Swee2me

09/10/2026

Minnesota parents:
Did you get a letter saying your child is reading below grade level?

Here’s something VERY important to know—
For the 2026–27 school year, Minnesota schools have added oral language screening to early literacy screening.

Why does that matter?
Because reading is more than sounding out words. Some children struggle because of weaknesses in vocabulary, sentence structure, comprehension, phonological processing, or understanding and organizing language.

So if your child’s report says below benchmark, don’t just ask:
“How can we practice reading more?”
Parents should also be asking:
“WHY is reading hard for my child?”

Finding the source of the difficulty is a VERY important first step toward choosing the right intervention.

And here’s something many families don’t realize: if an underlying speech-language or phonological processing disorder is contributing to the reading difficulty, evaluation and therapy may be covered by health insurance!

🐝 Swee2Me Speech Therapy
www.swee2me.com

07/10/2026

I hope Minnesota homeschoolers never get harassed when LESS THAN HALF the public school students in this state can read proficiently.

Newly released data from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) shows fewer than half of all students in Minnesota are proficient in reading, math, and science as the future of education becomes a major issue in this year’s campaign for governor.

According to 2026 data from the Minnesota Report Card, MDE’s online portal for student achievement scores, just 48.6% of students are proficient in reading. Meanwhile, only 44.9% are proficient in math and just 25.5% are proficient in science.

06/10/2026

There's a new law in Minnesota, and this week, half the parents of public school students are going to get a letter from their child's school . . .

19/09/2026

DON'T JUST LOOK FOR ANOTHER READING CURRICULUM.

It's about this time of year that homeschool moms start thinking the reading curriculum they bought isn't going to work.

It's a good time to get to the ROOT OF THE PROBLEM.

Can the child decode beautifully, but struggle to understand, organize, or explain what was read? That points us toward LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION—vocabulary, verbal reasoning, visualization, inferencing, and organizing ideas.

Or is decoding so difficult and effortful that the child spends all their energy figuring out the words—and the meaning gets lost? That points us toward PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSING, sound-symbol mapping, decoding, and encoding.

Some kids struggle with BOTH.

If your child is struggling with reading, don’t just look for another reading program. Find out specifically WHERE THE BREAKDOWN IS HAPPENING. That’s the first step toward choosing intervention that actually targets what your child needs.

Not sure where the breakdown is? As a veteran homeschool mom of six (two with dyslexia), that’s exactly the kind of puzzle I love to help families figure out.

And here's something many families don't realize: When reading difficulties are related to an underlying speech-language or phonological processing disorder, speech-language therapy may be covered by your health insurance.

🐝 Swee2Me Speech Therapy

Speech-language pathology offering Telehealth appointments. Paperwork can be filled out online. Schedule an appointment today.

18/09/2026

Ever wonder why speech difficulties can look so different from one child to another?

Speaking seems automatic—but there’s actually a LOT happening between having a thought and getting the words out.

A breakdown can occur anywhere along this pathway: choosing the words, organizing the sounds, planning the movements, or actually producing them.

And figuring out where the breakdown is happening matters—because different problems need different treatment.

Speech is so much more than “Can they say the sound?” 🧠 → 🗣️

Aetna, BCBS, BluePlus, HealthPartners, Humana, Medica, Medicaid, UCare, and United Healthcare

www.swee2me.com

12/09/2026

Here’s what I’m seeing in my practice: some very bright kids are able to mask a significant phonological processing weakness, sometimes for YEARS.

They’re smart. They have strong vocabulary, good reasoning skills, and often an excellent memory for familiar words. So they read “well enough,” that teachers aren't especially concerned. But parents often know something is off—especially with spelling, sounding out unfamiliar words, or the amount of effort reading takes.

A common response is, “They just need to read more.” While more reading is valuable, it doesn’t fix the root problem if the underlying issue is phonological processing. A child can spend a lot of time reading and still continue relying on memory and context instead of developing strong sound-based reading and spelling skills.

As vocabulary gets harder and words become longer and less familiar, relying on their memory for words get much harder — and academic gaps start to widen.

In cases like this, more reading practice isn't going to help significantly.

What helps is 1:1 structured phonological training that specifically targets the individual child’s weak areas: segmenting, manipulating sounds, decoding nonsense words, building (spelling) words based on rules not memory, and targeting sound-to-print connections.

10/09/2026

Are letter reversals slowing your kid down?

I’m not a big fan of hand cues for letter reversals because kids who have trouble orienting letters often also have trouble remembering which hand to use for the cue. That can sometimes end up reinforcing the wrong orientation.

I finally took the time to write down a few of my “Letter Land” stories for b, p, d, s, and z. They use the notebook page itself as a consistent visual reference and give kids a little story to help them remember which way each letter goes.

Hopefully they can help your child, too!

Message me and I’ll send you the PDFs.

22/08/2026

09/06/2026

Both reading and math rely on working memory and sustained focus. Over 11% of children are formally diagnosed with attention difficulties. If your child struggles with attention, working 1:1 with a custom tailored program, instead of a busy classroom group, can make a huge difference!

A new report on childhood well-being finds the U.S. education system is still reeling from COVID—but the learning crisis started long before the pandemic hit.