Testimonials - Hutch & Coop Urban Farm

Hutch & Coop Urban Farm

1.
My husband and I have been enormously pleased with the progress of our children in the areas of reading, writing and spelling.
We have found Brigid to be an exemplary teaching professional.

Her warmth and experience as well as her professional integrity have allowed my children to develop a love of reading and writing that will, I am certain remain with them for the rest of their lives.
Juliana V. Vancouver, WA

2.
Brigid Gerard has been privately as well as group tutoring my son for the past four years in her classroom in her home .
She has been an excellent teacher and has always maintained a professional as well as personable demeanor with all her students and my son has gained enormous literacy skill under her tutelage.
Her classroom management skills are top notch.
She has taught my son to read, write and spell using the Riggs method of instruction and his language arts skills are now at a much higher grade level than most of his peers which has allowed him to gain much confidence.
He loves to attend her classes!
Maria A. Sellwood, OR

3.
Like most moms who choose to homeschool from a very young age, the idea of teaching your child to read might sound intimidating. My husband and I take language arts instruction very seriously, but my own educational background is heavy in the sciences and mathematics, so I felt like I needed some support in teaching my children to not only read and decode, but to understand language and to be good spellers. Brigid’s program (using the Riggs/Spaulding method) was fabulous for my children. My daughter, (then 6) quickly and easily went from “reading with tears” to having tears if I told her she needed to stop reading and come to the dinner table! My daughter not only knows how to spell, but why we spell the way we do! She is also excellent at grammar and creative writing. After working with Brigid for 3 years, my daughter (now 9) has an 8th grade reading comprehension level and is a highly motivated learner and reader of history and a student of Latin as well!

Brigid taught my son to read when he was a young 4 year old, and having that early foundation in Riggs (with all that it offers) has swiftly brought my son to a point where as a 2nd grader, he has a 5th grade reading comprehension and spelling ability! This is amazing, especially because boys typically do lag behind in reading developmentally.

Brigid’s space is serene, natural, and Montessori-inspired. There is always handwork, fine-motor practice, beauty, warmth, and deep acceptance. If you are a homeschooling parent needing some help in the early language arts department, Hobbit House Tutoring is for you!
Carrie T. Hillsboro, OR

4.

My five year old son has gone from being a non-reader to a reader of level one books, like Bob Books, in two and a half months of phonogram instruction with Brigid. And he is spelling at a second grade level. In short, he has learned why words are spelled the way they are. He can write legibly all of the fifty seven phonograms that he has been taught. And even more astounding is that he can write words that he hears himself or that others say by using the word analysis tools that he has developed. For example, I watched him write a list of the names of people he knows with tremendous accuracy. And he is excited about doing it too. Through his phonogram instruction I too have re-learned basic grammar and spelling. I employ phonograms frequently when trying to decide how to pronounce words that are new to me or the old favorites that I've always been unsure of. Truthfully, Brigid's phonogram instruction has helped our whole family; even our little toddler apes his brother and recites them. Brigid has far exceeded my expectations. Before asking for her help I was resigned to the fate that my son would not learn grammar as it had once been taught. So I am incredibly thankful to find a master in my own backyard who not only loves teaching children but knows that they are capable of learning more than they are routinely given.