Sandusky, Ohio--When Lauren Beltz entered first grade in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, and found that reading did not come easily, she stopped trying. Accustomed to success as an athlete, Lauren was willing to let her older brother, a whiz at school, stand in the academic spotlight while she shone on the field. Then Lauren's Ohio grandmother, Glenda Brown, 54, intervened.
With the help of her husband, Loyal, 60, Glenda began to devise custom-made phonics exercises, along with a sheet of fun activities, such as coloring or connect the dots, to send to Lauren. Then Lauren would complete the exercises and return them to her grandmother. If the exercises were all correct, Glenda would send along a small treat. Otherwise, she would send a note of encouragement.
After several months of practicing phonics, Lauren, now eight, has become one of the best readers in her class. At the end of second grade, she was one of the narrators in her school play, , and now she reads the GOOSEBUMPS series avidly. But this exercise also turned Lauren into a trusty correspondent. She still writes to her grandmother almost weekly; recently she typed a letter that was addressed to "Mrs. Brown" and signed "Your friend, Lauren Beltz" (apparently she had just learned letter-writing etiquette in school).
Glenda hopes this exchange will build a strong connection between them. "As she gets older, I hope she'll be able to tell me when she needs something. I hope she'll turn to her grandma for advice someday."
