Dreams KC

Parents...This live is for YOU! The Summer Slide is real, AND it is coming for your child. Join me as I share strategies to help ensure your child doesn't experience 3 months of learning loss.

kit → kite. Same letters. Different word. Different sound. ✨
The trick? A silent letter at the end. It's called Magic E — and your kid is about to fall in love with it.

Here's how it works: when you add a silent "e" to a 3-letter word like "kit," it tells the middle vowel to say its NAME (the long sound). So "kit" (short i) becomes "kite" (long i). The e is silent. But it changes everything.

🪄 The 4 transformations every parent needs to know:
🦸 Short a → Long a: cap → cape, can → cane, mad → made
🪁 Short i → Long i: kit → kite, bit → bite, pin → pine
🎵 Short o → Long o: hop → hope, not → note, rod → rode
🧊 Short u → Long u: cub → cube, tub → tube, cut → cute

10-minute magic trick for tonight:
A. Read "kit" together
B. Add an "e" card to the end
C. Watch your kid's face when "kit" becomes "kite"
D. Try the others: cap → cape, hop → hope, cub → cube
Wave a real (or pretend) wand. Kids remember magic.

⚠️ THE CATCH: some words break the rule. "Have," "give," "love," "come," "done," "some" all LOOK like Magic E words but they're not. They're exceptions — and we'll cover them in our Heart Words poster.

This is Stage 5 of 7 in our Phonics Roadmap. Save this. Share it. Vowel teams are next. 💛

Join us for our weekly Literacy Lab for Educators.
Whether you're teaching summer school or enjoying your break, we'll dive into what it takes to make summer a secret weapon — educators who use these three months intentionally will be the ones who see the fastest growth in the fall.

It's official — I'm speaking at the State of Black Learning Conference 2026! 🙌🏾

This will be my second year on the conference stage, and I am beyond honored to return to a space that is unapologetically focused on Black students.

My session — When Parents Lead: Empowering African-American Families to Build Strong Readers — was born out of a simple truth: families don't lack care. They lack tools. Too often we tell parents that reading matters but never show them how. This session changes that.

Together, teachers, principals, literacy coaches, and community partners will explore practical strategies to position African-American parents as true literacy leaders at home — because when school and family work in partnership, more of our children become confident readers for life.

📍 August 5–7, 2026
✨ Grounded in Truth. Forward in Strategy.
Register here 👉 stateofblacklearningconference.com/registration

I'd love to see you in that room. Share this with someone in your circle doing the work.

Conference Registration - State of Black Learning REGISTER FOR SBL Innovate. Educate. Inspire. General REGISTRATION Early BIRD $450 CLOSED Until March 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM Early Bird All-In $750 Closed Until March 31, 2026 at 11:59 PM including the Dinner & Discussion, Conference, and Black Excellence Gala. General $600 Register Now Until June 14,....

📚 Mark your calendar, Kansas City! I'll be vending at BLACK DOLLAR DAYS — and DREAMS KC is bringing the books!

Come shop our Decodable Books: colorful, diverse early readers built on the science of reading that actually help kids learn to read. Perfect for parents, teachers, grandparents, and anyone with a little one working on those reading skills. 📖

🗓️ Saturday, June 13, 2026
🕚 11 AM – 4 PM
📍 Friendship Baptist Church, 3530 Chelsea Drive, Kansas City, MO 64128

Presented by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.® — Beta Omega Chapter | Build Our Economic Wealth Committee.

This is a day to ATTEND + BUY and keep the Black dollar circulating in our community. 💚🩷 💙
Tag a parent or teacher who needs these books, and I'll see you there!

We're sending kids back to school ready to READ!

This August, DREAMS KC is teaming up with 's "I AM THE BAG" Back-to-School Extravaganza to put decodable book sets into the hands of 75 young readers—right alongside the free backpacks and school supplies.

A backpack helps a child start the year. Books help them access it.
$35 sends a complete book set to one child. Will you fund a reader? Help us by Funding A Reader 👉 givebutter.com/backpacks-books

Backpacks + Books: Help 75 Kids Read | DREAMS KC Help send 75 young readers back to school with decodable books. Just $35 sponsors one child. A DREAMS KC + Duffle Bag Apparel literacy campaign.