Ep. 115 - Why Your Child Says Reading Is Boring (And What to Do About It) // Janel Nansenn — The Christy-Faith Show

Your child reads beautifully out loud — but ask them what just happened in the story, and you get a blank stare. That's the gap most homeschool moms don't catch until it's too late.

In Episode 115, homeschool expert Christy-Faith sits down with educational therapist Janel Nansenn — founder of Read-A-Rific and a 25-year private practice veteran who has helped over 3,000 students — to break down the reading comprehension gap most families don't catch until fourth grade, when the doors really start closing.

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In this episode, you'll learn:

What the Matthew effect is — and why it's the silent reason struggling readers fall further behind every year
The critical difference between reading fluency and reading comprehension (and why fluent readers can still have huge gaps)
The single skill underneath strong reading comprehension — concept visualization — and why most curricula skip it entirely
The real reason kids say "reading is boring" (it's not laziness)
The red flags that signal a comprehension problem before it tanks your child's confidence
Comprehension-rich activities every homeschool mom should be doing — even if your child is already a strong reader
How to evaluate whether a reading curriculum actually teaches comprehension or just tests it
Why visualization is the bridge to math word problems, writing, vocabulary, and every other subject

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Resources mentioned:

Free symptoms checklist for weak visualization skills: readarific.com
The Christy-Faith List — Find homeschool-friendly providers: christy-faiths-list.com
Thrive Homeschool Community: christy-faith.com/thrive

About our guest:

Janel Nansenn is an educational therapist with a master's degree in speech-language pathology and audiology, and the founder of Read-A-Rific. With nearly 25 years in private practice, she has helped over 3,000 students of all ages become independent, confident learners by addressing the root cause of reading comprehension struggles: weak concept visualization.
👉 readarific.com

Connect with Christy-Faith:

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(00:00) - The Matthew effect — why reading comprehension is the quiet worry
(02:00) - Meet Janelle Nansen, founder of Read-A-Rific
(03:28) - Janelle's story: how she discovered concept visualization
(08:03) - Why she narrowed her practice to reading comprehension
(08:46) - Reading fluency vs. reading comprehension
(15:29) - Why kids think reading is "boring"
(18:52) - The shame spiral: comprehension struggles and self-esteem
(20:44) - Comprehension-rich activities every homeschool mom should do
(23:29) - Red flags: symptoms of weak visualization skills
(26:23) - Why visualization matters across math, writing & vocabulary
(29:35) - How to evaluate a reading comprehension curriculum
(34:26) - Charlotte Mason, narration & the long history of these methods
(46:27) - The takeaway: find the root cause
(47:49) - Where to find Janelle