Nurturing Connections in Reading: Level A
A systematic and multi-sensory approach to beginning reading and writing
Over 20 years of experience in education & literacy
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Engaging, hands-on, and effective
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Inspired by the writings of Charlotte Mason
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Integrates the latest in brain-based research
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Supportive of children with dyslexia and learning disabilities
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Truly open-and-go
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Includes assessments for easy progress monitoring
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Nurtures connections in faith, family, and literacy 💗
What will my student learn?
Nurturing Connections in Reading is designed for preschoolers and kindergarteners, approximately 3-6 years old. Your child will enjoy a variety of hands-on and engaging activities as they learn the essentials for reading and writing in as little as 15 minutes a day.
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Through this course, your child will learn the following:
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The Alphabetic Principle
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Learn to identify uppercase and lowercase letters​
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Learn the sequence of the alphabet
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Recognize letters in a variety of fonts
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Phonological Awareness (awareness of sounds in language)
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Learn​ about rhyming words
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Learn how to blend sounds orally
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Phonics
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Learn the most common sound for each letter of the alphabet​
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Learn how to blend onset and rime to read one-syllable C-V-C (Consonant-Vowel-Consonant) words
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Learn how to blend individual phonemes (sounds) to read one-syllable C-V-C words
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Handwriting​
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Learn how to write each of the uppercase and lowercase letters in boxes​
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Practice writing one-syllable words
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Reading Comprehension​​
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Listen to stories read aloud​ (books and stories are not included in the curriculum)
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Discuss the key events in the stories through oral narrations
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Learning Skills
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Develop fine-motor skills, such as cutting, pasting, etc.​
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Engage gross-motor skills, such as hopping, skipping, etc.
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How does it work?​
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The NCR Curriculum is a brain-based, multi-sensory approach to teaching reading. The curriculum uses a proven method that integrates literacy skills in order to teach beginning reading in an easy and engaging way. The activities and instruction are set up to:
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Engage each of the learning modalities: visual, auditory, kinesthetic
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Provide a variety of exercises and practices to stimulate brain activity
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Include adequate repetition of concepts for memory retention
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Support children with special needs and learning disabilities
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Nurture the connections between phonics, handwriting, and spelling for deeper understanding
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Watch the video below for a sneak peak and overview!
How do I know if my child is ready?​
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Reading is a developmental milestone, and each child will be ready in their own time. You can begin to instill a love for reading through daily read alouds and short oral narrations.
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If your child begins to show an interest in reading or letters and is at least 3 years old, then introduce the curriculum, and monitor their progress. Reading instruction should be a positive and encouraging experience for your child. NCR-Level A is designed to foster a love for learning. It is a gentle, and yet effective, approach to teaching reading that can be customized to meet the needs of your child.
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Is your child showing an interest in learning to read?
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Is your child struggling with learning letter names and sounds?
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Are you looking for an easy, effective, and proven approach to teaching reading?
Look no further.
Purchase Nurturing Connections in Reading Level A and get started today!
What is included?​
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At this time, NCR-Level A is available as a digital product. Limited stocks of printed copies will be available from time to time. Click here to purchase.
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The downloadable PDF Document includes the following:
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Teacher's Manual (includes general overview and program guidelines)
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3 Activity Booklets, totaling 140 lessons (includes all directions and activities)
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Flash Cards (18 pages--includes all letters, along with one-syllable words and rimes)
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Curated Booklist, including 52 book titles that connect with the curriculum!
Will I need any additional materials?
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The curriculum is designed to be easy to implement at a low cost to you. To prepare, you will need to print out the documents. Printing tips are provided here. The Flash Cards should then be laminated or covered with contact paper to provide for handwriting practice.
Additional materials include the following:
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1. Alphabet Letters: magnet letters or letter tiles from popular games, such as Bananagrams.
2. School Supplies: pencils, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, watercolor paints, and Do-A-Dot markers (optional)
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3. Big Thoughts for Little People (optional)
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4. Books to read aloud
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Can I see a sample?​
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Yes! Login or sign-up and go to Member Freebies -->"Nurturing Connections in Reading" to download the complete Teacher's Manual and samples of the Activity Booklets and Flash Cards.
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Watch a sample lesson in the video below.
I'm using another curriculum. Can I just order the Flash Cards and Booklist?
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Yes! Purchase and download the Flash Cards and Curated Booklist here.
Nurturing Connections in Reading
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Connect with God
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Connect with Family
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Connect with literacy
What are your qualifications for creating a curriculum?​
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As a former public school educator, I worked as a middle school teacher, primarily with at-risk populations. Many of the children I taught struggled with reading and writing, and it became my mission to learn as much as I could to help them be successful.
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After five years in the classroom, I was hired as an ELAR educational specialist for a regional service center in Texas. My work included providing professional development and technical assistance for teachers and administrators in grades K-12.
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I later started my own company Conceptual Literacy Corp. and began to offer these services on a wider scale. I was also hired as an independent contractor by a leading regional service center to work on a curriculum writing project. My team developed and aligned a scope and sequence for grades K-12. I then oversaw the writing of lessons for grades 6-12, making sure that everything aligned from kindergarten onward.
The lessons I reviewed and wrote were used by thousands of students across the state, in over 800 school districts. I presented at state conventions and worked with districts from all over Texas before closing my company to homeschool our children.
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The homeschool world was a complete paradigm shift for me, and I dove in with everything I had to learn as much as I could about it all. I have since taken the best of both worlds in order to create a Biblically-based language arts curriculum that is centered on the most effective educational philosophies and strategies.
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Critical thinking is such a necessary skill in our world today. My hope is to continue to support children and help them thrive in reading and writing so that they may rise up to be all that God calls them to be. Soli deo gloria.
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Will additional levels be available?​
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I hope so! I am currently working on Level B and will release it as it is ready.
The plan is as follows:
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Nurturing Connections in Reading: Levels A, B, C
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Nurturing Connections in English Language Arts: Levels D, E, F
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Nurturing Connections in Literature: Literature Unit Studies
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Each bundle will connect the components of literacy, including phonics, reading, language arts, written composition, spelling, handwriting, and vocabulary, as applicable. The bundles are also set up to nurture the connections your children have with God, family, and learning. Stay tuned!