Koloa Teacher Launches Move-and-Play Reading Product

A Kaua‘i teacher launched her innovative reading product that uses movement and play to teach children how to read. Reading Wave, a new language arts program is now available for parents, grandparents, teachers, tutors, and homeschoolers to pre-order on Kickstarter for a limited time.

The Kickstarter campaign is the launch of Kuzma’s business. Reading Wave is live now though Aug. 30. You can buy the first complete lesson, the entire Reading Wave program, or contribute any amount to the startup for other Kickstarter “rewards”. The project goal is $75,000 and Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing crowdfunding website.

Reading Wave has more than 200 activities that include physical movement, games and pretend play. The activities use common household items, and 15 toys or props that accompany the product.

Research has shown that movement is a key component in the learning process due to the wiring in the human brain. The part of the brain that controls movement, the cerebellum, is also responsible for learning language, which is technically what reading is. Reading, like language, is simply decoding and memorizing sounds and words. Since movement stimulates the part of the brain that controls language, it makes sense to move as you learn the language of reading.

“In a young child’s daily life, he or she finds the most pleasure and motivation from movement and play,” said Kuzma, who has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. “It is wired in the young student’s brain to learn through exploration, interaction, effort, and pretend. Learning to read by using these natural tendencies is just as natural as learning to walk or talk.”

The full program comes with 26 lessons including more than 200 Move and Play activities, 78 books, 26 multilevel workbooks, toys and school supplies. We developed the product to be able to use as soon as it arrives.

Reading Wave has 26 comprehensive lessons for kids ages 3 to 8, or students pre-k to third grade. It is a multilevel program to use among siblings, in classrooms, and can be used again and again as the child’s reading level improves.

Kuzma has written 78 books for the program, including 26 Hawai‘i-themed stories that are color-coded, a one-of-a-kind system that helps students focus on the letters and words they’re studying in that lesson.

In addition to the Move and Play activities and books, the full program consists of 26 multilevel workbooks, simple instructions for the parent or teacher to follow for each lesson plan, and a convenience pack with school supplies to use with the program.

Kuzma has a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction, and has been teaching young children to read for 22 years. She and her husband own and operate Ken-Yen Learning Center in Koloa.

Learn more at ReadingWave.com.

Click here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/538488061/reading-wave-a-move-and-play-reading-program?ref=discovery to become a backer of Reading Wave at Kickstarter.