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Barbara L.'s Photo
Barbara L.'s Photo Barbara L.'s Photo

Anyone can learn to read--and to read well.
Barbara L.

5.0 (719 ratings)

2,168 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $65
Contact Barbara
Barbara L.'s Photo
Barbara L.'s Photo Barbara L.'s Photo

Anyone can learn to read--and to read well.
Anyone can learn to read--and to read well.
Barbara L.

5.0 (719 ratings)

2,168 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
5.0 (719 ratings)

2,168 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

About Barbara

Bio

Hi, there! I am passionate about helping kids fill in the gaps as quickly as possible. To that end, I have a YouTube channel that explains why the fastest way to remediation is through filling in gaps in foundational skills. Check it out: TheTutorFix

I graduated from Madison Area Technical College as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. After working several years in rehab, I retired to homeschool my six children for the next 30 years, developing a curriculum that integrated all...

Hi, there! I am passionate about helping kids fill in the gaps as quickly as possible. To that end, I have a YouTube channel that explains why the fastest way to remediation is through filling in gaps in foundational skills. Check it out: TheTutorFix

I graduated from Madison Area Technical College as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant. After working several years in rehab, I retired to homeschool my six children for the next 30 years, developing a curriculum that integrated all subjects and learning modalities. During those years, I also worked as an educational consultant to parents and professionals of learning disabled students before retiring to serve local students and parents directly.

My background as a COTA, with its emphasis on developmental stages, sensory integration, and cognitive development, brings a unique perspective to the tutoring community. Rather than simply helping a student pass his courses, my specialty area of cognitive (brain) training helps get to the root of a student's learning struggles and sets him on the path to future success.

During the ten years I worked as an educational consultant to parents and these last ten years as a private tutor, I have perfected dozens of techniques to aid struggling students. My techniques are often the breakthrough that a student needs to unlock his mind. It isn't uncommon for me to hear from parents and teachers alike saying, "Why hasn't anyone explained these concepts to me before? These make so much sense."

Although I can not use online tutoring for cognitive training, I am eager to teach these techniques to parents around the country so that they can help their own children thrive. Why let your student struggle any longer?

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Education

Madison Area Technical College
COTA

Policies

  • Tutor’s lessons: In-person
  • Hourly Rate: $65
  • Rate details: Ask about group rates for Math Fact classes and Writing classes.
  • Travel policy: Within 20 miles of Gilbert, AZ 85234
  • Lesson cancellation: 36 hours notice required

  • Background check passed on 12/7/2013

  • Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee

Schedule

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Approved Subjects

Elementary Education

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have consulted families from around the world with struggling elementary students for the past ten years. I also homeschooled my own six children from K-12. When I tutor, I try to get to the root of the difficulty. First I will look for learning disabilities that need to be addressed. Once those are addressed, we can get down to tutoring actual subject areas. If the parent wants, I will assess the foundational skills in specific subject areas to shore up any weaknesses while parallelly addressing the immediate school work in that subject. For math I am a firm believer in initiating study with manipulatives before moving to the concrete and using visualization to bridge between the two. I will use games to solidify the math facts once the concepts are learned. I also believe that mental math is very important and should be encouraged before paperwork. In Reading and Spelling, again the foundational skills need to be addressed before actually addressing the reading and spelling themselves. We need to build working memory before teaching phonics. We can also teach some of the common sight words right away to build confidence since many sight words do not follow the phonetic rules. For writing, I have specific techniques that help the child determine WHAT to write and then techniques for organizing the student's thoughts and finally presenting the material in a way that is interesting and not trite. Typically I utilize the techniques from the Institute in Excellence in Writing for both composition and spelling and the principles and activities from RightStart Math for mathematics.
Elementary Math,

Elementary Math

Learning the concepts of elementary math requires three steps: concrete, visualization, and abstract. Many times when a student does not understand a concept it is because the student has been expected to go to the abstract without working through the first two stages. Even teachers who understand that elementary math students need manipulatives often overlook the second step of visualization. I have tools that can be used to help the student work through each of the steps. I also have great games that incrementally teach math drills and concepts, painlessly, so the student hardly realizes that he or she is learning. And finally, when I work with a student, I also assess whether the student has some underlying foundational skills that are weak. If so, these can be addressed simultaneously with the math concepts and facts. Strengthening these weak skills will help the student catch on more quickly and truly remediate. Tutoring without assessing underlying skills is like using a crutch but never allowing the weak limb to be strengthened so it can work independently.
Phonics,

Phonics

Teaching struggling students to read is my passion. I use the Barton Reading and Spelling program to teach phonics to my students. However, research has shown that a student can not learn phonics until he has a working memory (digit span) of at least five. Therefore, prior to teaching phonics, I will address working memory. I will also look for visual-spatial hypersensitivity and if found, I will help the student become grounded in their visual perceptions. Finally, I will look for, and address, if necessary, any auditory and language delays the student might have, so that he or she is better able to grasp the phonics training. I look forward to opening up the world of reading to your child through phonics and the underlying skills necessary for success.
Reading,

Reading

When a student struggles with reading, it is usually because he lacks the foundation skills that are necessary to succeed. With a quick assessment, I can usually identify what skills are lacking and hone in on them. For example, many students who struggle with reading, have a very low digit span. A student needs a digit span of at least five to catch on to reading and seven to master phonics. If a student lacks this ability to sequence, they will never succeed at reading. But the good news is that there are simple exercises to address this and other foundational skills that are weak. Helping kids and adults become great readers is my passion. Contact me today and I will send you an assessment via email. Once you have filled it out, we can discuss your student's needs to decide if I am the best tutor for your child. There is never any charge for this initial consultation.
Spelling

Spelling

There are a number of different reasons why a person might not be a good speller. I like to assess the student and see what the root cause of the spelling problem is. In just a few minutes, I can usually determine what area or areas need to be worked on to improve spelling. Surprisingly, it is not usually that the student is weak in phonics that causes the spelling problems but that there is some underlying skill that is weak, such as sequencing or visual memory. This weakness makes the student unable to retain the phonics that he or she has studied. Once we address these foundational skills the student is quickly able to improve his or her spelling.

English

Reading,

Reading

When a student struggles with reading, it is usually because he lacks the foundation skills that are necessary to succeed. With a quick assessment, I can usually identify what skills are lacking and hone in on them. For example, many students who struggle with reading, have a very low digit span. A student needs a digit span of at least five to catch on to reading and seven to master phonics. If a student lacks this ability to sequence, they will never succeed at reading. But the good news is that there are simple exercises to address this and other foundational skills that are weak. Helping kids and adults become great readers is my passion. Contact me today and I will send you an assessment via email. Once you have filled it out, we can discuss your student's needs to decide if I am the best tutor for your child. There is never any charge for this initial consultation.
Spelling,

Spelling

There are a number of different reasons why a person might not be a good speller. I like to assess the student and see what the root cause of the spelling problem is. In just a few minutes, I can usually determine what area or areas need to be worked on to improve spelling. Surprisingly, it is not usually that the student is weak in phonics that causes the spelling problems but that there is some underlying skill that is weak, such as sequencing or visual memory. This weakness makes the student unable to retain the phonics that he or she has studied. Once we address these foundational skills the student is quickly able to improve his or her spelling.
Writing

Writing

As an author of a ten volume history series, I love to share my love for writing with students. Previously, I have worked with junior high and high school students to ace essays, book reports, and term papers. I have tools that will help your student learn how to choose a topic, determine a brief outline of points to cover and prepare a paper that is interesting to read. If spelling and handwriting are issues I can address that at the same time. In my experience there are two typical causes for spelling issues and three causes of handwriting problems. We can determine the root of the problem and address the necessary skills to lead your student to success.

Homeschool

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have consulted families from around the world with struggling elementary students for the past ten years. I also homeschooled my own six children from K-12. When I tutor, I try to get to the root of the difficulty. First I will look for learning disabilities that need to be addressed. Once those are addressed, we can get down to tutoring actual subject areas. If the parent wants, I will assess the foundational skills in specific subject areas to shore up any weaknesses while parallelly addressing the immediate school work in that subject. For math I am a firm believer in initiating study with manipulatives before moving to the concrete and using visualization to bridge between the two. I will use games to solidify the math facts once the concepts are learned. I also believe that mental math is very important and should be encouraged before paperwork. In Reading and Spelling, again the foundational skills need to be addressed before actually addressing the reading and spelling themselves. We need to build working memory before teaching phonics. We can also teach some of the common sight words right away to build confidence since many sight words do not follow the phonetic rules. For writing, I have specific techniques that help the child determine WHAT to write and then techniques for organizing the student's thoughts and finally presenting the material in a way that is interesting and not trite. Typically I utilize the techniques from the Institute in Excellence in Writing for both composition and spelling and the principles and activities from RightStart Math for mathematics.
Reading,

Reading

When a student struggles with reading, it is usually because he lacks the foundation skills that are necessary to succeed. With a quick assessment, I can usually identify what skills are lacking and hone in on them. For example, many students who struggle with reading, have a very low digit span. A student needs a digit span of at least five to catch on to reading and seven to master phonics. If a student lacks this ability to sequence, they will never succeed at reading. But the good news is that there are simple exercises to address this and other foundational skills that are weak. Helping kids and adults become great readers is my passion. Contact me today and I will send you an assessment via email. Once you have filled it out, we can discuss your student's needs to decide if I am the best tutor for your child. There is never any charge for this initial consultation.
Spelling,

Spelling

There are a number of different reasons why a person might not be a good speller. I like to assess the student and see what the root cause of the spelling problem is. In just a few minutes, I can usually determine what area or areas need to be worked on to improve spelling. Surprisingly, it is not usually that the student is weak in phonics that causes the spelling problems but that there is some underlying skill that is weak, such as sequencing or visual memory. This weakness makes the student unable to retain the phonics that he or she has studied. Once we address these foundational skills the student is quickly able to improve his or her spelling.
Writing

Writing

As an author of a ten volume history series, I love to share my love for writing with students. Previously, I have worked with junior high and high school students to ace essays, book reports, and term papers. I have tools that will help your student learn how to choose a topic, determine a brief outline of points to cover and prepare a paper that is interesting to read. If spelling and handwriting are issues I can address that at the same time. In my experience there are two typical causes for spelling issues and three causes of handwriting problems. We can determine the root of the problem and address the necessary skills to lead your student to success.

Most Popular

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have consulted families from around the world with struggling elementary students for the past ten years. I also homeschooled my own six children from K-12. When I tutor, I try to get to the root of the difficulty. First I will look for learning disabilities that need to be addressed. Once those are addressed, we can get down to tutoring actual subject areas. If the parent wants, I will assess the foundational skills in specific subject areas to shore up any weaknesses while parallelly addressing the immediate school work in that subject. For math I am a firm believer in initiating study with manipulatives before moving to the concrete and using visualization to bridge between the two. I will use games to solidify the math facts once the concepts are learned. I also believe that mental math is very important and should be encouraged before paperwork. In Reading and Spelling, again the foundational skills need to be addressed before actually addressing the reading and spelling themselves. We need to build working memory before teaching phonics. We can also teach some of the common sight words right away to build confidence since many sight words do not follow the phonetic rules. For writing, I have specific techniques that help the child determine WHAT to write and then techniques for organizing the student's thoughts and finally presenting the material in a way that is interesting and not trite. Typically I utilize the techniques from the Institute in Excellence in Writing for both composition and spelling and the principles and activities from RightStart Math for mathematics.
Reading,

Reading

When a student struggles with reading, it is usually because he lacks the foundation skills that are necessary to succeed. With a quick assessment, I can usually identify what skills are lacking and hone in on them. For example, many students who struggle with reading, have a very low digit span. A student needs a digit span of at least five to catch on to reading and seven to master phonics. If a student lacks this ability to sequence, they will never succeed at reading. But the good news is that there are simple exercises to address this and other foundational skills that are weak. Helping kids and adults become great readers is my passion. Contact me today and I will send you an assessment via email. Once you have filled it out, we can discuss your student's needs to decide if I am the best tutor for your child. There is never any charge for this initial consultation.
Writing

Writing

As an author of a ten volume history series, I love to share my love for writing with students. Previously, I have worked with junior high and high school students to ace essays, book reports, and term papers. I have tools that will help your student learn how to choose a topic, determine a brief outline of points to cover and prepare a paper that is interesting to read. If spelling and handwriting are issues I can address that at the same time. In my experience there are two typical causes for spelling issues and three causes of handwriting problems. We can determine the root of the problem and address the necessary skills to lead your student to success.

Special Needs

ADHD,

ADHD

The child with attention issues will only become more agitated the more we demand concentration. He literally can not force himself to stay attentive. We must incrementally teach the child to pay attention. The techniques I use can start with an attention span of only three seconds and incrementally build the focusing skills to an appropriate level. Once the child is able to focus other learning issues can be addressed if necessary. Another area that many students with ADD or ADHD struggle with is the inability to sort information. We can address this issue by teaching the brain to think more systematically through cognitive training exercises. Then the student will be able to choose what information to store and store it properly. When information is stored properly the student will be able to retrieve information as needed. Contact me for an assessment that will help to determine if I am the best tutor for your child. If we decide we are a good match for each other, I will choose the best combinations of techniques from Audiblox, Davis and PACE programs for your child.
Dyslexia,

Dyslexia

Dyslexia manifests itself with a variety of symptoms, however, the most common symptom is reversals—reversals in reading, writing, spelling, and math. Research has shown that a person needs a “digit span” or “working memory” of at least five digits to learn phonics. That means that a student must be able to sequence five items before he has the capacity to learn phonetically. So, if a person is weak sequentially he can study phonics forever but never catch on to reading. Its like the proverbial “beating your head against the wall.” The typical dyslexic struggles because his left brain, which is the side that sequences things, is weak. We must first build the student’s sequencing skills to at least five, preferably seven, before we can begin to teach phonics. I have the tools your child needs to build his sequential skills so he can succeed academically. Once the student’s sequencing skills are at the appropriate level, phonics—and reading—will become easy. A smaller portion of dyslexics do not struggle with reading. Through simple assessments, I can determine what areas of weakness need to be addressed and develop a customized program for your student. I will draw exercises from Audiblox, Davis and PACE programs as well as my training as a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.
Phonics,

Phonics

Teaching struggling students to read is my passion. I use the Barton Reading and Spelling program to teach phonics to my students. However, research has shown that a student can not learn phonics until he has a working memory (digit span) of at least five. Therefore, prior to teaching phonics, I will address working memory. I will also look for visual-spatial hypersensitivity and if found, I will help the student become grounded in their visual perceptions. Finally, I will look for, and address, if necessary, any auditory and language delays the student might have, so that he or she is better able to grasp the phonics training. I look forward to opening up the world of reading to your child through phonics and the underlying skills necessary for success.
Special Needs

Special Needs

As an international consultant to parents, teachers, therapists and doctors, I have had extensive experience in helping students overcome a wide variety of learning issues, such as: dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADD, ADHD, Auditory Processing Disorder, and Visual Processing Disorder. In my own studio, I have used Audiblox, PACE (now Learning Rx), and the Ron Davis Dyslexia techniques. I use the best of each of these programs along with other exercises I learned as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, to tailor my lessons to meet the needs of your student as efficiently as possible. Feel free to contact me and I will send you a questionnaire that will help determine if I am the best tutor for your special needs child.

Summer

Elementary (K-6th),

Elementary (K-6th)

I have consulted families from around the world with struggling elementary students for the past ten years. I also homeschooled my own six children from K-12. When I tutor, I try to get to the root of the difficulty. First I will look for learning disabilities that need to be addressed. Once those are addressed, we can get down to tutoring actual subject areas. If the parent wants, I will assess the foundational skills in specific subject areas to shore up any weaknesses while parallelly addressing the immediate school work in that subject. For math I am a firm believer in initiating study with manipulatives before moving to the concrete and using visualization to bridge between the two. I will use games to solidify the math facts once the concepts are learned. I also believe that mental math is very important and should be encouraged before paperwork. In Reading and Spelling, again the foundational skills need to be addressed before actually addressing the reading and spelling themselves. We need to build working memory before teaching phonics. We can also teach some of the common sight words right away to build confidence since many sight words do not follow the phonetic rules. For writing, I have specific techniques that help the child determine WHAT to write and then techniques for organizing the student's thoughts and finally presenting the material in a way that is interesting and not trite. Typically I utilize the techniques from the Institute in Excellence in Writing for both composition and spelling and the principles and activities from RightStart Math for mathematics.
Reading,

Reading

When a student struggles with reading, it is usually because he lacks the foundation skills that are necessary to succeed. With a quick assessment, I can usually identify what skills are lacking and hone in on them. For example, many students who struggle with reading, have a very low digit span. A student needs a digit span of at least five to catch on to reading and seven to master phonics. If a student lacks this ability to sequence, they will never succeed at reading. But the good news is that there are simple exercises to address this and other foundational skills that are weak. Helping kids and adults become great readers is my passion. Contact me today and I will send you an assessment via email. Once you have filled it out, we can discuss your student's needs to decide if I am the best tutor for your child. There is never any charge for this initial consultation.
Writing

Writing

As an author of a ten volume history series, I love to share my love for writing with students. Previously, I have worked with junior high and high school students to ace essays, book reports, and term papers. I have tools that will help your student learn how to choose a topic, determine a brief outline of points to cover and prepare a paper that is interesting to read. If spelling and handwriting are issues I can address that at the same time. In my experience there are two typical causes for spelling issues and three causes of handwriting problems. We can determine the root of the problem and address the necessary skills to lead your student to success.

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (719 ratings)
5 star
(717)
4 star
(1)
3 star
(1)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)

Reviews

Great results

My 6 year old son has been working with Miss Barb for the past five months and we are really pleased with his progress. Last school year as a Kindergartener he struggled with reading and we had a very difficult time doing homework with him because he couldn’t focus for every long. Miss Barb has been working with him on focusing and building his memory through sequencing so that he will be able to start reading at the level that he should be at. When we first started our son couldn’t remember the sequencing order of 4 colored blocks, now he is up to 17 blocks, which is incredible. We have seen a great improvement on his focusing and concentration over the past few months. We work on sight words several times a week and in the past when we introduced a new sight word it would take him 4-6 weeks to finally remember it consistently, now he can remember the new words within 1-2 days. The best way that we can measure his progress since we started tutoring with Miss Barb is by the unbelievable improvement on his bench top testing scores that he just completed for the first quarter of first grade. Last year he was consistently below the student curve, and when we met with this first grade teacher a few days ago, we were shocked to receive the news that not only was he meeting the first quarter testing expectations, but he was above the curve. We were so surprised and elated by the news. We are so grateful for all the hard work, patience and dedication that Miss Barb has shown our son. We would highly recommend Miss Barb as tutor for anyone looking to help their child establish the essential building blocks to be a successful reader.

Danielle, 63 lessons with Barbara

Barb is amazing!

She really is awesome! I love how she understands what my son is struggling with when it comes to reading and is able to help him in that area. She is patient and kind too. Thank you Barb!

Megan, 16 lessons with Barbara

Great tutor

My daughter has been seeing Barbara for some months now and my daughter has improved so much. I have noticed a difference in her learning and cannot wait to see her growth. Barbara is gifted and I am so glad to have my daughter learning from her.

Liz, 33 lessons with Barbara

So engaging

My son loves to go work with Ms. Barb which says a lot because he is not big on learning or doing any kind of academic activities. Highly recommended!

Kelli, 31 lessons with Barbara

Amazing!

Barbara was a perfect fit for my daughter Claire and helped her immensely. My wife and I are very thankful for finding her. Very reliable, friendly and compassionate.

Jason, 19 lessons with Barbara

Very knowledgeable and insightful

Barbara is very patient and calm. You can tell she truly wants to help my son learn and figure out exactly what it is that is holding him back and work through it. My son looks forward to each session and it is already giving him more confidence because he is able to see his progress with the exercises they do each session.

Brittany, 32 lessons with Barbara

Patient and Knowledgeable

We were looking a tutor for the summer to keep our son's brain fresh before the next school year started. Over the summer we worked with Miss Barb and she provided brain training for our 8 year old son for his ADHD and dyslexia. She was very patient and found different approaches to her teaching methods that would work for our son, he improved his skills in just a few weeks with her brain training methods. She is very kind and is genuine in wanting to help your child succeed.

Erin, 18 lessons with Barbara

Caring and Patient

She has a lot of patience with my child. She seems to be making good progress with her, as we are seeing improvements.

Chantie, 58 lessons with Barbara

THE ABSOLUTE BEST!!!

Mrs Barb is FANTASTIC! I had a 13 year old who was on an IEP and struggled with reading and math. Barb was patient, flexible, and truly cared about my sons success. Barb was thorough and also gave other suggestions to help improve my son's reading level and comprehension. Barb continues to reach out to check on his progress on a regular basis. I am SO very happy we found her!

Erika , 14 lessons with Barbara

Wonderful!

Barbara was very nice. Not in any hurry either. My son felt comfortable with her. Seem like a great teacher.

Leslie, 6 lessons with Barbara
Hourly Rate: $65
Contact Barbara