NEO Homeschool Spotlight: Get Reading - Structured Literacy Support for Struggling Readers in NE Ohio
Hello and welcome back NEO Homeschoolers! One of my favorite parts of running this blog/directory is getting to meet (even if it's via email) people with a passion for serving our local families. A few weeks ago, my email inbox was pinged with a message from Mel, asking to be added to the Homeschool Tutoring Services directory page. By the time I reached the end of her email and paid a quick visit to her website, I knew I wanted to do more than just add Mel's business to the directory page... I wanted to introduce her properly.
If you are parenting or homeschooling a child who struggles with reading, or you're walking through a new Dyslexia diagnosis, I sincerely believe Mel and her tutoring service, Get Reading, are worth knowing about.
Meet Mel from Get Reading
Melissa "Mel" Glendenning is a structured literacy tutor based in Ohio. She is certified by the Orton- Gillingham Academy (associate level) and works specifically with struggling readers, including kids with Dyslexia.
What stood out to me right away was how much intention and training Mel has put into this work. She isn't just "good with kids" and offering some extra reading help on the side. She has committed to a research-based approach that is designed for students who need more than a typical reading curriculum can offer.
On her website, Mel describes Get Reading as a tutoring service that comes alongside families with:
- A diagnostic and prescriptive approach - she looks at what your specific child can and cannot do yet, and builds lessons from there.
- Individualized instruction - no one-size-fits-all workbook here; it's tailored to your learner
- A language-based, phonetic approach - really digging into how our language works, not just memorizing words
- Simultaneous, multi-sensory teaching - involving eyes, ears, voice, and hands to help reading skills actually stick (e.g., seeing a letter, saying the name & sound of the letter, tracing the letter in the sand, and drawing the letter in the air)
As a homeschool mom who loves seeing her kiddos succeed when they're learning something like reading, I love seeing that kind of clarity and purpose in a service aimed at helping our kids.
What is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?
If you've spent any time googling "dyslexia help" or "reading intervention," you've probably come across the term, "Orton-Gillingham." As I mentioned above, Mel is certified through the Orton-Gillingham Academy, which means that she has been trained in this structured, evidence-based way of teaching children to read.
In simple terms, Orton-Gillingham is:
- Systematic & explicit - skills are taught in a planned order, clearly & directly
- Multi-sensory - students see, say, hear, and write the sounds and patterns they are learning
- Cumulative - new skills build on what has already been mastered
- Responsive - the tutor watches how the student is doing and adjusts each lesson, rather than pushing through a script
This kind of approach can be especially powerful for students with Dyslexia or other reading challenges, but it can benefit any child who just has not clicked with reading yet.
Who Is Get Reading For?
Get Reading is designed for:
- Struggling readers who are behind where you'd expect them to be for their age or grade.
- Children with Dyslexia or suspected Dyslexia who need more than standard phonics.
- Students who need a slow, steady, confidence-building path to reading.
If you're a homeschool family in NE Ohio, and you've tried curriculum after curriculum, and your child is still frustrated with learning to read, it might be time to bring in someone like Mel, who specializes in this.
Mel partners with Columbus Tutoring Services, which allows families to use certain scholarship funding (including the Jon Peterson Special Needs & Autism Scholarships) toward tutoring. If scholarships are part of how you're making homeschooling work, that may be an important piece for you family to know.
Why I'm Glad to Add Get Reading to the Directory
There are numerous wonderful general tutors out there, but specialized reading support is a different lane. As a homeschool mom who's teaching her own child to read and understands the difficulties learning to read can present, I want to use the directory portion of this site to highlight services that:
- Respect a child's dignity and pace
- Use solid, evidence-based methods
- Understand the real-world needs of families in our area
From her email and her website, Mel clearly cares a lot about helping kids not just "get through" reading, but actually learn in a way that makes sense for their brains. That combination of passion, training, and structure is exactly what many families are looking for when their child is struggling and they are not sure what to try next.
How To Learn More
If you want to learn more about Mel or see if Get Reading might be a good fit for your kiddo, you can
- Visit her website: www.getreading.pro
- Email her at mel@getreading.pro
- Call or text: 216-233-3443
You can also now find Get Reading listed on my Homeschool Tutoring Services directory page, alongside other support options for families across NE Ohio.
If you know of a local homeschool family walking through reading struggles or a new dyslexia diagnosis, I'd encourage you to share this post with them. Sometimes one email, one recommendation, or one new name to call can make a big difference.
Thanks for reading!! I am so proud to add Mel and Get Reading to the Homeschool Tutoring Services directory page and sincerely hope this post helps a few families. If you're looking for more NEO Homeschool Connections, click here to check out the homepage which features all of my recent posts as well as tabs that will connect you with the various directory pages. If you're still looking for a few events to fill out your October homeschool schedule, click here to check out the October Homeschool Happenings post. And if you're curious about checking out another curriculum, this post will help you find some quality curricula to look into. As for me, I'm off to doctor's appointments for my son, and tree science with my 4-year-old. TTFN!! 😄
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You, NEO Homeschoolers, can contact me via email with your ideas, feedback, and event knowledge. It's totally true! If you know of an event, a curriculum, a tutoring service, etc. that is homeschool-friendly and should be included in an upcoming post, you can shoot me an email at homeschoolmama195@gmail.com. I check my email daily and promise I'll get back to you ASAP. Thanks in advance for your contributions to this amazing community! I seriously couldn't do this without all of you, my readers. 😃
All right, that's all from me... Happy homeschooling & see y'all soon!!