Grasp Reading

The first step on your journey to literacy with Grasp Reading is to schedule a free "Meet Grasp Reading" meeting. This (free!) zoom call will give you an introduction to what we do here at Grasp Reading and help to familiarize you with our website, booking procedures, and our general philosophies. You shouldn't hire ANY tutor or tutoring company without  good understanding of what you are getting into! In the meantime, here's a bit about myself, Erica Klein, the founder and owner of Grasp Reading:​

I have been drawn to education since I can remember. From babysitting to pursuing Early Childhood Educator certification, on to having my own children and delighting in watching them grow and learn. I somewhat stumbled into the world of online tutoring and fell in love with watching children's eyes light up and confidence grow as they learned to read and speak English. This shifted into beginning my own business with a focus on Reading Instruction, which grew to focusing on an area of great need - helping students with Dyslexia achieve their literacy goals.

I am a mother, a crafter, a dog-lover, and a serial learner. I have a bachelor's degree and an Early Childhood Education certificate, however receiving those pieces of paper never stopped my interest in learning how to do everything in the "best" way. When my children were young, I became obsessed with getting them a great education - which, at the time, in the location we were at, and with our limited finances, meant homeschooling. I took a Montessori training course and found a thorough, explicit curriculum to teach my children to read.  Though we only homeschooled for a few years, I remained passionate about continuing to give my kids reading instruction because I loved doing it and what they "learned" at school didn't seem to match my research or understanding as to how humans learn to read.  Memorization? Popcorn words? Looking at pictures? Why was there so much guessing?

This curiosity and passion has lead me to explore the Science of Reading and learn more about reading and language based disabilities. I adopted the Barton Reading and Spelling Curriculum, grew  my business and then enrolled in EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy instruction) courses so that I can continue to grow and focus on students. Whether our clients have specific learning disabilities or they have just fallen through the cracks of an underfunded, overworked education system, we are here to help.

Reading is not only a foundational skill for scholastic success, but it opens doors to new worlds, new ideas, and new possibilities for children. Reading should be a pleasure, a gift, a source of joy, not a source of fights, tears, and frustration. Maybe not every child will want to curl up in a corner for hours absorbed in their favourite books, but I believe every child should have that option! Reading is a wonderful source of relaxation, escape, imagination, and pleasure - I want each child to have the skills to get there.

If you'd like to learn more about the tutors at Grasp Reading and how we can help you or your child learn to read, start by booking a free "Meet Grasp Reading" session.