Hello, Friends!
I hope this newsletter finds you and your family thriving! I’m excited to share some wonderful updates with you.

A New Chapter in Woodinville

First, I want to let you know that I’ve recently relocated to Woodinville—a beautiful move that marks a new chapter for my practice. As I settle in and explore the best permanent office location for our work together, I’m offering programs at your homes. This actually creates a wonderful opportunity: we get to work in the spaces where you and your family are most comfortable, and I get to see firsthand the environments where learning and growth happen every day. It’s a win-win! If you’re interested in scheduling a program, I’d love to connect with you.

“You’re Invited: ‘Who Knew’ — A Dyslexia Documentary Screening”

I’m thrilled to invite you to something special: a beautifully crafted documentary called “Who Knew,” created by a fellow Davis facilitator, Sue Hall. This is an award-winning short 30 minute film explores how the dyslexic brain relies on visual, spatial, and intuitive thinking rather than language, positioning these traits as incredible strengths rather than a learning disorder; I genuinely believe it’s a must-watch for anyone with a dyslexic child. Mark your calendars for July 16th at 4pm PT. It’s a wonderful opportunity to see our work reflected through a powerful visual medium. Look on my facebook page for the link to register for the event in early July.

A Gift for Our Community

Here’s some exciting news: the Davis North America Facebook page is hosting a “Gift of Dyslexia” book giveaway!
If you’re not already following, now’s the perfect time to join our community there. Head over to the Davis North America Facebook page to enter. It’s our way of spreading resources and hope to everyone who needs it.

Practical Support for Your Neurodivergent Athlete

My latest blog article, “How to Support Your Dyslexic Athlete at Home,” just came out in the Davis Dyslexia International Newsletter. I share what I’ve learned helping neurodivergent kids—including my own son—thrive in sports: simple self-regulation tools, ways to pre-teach new vocabulary so practice feels less overwhelming, and how to talk with your child after a rough game in ways that build resilience instead of shutting them down. If your child plays sports—or just learns with their body—this one’s for you. Read it here. —I hope you’ll find it valuable!

Summer Program Slots Available—With a Special Offer

Finally, I have a couple of summer program slots still available! If you’ve worked with me before and are considering a second program, I’d love to chat with you about timing. All second programs completed this summer will receive a discount of 15% —my way of supporting families who are committed to their child’s continued growth and success.

If you’re interested in any of these opportunities, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m here to support you and your family on this journey.

With warmth and gratitude,
Sophia Goebel
Licensed Davis® Facilitator

The post Summer News & Opportunities appeared first on Learning Tools.

My domain name has changed from Learning Tools Dyslexia to Learning Tools For Life.

I made this change for a number of reasons:

• The first reason is that I’m adding on the Davis Autism Programs and a Parenting Skills program to my services.  The “For life” addition to Learning Tools is broader and encompasses the new programs instead of just being known for Dyslexia services.
• I also feel that once you learn the “tools” in all of the programs I offer, you or your child will use them in everyday life, all the time.. and I’m going to imagine I will keep using them my whole life. 
• Lastly, one of the Davis programs for autism is called “Concepts for Life” so the “for Life” just seemed like the perfect fit. 

My email has changed as well, I am now using info@learningtoolsforlife.com, so please update your contacts/address book as needed. 

The post A Change! appeared first on Learning Tools.

My son is now in 8^th grade: he is doing very well in language arts, he writes beautifully, he reads well with excellent comprehension and in math, he has been getting high marks.  His math teacher even said to me that my son has a great mind for math; he just needs to believe in himself a little more.

Math Story Words Can Create Trouble

I thought he was on a great academic path and then last weeks’ homework happened. As he was doing homework, he asked his older brother some questions and his brother answered the questions with other questions to try and get him to think through the problem. I was having a proud mama moment; my older son was truly trying to help.

Then all of a sudden, I hear a loud, forceful voice say, “I already told you”.  I gently asked if he was using his tools, which was returned with a glare of an irate teenager full of disgust. Okay, I see that mom needs to stay out of it! I tried, I truly did, but as he was reading the story problem question back to his brother and telling him what equation he made out of it, it was obvious to me that the confusion was due to trigger words, so naturally I had to butt in.

He ended up working through the problems with me making sure he had a clear picture of what the meaning of each of the words were and to be sure he knew what was being asked for in each question. Then I told him we could fix his frustrations by modeling in clay the words that were causing confusion, just like we used to. He was up to it and we spent the weekend playing with clay and cutting up circles of clay into fractions.

Learn the Meaning of Words Through Pictures

Do you know “by” in math can mean to multiply, but it can also mean divide?   During the homework fiasco, it was clear that my son didn’t know the second meaning of “by” meaning divide, which was needed to get the equation correct. The other word that was causing confusion was “of” when working with fractions.

I hadn’t seen him break down into this “self-hate” in a long time; he kept saying how stupid he was under his breath. He could do the math, but translating words into a math problem requires one to have a clear meaning/picture of each word. That is what the symbol mastery does, it gives meaning to words.   So learning the meaning of words that don’t produce a mental picture is extremely important to picture thinkers.

Math has a language of its own, but it is more than just numerals and function symbols, the words we use for math to describe functions are just as important.  By using clay to mold and create the meaning of the word, we get to understand, know and master a word at a very deep level. After doing this work, that word no longer causes a problem.

“by” in math can mean divide

“of” in math can mean a portion or fraction taken from

The post The Importance of Symbol Mastery and Learning the Meaning of Words appeared first on Learning Tools.