This important and engaging episode features Joan Kelley, founder and CEO of Abound Parenting, and MaryKate DeSantis, who highlight the critical role of oral language and vocabulary—not just decoding—in long-term reading success. Drawing on Kelley’s research at Harvard, they explain how the Abound app equips families with tools like reading check-ins, daily conversation prompts, vocabulary practice, and curated book lists to strengthen language development at home and build stronger school-family connections.

The episode also spotlights BookR Class, a digital reading platform for English learners ages 4–14 that offers 1,200+ animated books and interactive games to build comprehension and vocabulary. Together, Abound Parenting and BookR provide practical, research-based tools for supporting children’s reading growth.

Resources:

Learn More about BOOKR Class and their digital library for classroom use. BOOKR Class is an award-winning, teacher-favorite digital reading platform that harnesses the power of stories to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) effectively. Specially created for students ages 4–14, including those with learning difficulties such as ADHD and dyslexia, BOOKR Class provides personalized language learning experiences driven by advanced AI technology.

Learn more about Abound Parenting and access the Abound Parenting app.

Reach out to Joan Kelley here.

See the overview here.

Wanna dive into the super compelling reading research. Here you go!:

Lesaux, N. K., & Kieffer, M. J. (2010). Exploring Sources of Reading Comprehension Difficulties Among Language Minority Learners and Their Classmates in Early Adolescence. American Educational Research Journal, 47(3), 596-632. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831209355469 (Original work published 2010)
Gámez, P. B., & Lesaux, N. K. (2015). Early-adolescents’ reading comprehension and the stability of the middle school classroom-language environment. Developmental Psychology, 51(4), 447–458. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272520099_Early-Adolescents'_Reading_Comprehension_and_the_Stability_of_the_Middle_School_Classroom-Language_Environment
Reynolds, A. M., & Burton, S. L. (2016). Serve and return: Communication foundations for early childhood music policy stakeholders. Arts Education Policy Review, 118(3), 140–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632913.2016.1244779 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10632913.2016.1244779

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