Learning Without Tears

Foundational learning is just that, the foundation or basis for all future education, and its importance cannot be overstressed. Children who fail to attain the basic literacy and numeracy skills can find it arduous to catch up with the rigour of the school curriculum. A lack of a firm grasp on these skills also increases the chances of such students dropping out of school or developing wide learning gaps. Enter Learning Without Tears, an EdTech company that provides pre-K-5 students learning products that help them build foundational skills. Through its award-winning educational programs, the company makes teaching and learning easy and fun, as well as highly effective. Learning Without Tears has three flagship learning programs: Get Set for School, Handwriting Without Tears, and Keyboarding Without Tears. While Get Set for School prepares children for kindergarten, Handwriting Without Tears and Keyboarding Without Tears provide a web- based curriculum for grades K–5 to teach handwriting, typing and general computer readiness.

As the pandemic continues to keep children out of preschools and kindergarten nationwide, the need to develop foundational skills outside of the school environment is even more critical. To make up for the educational upheaval caused by the pandemic, Learning Without Tears comes with learning tools to bridge the gaps and ensure that these students are ready for the new school year.

We provide skill-specific professional learning and curriculum-based training for thousands of teachers, educators, and occupational therapists,” mentions Terry Nealon, CEO of the company

As the company understands that students’ literacy skills deteriorate during spring and summer breaks, it has taken affirmative steps to address this long-standing predicament. Learning Without Tears helps families and schools manage this issue by providing innovative learning materials, encouraging kids to stay engaged in learning, and reinforcing their existing skills. With reinforced foundational skills, students no longer struggle with the study materials when they return to school after a long break. While offering such superior educational products, Learning Without Tears also imparts professional development to educators and families.

“We provide skill-specific professional learning and curriculum-based training for thousands of teachers, educators, and occupational therapists,” mentions Terry Nealon, CEO of the company. Such skills enable teachers to follow best practices in the classroom. Their engaging and interactive professional development workshops also motivate and educate teachers, parents, and educators. The training also enables teachers to use the company’s products efficiently by individualizing instruction for students and using student data to provide a measurably better learning experience.

Learning Without Tears utilizes an age appropriate and multisensory K–5 curriculum, which is incorporated directly into the lessons. As the content is developed specifically for pre-K -5 students based on their learning styles and abilities, they can easily pick up subjects. In addition, the company’s experience working with occupational therapists enables the development of unique content. In order to enhance the learning experience, Learning Without Tears offers printed and digital offerings. The digital content is a built-in feature of the learning platform, which can be integrated with a school district’s existing learning management system or student information system.

Before the digital explosion we see today, the company had humble roots as Learning Without Tears, a company mainly focused on handwriting in its early days. Since then, it has expanded over the years by building a curriculum design team, professional learning, and sales and marketing team. These teams are headed by industry veterans who bring extensive experience in their core areas, and they play a critical role in offering their clients better service and support.

With a track record of 40 years, Learning Without Tears focuses on student outcomes and constantly improves the learning experience. The company engages with its clients extensively to understand the gaps in the curriculum and improve the results. “We understand that if we fail to help students achieve success, we are actually failing on our primary mission,” explains CEO Nealon.

Moving ahead, the company is offering important new literacy programs with a focus on Social Emotional Learning. More recently, it is launching a new alphabet learning series, with its beloved animated character, Mat Man in a diverse and inclusive curriculum. Although Learning Without Tears has grown significantly, the company hasn’t deviated a bit from its mission originally set by its founder, Jan Olsen, whose ideas became the basis for breakthrough curriculum. With superior learning programs aimed at making learning effective, easy, and fun, the company continues to revolutionize learning.