Private tutoring for Elementary students of all abilities and beginning readers of all ages near Gorham, Maine.

ABOUT MAGIC MOMENTS

Meet Sarah

Magic Moments Founder
Hello! I'm glad to meet you.
I am passionate about teaching children to read, but also I am committed to helping students develop positive feelings about reading, build confidence and develop an awareness of their own learning style.

​I am a State of Maine Certified Literacy Specialist with more than 13 years of experience working individually and in small groups with striving readers. 

I am so excited to work with you and your child to open the doors of reading for your child. 

​My Qualifications

  • Certified in the State of Maine to teach Grade K-8
  • Certified in the State of Maine as a Literacy Specialist K-12
  • Orton Gillingham Certified Dyslexia Practitioner 2; CERI: Structured Literacy Dyslexia Interventionist Certification
  • Reading Recovery Trained
  • Bachelor's Degree from Smith College
  • Master's Degree from University of Southern Maine
  • Current Background Check

​My Philosophy

​I believe that all children can learn to read with the right instruction.
Learning to read is one of the most complicated processes children will ever learn. I believe that children are active learners and develop a complex system of reading and writing strategies through explicit instruction in phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and word solving strategies.

I work on the cutting edge of a child's learning, adding just the right amount of new learning to help them progress toward the goal of becoming an independent and fluent reader. Through carefully designed individualized lessons, students will experience magic moments as they develop skills and discover the joy of reading.
Call Today to Reserve a Spot
Magic Moments Tutoring
207-200-5664
[email protected]

Meet Dale

Magic Moments Tutor

Dale

​Dale is a certified dyslexia practitioner who also holds a Maine teaching credential.

​She grew up in CA where she taught K-1 for 7 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She lives in Portland with her husband and her son, an engineer. Her daughter is a nurse in San Diego. She has been teaching or tutoring for more than 25 years.

​Her favorite pastimes are:
  • reading,
  • singing & playing in 2 ukulele bands,
  • the outdoors, biking,
  • her beautiful puppy and cat, 
  • having friends over for tea and board games,
  • all things tea-related,
  • and traveling.
​Meet Alana
​Magic Moments Tutor

Alana
​
​Alana McFall is a special educator with over 25 years of experience supporting students with diverse learning needs across elementary, secondary, and adult education settings. She has worked as a classroom teacher, inclusion specialist, educational consultant, and university lecturer, and brings deep expertise in IEP implementation, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), literacy intervention, and inclusive practices. Alana is the author of Inclusion: Creating the Mindset, Building the Framework and is passionate about building school communities where all students and teachers feel valued, supported, and able to thrive.

Most recently, Alana was the owner and director of an independent art studio and school in the heart of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. There, she collaborated with a creative team of enthusiastic artists to teach everything from the wonders of watercolor painting to sculpting with found objects, and much in between.

​Alana recently relocated from Baltimore to Gorham with her partner J., her youngest daughter Darcy, a student at Gorham High School, along with their dog Sasha and cats Leo and Sketch. All but the cats have been enjoying their first snowy winter in Maine.  When she is not teaching, Alana enjoys painting, reading historical fiction, especially stories set in Maine, playing pickleball and board games with her extended family, and swimming whenever possible in her new state’s beautiful lakes and rivers.

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