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Dr. Jenn 📚 Literacy Educator for Families

@jenn.overstreet

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A confident reader/writer in 3 months 📚
16 yrs teaching kids from 30+ countries
1:1 online lessons from Rome 🇮🇹 Next start Nov 9 ⬇️

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You want to know the person teaching your kid will notice when they’re struggling, understand why, and do something useful with it.

Especially if you’ve already spent evenings sitting beside them, wondering how much to help and whether any of it is working.

When I teach your kid, I’m paying attention to the small decisions they make while reading and writing. Those details help me choose what to teach, what to revisit, and when they’re ready for more.

You deserve to understand those decisions too. You’re the one supporting them between lessons.

If you’re considering one-to-one reading and writing support, comment APPLY. I’d love to hear what you’re noticing with your kid! by @jenn.overstreet

This is what 3 months of the right reading instruction can do.

When I know exactly where reading is breaking down, I know what to teach next. Then we teach it explicitly, practice it enough for it to become automatic, and keep looking at the data to make sure the instruction is working.

I know there are parents looking at their own kid right now thinking, “We’ve been working on reading for so long. Why is this still so hard?”

That’s the part I want to help with.

I don’t want to give your kid more stuff to do. I want to figure out what they need, teach it well, and see their reading start to change.

I have a few spaces opening for private literacy students. If you want to talk about your kid, send me CLARITY. by @jenn.overstreet

I still feel the weight of getting it right when I sit down with a new reader.

I think it’s one of the things I love most about this work.

I’ve spent 16+ years in education, and I’ve gotten to see literacy from so many different angles.

I’ve taught children, assessed 100s of readers, coached teachers, worked in instructional leadership, studied learning and education at the doctoral level, and worked across schools and countries.

All of that experience comes with me when I work 1:1 with a child.

But I still have to get to know ✨this✨ kid.

Sometimes I leave a lesson thinking about one tiny thing for hours.

I rewatch parts of lessons, or go back into the research.

I change what I had planned because the kid showed me something I wasn’t expecting.

I love getting to know a reader that closely.

Experience has given me a much better idea of what to pay attention to, but it’s never made me assume I already know what a child needs.

I hope I never lose that.

If you’re looking for 1:1 literacy support for your child, send me CLARITY.

I’ll tell you more about how I work and we can see if it makes sense for your kiddo. by @jenn.overstreet

I started this account 4 months ago with 0 followers and a mission on my heart.

For years, I kept having versions of the same chat with families and thinking...why aren’t parents being taught more of what we know about how kids become strong readers, writers, and thinkers?

So I opened an Instagram account.

Now there are 30,000+ of you here.

The number is wild. But the messages saying, “I noticed this because of you,” “I read to my kid for the first time in years and they loved it,” or “I understand my child differently now” mean SOOO much more.

and with lots of new faces around here lately, it felt like a good time to properly say hi 🥹🩵📚

So hi! I’m Jenn. Tell me who you are and where in the world you’re following from. I truly love getting to meet you! by @jenn.overstreet

How quickly a kid’s relationship with learning changes would shock you once we understand what’s making it difficult.

From the outside, it looks like a lack of interest, but the experience feels entirely different to the kid doing the work.

Here’s something to try.

Pay attention to the specific moments when your kid starts to disengage.

-is it when they have to read independently?
-when they’re asked to write?
-when the work gets harder?
…or a mix of all the above + some?

Those moments give us useful clues about where to start.

It’s also why I ALWAYS start with an in-depth assessment to figure out why/where reading or writing feels so difficult for your kid.

I’d love to help you get some answers if you’re wondering this.

Comment APPLY and I’ll send you the details about working together 1:1…January spots are already starting to fill up. by @jenn.overstreet

You and your partner might agree that reading is important.

But have you ever talked about what that means in your family?

I work with families who invest so much in their kids’ education, and something I’ve noticed over the years is how rarely parents have actually sat down together to talk about reading.

One parent might be worried about reading levels and test scores.

The other might be more concerned with whether their kid enjoys books.

Neither is wrong, but those different priorities shape what happens at home.

Please also chat about what to do if or when reading gets difficult.

It’s much easier to make decisions together QUICKLY (time is of the essence for reading challenges) when you’ve already talked about what matters to you.

Send this to your partner and make it a dinner conversation this week! by @jenn.overstreet

One of the biggest mistakes I see families make is treating independent reading as the finish line for reading aloud.

Your kid learns to read, starts choosing their own books, and somewhere along the way, bedtime stories stop.

I totally get it! Watching your kid read independently is a HUGE milestone.

AND a kid’s ability to read a book independently and their ability to understand and enjoy a story are 2 different things.

Your 8yo might be working hard to read a chapter book on their own, but when you read aloud, you open the door to stories, vocal, and ideas they aren’t quite ready to tackle independently.

Not to mention the conversations afterward are GOLD.

You get to hear how your kid thinks, what they notice, what they find unfair, and which characters they’d absolutely refuse to be friends with.

You’re giving them opportunities to build the language, knowledge, and reasoning skills they’ll draw on as readers AND writers.

So please, don’t retire the bedtime stories the moment your kid becomes an independent reader. PLEASE.

Keep reading together.

If you’ve got an older kid who thinks bedtime stories are for babies, try a family audiobook, a chapter over breakfast, or reading the same book and comparing opinions. Or comment BOOK CLUB to learn how to start a reading together as a family.

(There is no expiration date on sharing a good story)

Send this to a parent who thinks their kid has outgrown being read to. <3 by @jenn.overstreet

Here’s something I wish more parents understood about teaching kids to write...writing is a ridiculously complex skill.

Think about everything your kid has to do to write a single paragraph.

They need ideas worth sharing, the vocabulary to express them, and the ability to organize their thoughts into sentences that make sense.

Oh, and they need to think about spelling, punctuation, and handwriting while they’re at it.

That’s a LOT happening at once.

So this is why giving a kid more writing prompts isn’t always the answer.

Sometimes we need to go back to the word level. We need to explicitly teach your kid how to build, combine, and expand sentences.

Your kid also needs opportunities to talk through their ideas before putting pencil to paper.

Good writing instruction brings these skills together while giving your kiddo targeted practice in the areas where they need support.

So while I’ve ranked 6 common writing activities, the best choice depends on what your kid already knows and what they’re still learning.

If you’re wondering how to put all of this into practice at home, I’m working on something for you!

Storyteller’s Club is coming in 2027, with practical ways to help your kid develop their ideas, build stronger sentences, and grow into a more confident, capable writer (and storyteller).

Comment WRITE27 to join the early interest list and be among the first to hear about Storyteller’s Club. by @jenn.overstreet

Another one… don’t stop reading to your kid just because they know how to read. All ages, all languages, all genres 📕 by @jenn.overstreet

You don’t need everyone reading the same novel. Pick a monthly theme, let each person find something they’re interested in, and make time to talk about what you’re reading.

It’s a lovely way to make books part of family life without turning reading into another assignment.

I’ve put together a free Family Book Club Starter Kit with book recommendations and everything you need to get started.

Comment BOOK CLUB and I’ll send it your way! by @jenn.overstreet

Whether it’s graphic novels, the series they’ve read a dozen times, books that look too easy, or books you think are a little hard for them…

Taking one away teaches a kid that the books they choose don’t count.

A kid who stops trusting their own choices might eventually stop choosing to read.

Here’s what I’d do instead, depending on the book:

1. The graphic novel...let it stay! Your kid is still working with vocabulary, inference, character, and plot. Ask them what the pictures show that the words don’t say.

2. The book they’ve read a dozen times...rereading gives kids opportunities to build fluency, deepen comprehension, and notice things they missed before. Try asking, “What did you notice this time that you missed before?”

3. The book that looks too easy...when reading the words takes less effort, your kid has more attention available for meaning. That’s a great opportunity for a bigger conversation about the story.

4. The book you think is too hard...read it first, or read it together, so you’re there when something comes up. If it truly isn’t right yet, explain why and make a plan to revisit it.

5. The book you’re unsure about...get curious before you decide. “What do you love about this one?” Their answer will tell you a lot about who they are as a reader.

Of course, you can always offer another book alongside the one they’ve chosen. Introduce them to new authors, genres, and ideas. Help them develop their taste!

One day, your kid will be choosing books entirely on their own. I want them to feel confident exploring what interests them, knowing what they enjoy, and being willing to try something new.

Yes, you’re still the parent. You get to decide what’s appropriate for your kid’s age, maturity, and circumstances. Protecting their freedom to choose doesn’t mean abandoning your judgment.

I do want to make sure that when you do need to say no to a particular book, your kid understands it’s about the content, not because their interests or choices don’t matter. by @jenn.overstreet

Comment SUBSTACK… you’ll find my starter guide and November theme (everything you need) to get started! by @jenn.overstreet