Reading Coach program.

Amanda: I am a kindergarten teacher, now I’m kindergarten this year. I was actually new to kindergarten. And I’m coming from a background, this is year, I think, 15 in teaching, but I’ve been all over the place from elementary. I did a few years in first grade, then moved to fifth grade and then I took some time off, a year home. And ended up coming back in teaching second grade at another school and then that’s the majority of my experience is in second grade. I did ESOL for a little bit for about three years and in between all that, did a little stint in EIP.

And then I was going to take a year off when my fourth child was born and my principal made a position for me. She made me reading teacher or something but actually more like our school’s testing coordinator. So, I [inaudible] around to a bunch of different positions and had taken a year off. And last year, I went back in for kindergarten, wanting to get low, honestly, trying to find life balance between the struggle that teaching is with balancing life. I love teaching aspects, but the balancing a family of four kids and I was trying to be there.

And we have a big role in our church that we play. I’m on staff at our church and so I’m trying to make all of that balance and not be completely exhausted. And I thought I’ll get low, I’ll get in kindergarten to avoid all the state testing. I’m genius. Why had I not thought of this before? It was hard though. Kindergarten is hard. And I do think it was a part of my path to be able to figure out how to teach kids how to read really well. And so, reading became highlighted this year for me. And honestly, play based instruction has been highlighted for me.

Going into kindergarten, last year I took a course on play, just learning how to incorporate play. And when I went into kindergarten last year, I saw that’s the one thing they’re missing. They are missing the opportunities to play. I read a book last summer, Lisa Murphy on Play. I don’t know if you know that book, but Lisa Murphy’s whatever, On Play. And how that’s foundational, that’s pivotal, because of all, you learn the gross motor stuff before you learn the fine motor. You do play for little kids before you start all this intellectual, it’s the building blocks.

And so that’s been a key thing of me digging in. I know you through your podcast stuff of Raising Healthy Kid Brains. So then on a nerd out season of learning how brains work, because that’s what we’re dealing with. We’re teachers and we’re trying to figure out how to educate these babies. And then if you could understand the brain part of that as well, and then being a mom. All your stuff helps me on all the aspects, mom, my kids, the kids I teach.

So, I was on this play thing and I’d seen your stuff in the past. And so, it just popped up in my Facebook feed and so on, and the webinar thing got me. And so, I even purchased your stuff before the webinar came. I couldn’t even wait. I was like, “I’ve got to get in there. I need this for my little kiddo in kindergarten.” Her name’s Nyla and she struggles. She was neurodivergent, ADHD, didn’t want to read, didn’t even want to come over to my table. So, she’s the one who, this got her, this hooked her. And I was like, “Hey, come play.” “I can’t read.” “No, come play with me.”[inaudible] play.

Amy: Yes, absolutely.

Amanda: So, I was excited to try your resources and they worked with her. And then I was able to kind of make it work in my reading groups. And I used your stuff over what the county provided. So, I mean, I incorporated some of their reading, leveled readers and stuff in, but I wanted to try your stuff and see how that worked. And so, we didn’t even incorporate the toys in the small groups with the big kids. I used the toys for my reading intervention. I used those with my Nyla girl.

And that was my research based intervention I use with her. Now, she still struggles, so that indicator, there’s still difficulties there that we need to maybe pursue some other testing and stuff, but it made her confidence shift. And I knew I was going to be probably shifting out of the classroom. I almost didn’t even make it through the year, to be honest, it was such a struggle. But through the Lord I was able to hang on, [inaudible]. But I knew I was looking for something different.

In the past I’ve wanted to do reading coaching or reading tutoring, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t have a pathway. So, when your stuff came across my path, that was when I was like, “Okay, here’s some pieces of how I can make that happen.”

Amy: How did you find it helpful as far as growing, starting a business, was that piece helpful? Did it kind of give you, talk to me about that part.

Amanda: Yeah. And that’s really the piece I came for was the business side. And the piece of learning how to use your curriculum piece as the curriculum. And the whole play based thing I think is genius. That’s the secret sauce. That’s where the money is at because you can get them to play repetitively. And especially with our kids who need the repeated instruction for the ones who are struggling a little more.

My friends at church are very excited because we’ve got some kiddos with special needs and who need that. And I’m not sure of what you’ve seen coming out about dyslexia and that, because I’m not certified in dyslexia. I know some of my teacher friends are, they’ve done courses. But some of the stuff I’ve been hearing is, dyslexic kiddos and maybe some kiddos with maybe learning disabilities might just need more of the phonics approach. And not necessarily as a teacher you can go, “You need all new stuff. I’ve got to throw out everything and trust.”

So, if repetition is where it’s at, you get that through play. So that’s why I think your stuff’s awesome. And I think this is what I needed to be able to help. I was stuck before, not doing a business of tutoring because I didn’t know what curriculum to use. But when I saw this, I was like, “That’s something I can use and do.” And then the kids will buy in because they want to play and parents will buy in because they’ll see growing and adding knowledge to their kids’ understanding.

And I think too even in the upper grades for third graders, fourth graders, fifth graders. In my opinion, those babies struggling with reading on the Scarborough’s Rope are missing the word data, missing the decoding and the phonics skills. Because in elementary school they stop that after second grade in my county. And so, they’re not getting the decoding support in third, fourth and fifth. And then they’ve got the comprehensive struggles because they’re not fluent and so I could still help those kiddos too. So, I think that that’s really cool to be able to use your stuff with them.

Amy: What would you say to a teacher who is thinking about doing this, that might have seen something about or heard something about it, what would you tell them about the Elite Reading Coach program?

Amanda: Yeah, I would tell them to do it. I would say add it to their tool belts. That your resources are already prepared right there ready for somebody who knows what they’re doing to use them in whatever way they seem most appropriate. But it’s laid out and there for you. What I really liked were the little directions for just what toys to add to the thing and how to play that little game with them. Because you get a lot of things going through your mind as a teacher, all these to-do’s.

And then you forget, yeah, I can literally just use goldfish or I can just use the little race car or just the little toys and the little ways to make it fun and just bring some life back into it. So, I like how all that was laid out. And I’m getting ready to go to gangster style, just so my community is like, “Amanda, we’re ready. Let’s go.” So, I’ve got a bunch of people on my waiting list waiting for me to put my dates down. So, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Amy: I’m so excited for you. You’re going to do amazing. Yay.

You’re about to meet Valerie who is this incredible woman teaching in a very small town in Oklahoma. She speaks about her inspiration and getting into reading coaching, both having two daughters that struggled with dyslexia, as well as having a friend pass away and trying to find purpose in her life. The things she’s doing are absolutely amazing. And I can’t wait for you to meet her. It’s coming up right after this.

Amy: Okay, so tell me about how things are going.

Valerie: They’re going very well. I’ve only kind of advertised at the school that I work at and then also in my neighborhood page on Facebook. And I’ve got, I think I’ve got 10 students. That’s kind of where I wanted to be for the first time, the first summer that I was doing it and it’s going very well. I had a little boy this morning that was so excited. He got a certificate and he looked at me and he said, “Do I get to take this home?” And I said, “You sure do.” And he said, “I’m going to put it on my wall.”

He’s so excited. He struggled so much last year and I was just so proud of him. I love that, that we’re giving certificates because he can take that home, put it on his wall and every day he sees that he accomplished something. I feel like it’s a great encouragement to him, to keep trying and keep going.

Amy: Tell me about what made you decide to become an Elite Reading Coach, what drew you to this program?

Valerie: Okay. Well, I have four children and the older two just learned to read with no effort at all. It just happened for them. And they were in a phonics based program at their school and they just flourished with no effort on my part put into it. Then I have my twins and they were in the same program, but they struggled greatly to learn to read. And I thought at some point I might as well homeschool them because I am putting so much effort into this. I felt like I was doing more than the teachers were and it just was that they were just not catching on.

We found out they had dyslexia. And I came up with a lot of different games to help them, a lot of different ideas, just from desperation of how to help them. Came up with little games to play and little things to do to help. So, I always wanted to become a reading specialist and life gets in the way, time passes. And my best friend passed away and suddenly I didn’t have anything to do with my time. So, I went to work at my local elementary school. Well, actually, I was hired by the junior high to be a resource room director.

And I had everything from chemistry walking in my door, to science, to math. I never knew who was going to walk in my room and what I was going to have to help with. And what I discovered was, with those junior high kids, a lot of them couldn’t read. And you have to read to do math because you have to be able to read the directions. You have to be able to read work problems. They had to read for every single class and they were struggling in every class because they could not read and it just absolutely broke my heart.

Then I was transferred to the elementary school because they were just desperate for someone over there. So, they put me in there and I found that amazingly, at least half the kids in the classroom could not read. I was in a third grade classroom last year, a second grade classroom this year. And there were so many kids struggling. And I think maybe the pandemic kind of helped with that, that the kids were having to learn online. They weren’t in the classroom when they were first learning to read and my heart was just breaking.

And I checked in to going back to school and we have a lot of emergency certified teachers here in Oklahoma. And I was going to try to go that route, but it was going to take me forever. And then I saw your ad. And I got really excited about it. And I’m just trying to learn all I can. That’s why I went ahead and went through your class twice. I just want to make sure that I’m doing a good job for these kids and want them to be able to succeed. That’s my main focus, is helping them to succeed.

Amy: I love that so much. It’s so beautiful. Do you see a difference with the kids that you work with in their posture, their confidence, their belief in themselves when they come to you and they know that they’re struggling with reading and they feel less than? And then talk to me a little bit about what that looks like.

Valerie: Well, I have seen so many, they look at their paper and they’re like, “ab, is that right?” And I’m, “Yes, that’s right.” And they’ll get a smile and they just start perking up. And I said, “Don’t be scared to say it, just say it. I’m not going to lock you in a closet if you get it wrong. Nothing bad’s going to happen to you if you get it wrong. It’s just an opportunity to learn.” And so, they get much bolder about saying it. And if I have to correct them, it’s just an opportunity to learn. And they have just really, a lot of them have just really been coming out of their shells and being much more bold about saying it, much more confident in themselves.

And I’m sending little post-it notes home with blends on them. I say, “Just read them before you go to bed. You don’t have to say do it 20 times a day or 100 times a day. Before you go to bed, read these blends. Just read them out loud and then put your post-it note back on your nightstand and next week be honest with me if you did it and you’ll get a little prize if you do this every day.” And I think that’s going to also help them with their confidence because that’s what it is with a lot of them, is, they’re just so afraid that they’re going to do it wrong.

I’ve seen a lot of them make so much progress and they’re enjoying all the little manipulatives and things, and that’s helping to keep their attention.

Amy: It helps that play is a good thing. We know it works for the brain. What are some of your favorite parts about being a reading coach? If you could talk me through it, is it the schedule, the freedom and flexibility? Is it getting to work with the kids and see this difference you’re making? What would be your favorite part about being a reading coach?

Valerie: I do love the flexibility. That has been very good. Just the excitement of the kids. And I don’t have any grandkids. I tell everybody I’m a grandma with no grandchildren. So, these are my grandchildren. So, I’m just as proud of them every time they make progress as they are or the parents are. And I just want to make a difference. I don’t want them to struggle. I want them to succeed in the pride. And I don’t want to cry, but the pride in seeing them make progress and be able to read confidently.

The little boy this morning, he struggled so much last year. And just he was afraid to answer questions. He was afraid that kids were going to laugh at him. And today he probably read four or five stories in one of the books. And he was just amazed.

Yesterday I had a little girl that looked at me and I put the little story in front of her. And I said, “I’m going to have you read this to me.” She said, “I can’t read.” I said, “Really? Well, let’s just see.” She picked that up and she read that story. And I said, “Well, look at that, you just read that whole story to me.” And the look on her face, the proud feeling that she had that, oh my goodness, I just read that story. And it just made me feel great. I’m so proud of her. I’m sorry I’m going to try to get a tissue.

Amy: I love it because it’s so real. I love it because it’s life, it’s their lives, it matters so much and it’s beautiful because yes, it’s this way to earn money and have flexibility and all those beautiful pieces. But it’s also about these lives that we get to change and it is, it’s not just about their performance in school. It’s about what’s happening on their insides. And I think that reading in particular affects us so much, that when we can have an impact on that, it’s just life changing for them.

Valerie: Yes. And to see them go from just down and scared to excited and happy. It’s just amazing.

Amy: I love that so much. If we had someone coming in, a teacher or someone in your position who’s been in a school or is thinking about becoming a reading coach or signing up for the Elite Reading Coach certification program, what would you say to them?

Valerie: I would say, do it. I’ve been trying to get my daughter to sign up. I think she would be amazing. And it’s scary, but I certainly would be able to, or be willing to mentor friends or other people that I know, in how to set up your room and anything that would scare them about, I don’t know if I can do this. But I think it’s a wonderful program and like I said I had to come up with different little games for my kids when they were little, because just to help them learn everything they could.

And so that’s why I love this program, because that just fits right in with me. I’m a big kid and I love to play. And making the connections in the brain between play and the reading, it just really helps them. And I’m very impressed with the program. I’m just very happy to be here, very happy to be doing this. It’s fulfilling something in my heart that’s been there for a long time and it just kept getting pushed away by life. And now I’m getting to kind of live the dream of helping these kids learn to read.

Reading touches every part of your life, from needing to use the restroom and the bathroom, where it may be labeled cowboy and cowgirl and then not knowing, well, which one is the men’s? Which one’s the women’s? It doesn’t have the picture. And to being able to drive, to getting groceries, it just touches every part of your life. And if you can’t read, then it’s like you’re disabled because you don’t have the ability to live your life to the fullest.

And so, I think getting in with these children when they’re young and helping them, helping them to succeed at school, and they’re going to succeed at life because they then can travel. They can drive. They can go shopping confidently. They can go to the bathroom at the restaurant. All of these things that before would have been intimidating to them or limiting to their lives. It’s just opening up more of the world to them and not to even mention how rewarding just reading a book is and how exciting that is.

My girls that were my twins that struggled with reading, that’s now their favorite hobby is reading. They both love to read. And so, going from, we may have to kick you out of this reading program because you’re not making progress to being National Honor Society and loving to read, watching their pride and that is something I want to see in other kids. I want to see them all succeed. Something about the way your curriculum is all set up, it’s so intimidating to think, I’m going to teach people to read. But it’s just set out so well, you just progress from one thing to the next.

And you’ve got your little tests to see if they’re ready to move on. Everything is simplified and I love that because it gives me confidence that I can do this. And I think when people just hear, “You’re going to be teaching kids to read.” That sounds so scary and so hard and how will you do that? The curriculum is really set up to make it simple for you.

I live in a very small community and so to see so many children in this school that can’t read, and I know the larger school districts, they’ve got even more. And especially with having had the pandemic where these children were just beginning their learning and that really took a toll, I think on some of them. So, it’s very important right now at this time to intervene with those children.

Wow, weren’t those stories amazing? And there are so many more just like it. I love hearing from our Elite Reading Coaches and the way that they’re changing the world and their own lives. You’ve heard a lot about our Elite Reading Coach program. And if you are interested in that program and would like a brochure, I’m going to give you the information to get that. We’ll pop the link in the show notes. You can also go to elitereadingcoach.com for more information on when our next session will be opening, our next cohort of coaches.

It’s very limited. We only do a couple of cohorts a year. So, if that’s something you’re interested in, you’re going to want to get on the list so that you don’t miss your chance to get in. We can’t wait to see you there. Thanks for listening.

Thank you for hanging out with me today for this fun chat on Raising Healthy Kid Brains. If you want to see more of what we’re doing to support kiddos and their amazing brains, come visit us on our website planningplaytime.com. See you next week.