The Education Connection with Robin Wilson brings together encouragement, real-classroom honesty, simple academic strategy, and a little faith for teachers who want to grow without burning out. Each episode offers practical literacy and math ideas, student support tips, mindset shifts, and reflective conversations about the heart behind teaching.

Whether you’re navigating reading fluency, January data checks, classroom behavior, parent relationships, or your own emotional load, Robin keeps it real and reminds you that you’re not alone. Expect short episodes you can listen to on the drive to school — equal parts uplifting and useful.

If you’re a teacher who loves kids, loves learning, and wants to stay grounded in peace while doing this work, you’re in the right place.

✨ Listener Bonus: Leave a 5-star review on your podcast platform and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card as a thank-you for supporting the show.

In this episode, we continue our work with r controlled vowels by diving into ar and or. Building on last week’s lesson with er, ir, and ur, I share how teaching phonics through stories helps concepts stick, especially when students need repeated exposure to truly learn.

You will hear classroom ready activities for teaching ar and or, including a pirate themed ar strategy, an or decision making game, and an easy hands on word sort that works beautifully in small groups or centers. This episode is inspired by the Secret Stories approach to phonics and adapted for real classrooms with real kids.

We also talk about why repetition matters. A typical learner may need to interact with a concept around 14 times before it sticks, while a struggling learner may need many more opportunities. If your students seem to forget phonics skills from one day to the next, this episode will remind you that the learning is still happening.

If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving a five star review. As a thank you, anyone who leaves a review will be entered into a drawing for $25 Amazon gift card. Your reviews help other teachers find the podcast and support this growing community.

Thank you for listening, and I am so glad you are here.

Get Ready for next year with these ultimate resources.

Get Ready for Kindergarten

Get Ready for First Grade

Get Ready for Second Grade

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In today’s episode of The Education Connection, Robin shares exactly how she teaches the r-controlled vowels er, ir, and ur in her classroom — and why her students absolutely love it. After hearing Katie Garner explain that all three make the same “errrr” sound, Robin completely shifted her approach. Now she teaches the patterns, using a playful, hands-on activity with toy cars that instantly grabs kids’ attention.

You’ll hear how Robin labels cars with er, ir, and ur, lets students “drive” around the carpet, and then park their cars on matching word cards to build automatic recognition of spelling patterns. She also explains orthographic mapping in a simple, teacher-friendly way and walks through additional routines that help young readers truly understand these tricky vowel combinations.

If you want an engaging way to teach r-controlled vowels — one that feels fun, makes sense, and sticks — this episode will give you the exact ideas you can use tomorrow.

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In this Thanksgiving week episode, Robin offers a gentle heart to heart for every teacher who feels tired, stretched thin, or simply ready for a moment to breathe. Together, we pause to reflect on gratitude, acknowledge the reality of the season, and prepare our hearts for the next three busy weeks leading up to Christmas.

Robin shares encouragement for finding calm, noticing the wins that matter, giving yourself grace for the messy moments, and stepping into December with intention instead of overwhelm. This episode is a reminder that you do not have to conquer the holidays. You only have to be present, steady, and grounded in the work you already do so well.

If you need a peaceful reset before the Christmas countdown begins, this episode is for you.

In this episode of The Education Connection, Robin shares one of the most important turning points in her teaching journey. Long before she became a confident and successful reading teacher, she remembers the season when she struggled, prayed for guidance, and felt unsure of how to help her students grow. God answered that prayer through an unexpected path that became the foundation of her reading instruction today.

Robin teaches how glued sounds work and why they matter, and she breaks them into simple steps that any teacher can use. You will hear three practical activities you can implement right away to help your students master am, an, all, ing, ang, ong, ung, ink, ank, onk, and unk with confidence. She also shares how rhythm and routines make phonics learning natural and joyful.

This episode blends the heart of a mentor with the experience of a seasoned teacher. Robin has spent years refining her practice, and her passion is helping other educators finally feel confident with the parts of reading that used to feel overwhelming.

If this podcast encourages you, please share it with another teacher or homeschool mom.

And if you leave a 5-star rating and review on the podcast platform you use, you will be entered into a monthly drawing for a $25 gift card. Your support helps more teachers discover simple and effective ways to grow strong readers.

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Teaching is heavy work. In this episode, Robin unpacks cognitive overload, the emotional weight of student trauma, the pressure of teacher evaluations, and the toll it takes on your heart and mind. With research, honesty, and encouragement from Lamentations 3:24, this episode offers strength and hope for educators in demanding seasonsI

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If this episode encouraged you, I would love for you to leave a five star rating and a quick review. When you do, you will automatically be entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. It is a simple way to support the podcast, and your review helps other teachers and homeschool families discover these conversations. Thank you so much for taking a moment to share your thoughts.

Fluency starts with confidence, and confidence starts with sight words! In this episode of The Education Connection, Robin Wilson shares practical ways to help young readers recognize high-frequency words instantly, freeing their brains to focus on comprehension and meaning.

You’ll learn how sight words support fluency, how many to focus on each year, and why those little words make a big impact. Robin also shares her favorite classroom-tested activities and a free resource to help you put it all into practice.

🧠 In This Episode, You’ll Learn:

• Why sight words are the key to building fluent, confident readers
• The difference between Fry and Dolch lists (and how to start if you don’t have a program)
• How the first 100 words make up about 50% of what kids read — and the first 300 words cover 65%

🎯 Try This in Your Classroom:

Sight Word Parking Lot Write words on index cards and let students “drive” toy cars to the ones you call out. This quick, movement-based activity builds instant recognition while keeping learning playful and fun!

Grab Robin’s Free Spelling Practice Pack, perfect for reinforcing sight words and phonics patterns through editable weekly templates. 👉 Download it now at Robin Wilson First Grade Love Spelling Practice First Grade

“Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9 Every sight word you teach is a seed of confidence that will grow in your students over time.

If this episode encouraged you, please share it with a teacher or homeschool mom—it helps more than you know! And when you leave a 5-star rating and review, you’ll be entered into a $25 Amazon gift card giveaway.

Subscribe to The Education Connection so you never miss a new episode filled with practical classroom ideas and heart-centered teaching inspiration.

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Your students can decode words — but something’s still missing. They’re reading words but not books, and it’s choppy, slow, and uncertain. That’s where fluency comes in, the bridge between sounding out and real reading.

In this episode, Robin Wilson shares:

• What fluency means
• Why 20 minutes of daily reading changes everything
• Three simple ways to build fluent, confident readers
• How to keep reading time fun with variety and choice

🎁 FREE RESOURCE: Download Robin’s The Read Everyday Challenge. 10 fun ways to practice reading every day! 👉 Click here to download the free guide

⭐ ENTER TO WIN! Leave a 5-star review of The Education Connection on Apple Podcasts, and you’ll be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. It’s my way of saying thank you for supporting the show and helping other teachers find it too! 💛

🎧 Listen now and discover how to turn decoding into joyful, fluent reading — one day at a time.