Meet the Creator: A 2nd Grade Teacher’s Mission to Make Reading Work
🍎 From the Classroom to the Cloud—Why BrainySheets Was Born
Twelve years ago, I stood in front of a group of second graders—some fluent, some struggling, some completely stuck—and realized that no single reading program was reaching them all.
Some students needed phonics. Others needed comprehension scaffolds. Some needed decodable texts. Others were ready to dig into theme and character change. And I needed something that brought all those tools together.
That’s when the idea for BrainySheets began.
This post is your behind-the-scenes look at why I built this platform, what makes it different, and how it’s designed to support every reader—no matter their starting point.
📘 Who Am I?
I’m a veteran 2nd grade teacher with over a decade of experience in early literacy, reading intervention, and English learner support. I’ve taught hundreds of students to read and coached countless families on how to support learning at home.
My training blends:
The Science of Reading
Fountas & Pinnell and guided reading best practices
Structured literacy and phonics-first instruction
And a whole lot of real classroom experience
I’ve seen what works. I’ve seen what doesn’t. And I wanted to create something that gives teachers and parents what they actually need—no fluff, no wasted prep, no false promises.
🧱 Why BrainySheets?
I built BrainySheets to solve a few problems I kept seeing:
Phonics programs that don’t include comprehension
Leveled texts that don’t reinforce decoding patterns
Overwhelming resource websites with no clear scope or sequence
Teachers spending hours cobbling together lessons from 10 different sites
So I made something better:
Every worksheet is leveled, standards-aligned, and skill-targeted
Every decodable story comes with comprehension questions and a teaching guide
Every resource is created by a real teacher (me!) who knows what you’re juggling
It’s not just about cute fonts or trendy buzzwords—it’s about helping kids actually learn to read.
🧠 What Makes BrainySheets Different?
It’s structured: Materials follow a clear phonics and comprehension sequence
It’s flexible: Use it for whole-group, small group, centers, or intervention
It’s real: Every story is original, engaging, and written for real kids—not computer-generated texts
It’s efficient: Low prep, high impact. Designed for busy teachers and families
It’s balanced: Merges phonics with real comprehension and vocabulary instruction
You won’t find disconnected drill sheets or fluffy comprehension passages here. Every BrainySheet is a full lesson—start to finish.
🔁 Final Thought: Reading Is Too Important to Leave to Guesswork
I didn’t start BrainySheets because I needed another project. I started it because I needed a solution—for my students, for my classroom, and for the kids I knew were falling through the cracks.
Now it’s grown into something bigger: a full library of research-backed, teacher-approved, student-friendly reading materials that meet kids where they are—and move them forward.
Thanks for being here. You’re the reason this work matters.
