Meet Beth Gaskill of Big City Readers in Logan Square

Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Gaskill.

Beth, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always been interested in the different ways in which children learn- at DePaul I studied Elementary Education and Child Psychology. I believe that all children learn uniquely, especially when it comes to reading. My dream is for every child to have confidence in reading, to love school, and to have joy in lifelong learning. I have worked in and outside classrooms of Preschool-8th grade, and have worked in reading intervention at an elementary school for the last 6 years.

I believe children need flexibility and fun in order to dig in and grow as readers. I believe not all children learn from sitting at a desk, and it is my job as an educator to find out the best solution for them. I use the 5 building blocks of early literacy: read, write, sing, talk, play in addition to the Orton Gillingham method which utilizes the three learning pathways through which children learn—visual, auditory and kinesthetic.

Through this process, kids learn to trust themselves and to LOVE reading. I worked after school with small groups of kids that BEGGED for tutoring. I called it the “reading club” :). I wanted it to be the COOLEST. and it grew and grew until my principal told me I needed to do it full-time. It’s been growing at a rapid rate ever since and I cry every single day because I love what I do so much.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It actually has been smooth, business wise. Do I sleep? Not a lot 😉

The challenges are figuring out how to balance everything. When you start your own business, no one tells you that you’re now a supposed to know all about/be a marketing director, bookkeeper, stylist, administrator, teacher, social media, insurance liaison and find a way to keep track of expenses. I think it feels like having a new baby, you’re exhausted and lonely and overwhelmed and feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, but you love it so much and you’ll do anything for it because you believe in it.

Big City Readers – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
This means in the reading club we are wiggling around and rarely in desks. We get messy using sand and shaving cream to practice our sight words, we jump around as we practice the writing process and we learn to work together and encourage our friends. We use strategies to cross the midline in what seems like silly games to kids, but really, we’re building pathways in the brain and developing motor and cognitive skills to help them excel in reading even faster and farther.

My dream is for every child in the reading club to not only feel more confident but also more joy and WANT to read. I want to help peel away the challenges and the stress that both students and parents may feel over a difficult night of reading. I want to make every child feel like they belong, and it’s ok to make mistakes because we are in this together. I wanted to make it a place for every single reader to have the chance to grow.

The reading club is so much more than tutoring- it’s fun, its silly, it’s engaging, and sometimes it’s messy. Kids will learn to trust themselves, to work in a team and encourage each other and most importantly, your child WILL have fun and will walk into school with confidence.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I’ve been told this can’t be a marker because it’s dependent on other people, but I feel successful when parents call or text or email videos of their kids doing the strategies they taught them, or reading the sign at the apple orchard for the first time, or teaching their younger siblings how to read their favorite book.

If kids leave my class smiling, I feel successful. Happy kids are confident kids and confident kids have nothing holding them back! They ask for help when they need it, they trust themselves and their teachers in the process of learning hard concepts like understanding the way s says /s/ and h says /h/ but together, they make something new called a digraph /sh/ because we are in it together!

Contact Info:

• Website: Bigcityreaders.com
• Email: beth@bigcityreaders.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bigcityreaders
• Facebook: facebook.com/bigcityreaders

Image Credit:
Maura Stoffer

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