Liam Boschen
Graduate of Karen’s program

I started working with Karen when I was eight. When we began, I didn't know how to read or
spell. I struggled so much that I even misspelled the word "the." (I thought it was spelled "t-h-u.") When I tried to read, I felt nervous and unconfident. I had to pause for about five seconds between every word!

At around the same time, I started experimenting with the Rubik's cube. I spent about an hour
a day studying algorithms, trying to solve the cube, but I could only solve one side. I gave up on
that hobby for awhile, because it was so difficult.

However, I came back a year later, because I was motivated to try again. Persistence was the
key to success! Eventually, I was able to solve the entire cube.

Likewise with tutoring, persistence was the key to my success. I didn't give up, even though it
was really hard.

With Karen, I discovered that I learn best when I'm having fun and laughing a lot. It also helps
when things are colorful and entertaining. This is exactly how it is in Karen's program! We also
used creative songs and movements to build muscle memory, which made things easier to
remember. We practiced tricky concepts by creating fun games together, and it worked!

I now know the rules for how English words are put together. I can also recognize and read
words from Latin, Greek, French and Spanish. That makes me feel more confident at reading
and spelling...as you can probably tell, since I am writing this!

That said, spelling and reading still challenge me...kind of like the Rubik's cube! But in both cases, I have so much more mastery.

I now have more than 120 Rubik's cubes, and I can solve many of them in under a
minute...although the hardest one still takes about an hour. I am currently working on solving
the cube with my eyes closed!

If I persist, I know I can do it, just like I did with Karen's program!