Rewind: Helping Kids Learn to Read (And Love It) with Miss Beth from Big City Readers

No One Told Us

Rachael Shepard-Ohta

Society & Culture, Kids & Family, Parenting

4.9 • 590 Ratings

🗓️ 21 August 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Rachael sits down with literacy expert and beloved educator Beth Gaskill, known by her community as Miss Beth, to talk all about how children learn to read. From the science of reading (yep, it’s a science!) to why fun is essential in the process, this episode is packed with practical strategies for parents who want to support their kids' literacy journeys. They also chat about what it means to "redshirt" kindergarten, how to foster early literacy skills at home, and how to talk to your kids after school in a way that builds connection (not frustration). Plus, Rachael shares her own perspective as a former public school teacher and current parent navigating her child’s first year in the school system. Inside this episode: What the science of reading actually means The Orton-Gillingham approach and multisensory literacy Why reading should be fun (and how to make it that way) How to support your child's learning style Understanding Kindergarten "redshirting" What to say when your child won’t tell you about their day Rachael’s reflections from 10+ years teaching reading Why advocacy matters and how to be your child’s best advocate And so much more! Mentioned in this episode: Big City Readers On-Demand Courses for babies, toddlers, and kids Beth’s podcast: Play on Words Podcast: Sold a Story Follow Miss Beth: @bigcityreaders ✨ For sleep support and resources, visit heysleepybaby.com and follow @heysleepybaby on Instagram! 😴☁️🤎✨ Rachael is a mom of 3, founder of Hey, Sleepy Baby, and the host of this podcast. Instagram | Tiktok | Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Adobe Acrobat Studio so brand new.
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0:36.3	Welcome to No One Told Us, the podcast that tells the truth about parenting and talks about all the stuff you wish you knew before having kids.
0:43.4	I'm your host, Rachel Shepard Otaugh, and today I'm with Beth Gaskill, or better known as Miss Beth.
0:49.7	And I'm so excited to talk with you today.
0:52.2	Let me just tell our audience a little bit about Beth before we jump in.
0:56.2	Beth is trained in the science of reading, the Orton Gillingham approach, and a multi-sensory
1:01.9	literacy instructor, a former early childhood and elementary school teacher.
1:08.9	You founded big city readers to create a space for families
1:12.3	to come together and understand how to teach their kids the unique ways that they are wired to learn
1:17.6	and read, not just to teach reading, but to build community and have fun. And I love that so much.
1:23.3	I am a new follower of yours on Instagram. I have a kindergartner. He just started like recently.
1:29.1	And so I've been just loving your content. And I am a former teacher as well, also trained in
1:35.0	Norton Gillingham. I taught special ed elementary for 10 years. So I feel like this is going to be a
1:40.3	great conversation. And I'm just very excited to nerd out with you on teaching and
1:44.8	reading stuff. Thank you so much for being here. Yay, me too. I did not know that you were
1:49.0	Urton Gillingham train. Now we need more than half an hour. I know. I know. How did
1:55.4	kindergarten go the start? Oh my God. It's been shocking. Like I, so I, my followers from Casey B Baby know about this whole saga.
2:04.6	So I live in San Francisco where we have a lottery system for public schools. So we felt very strongly that
2:12.8	we wanted public school. Also, like, it's pretty much our only option because public, private schools here
	...

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