[WRITE]

Well, we know for sure babies can read and do maths, but my kids and I'm sure many other babies are PROOF that babies can WRITE
They may not be able to write with a pen, or type, due to dexterity issues, but using the medium they can manage, they can spell out words, which is writing.!!!

  I wondered how I could find enough time to teach bubby anything when she slept so much (3 sleeps a day, and all night).  Now she seems so stimulated she doesnt want to sleep, as though sleep time means missing out on so many new experiences. Which is great for teaching her, but not great for getting necessary chores done... so the educational DVDs double as a babysitter while I'm out of the room, cos we're in the separation anxiety stage (aaargh!!!)  >

I didnt know much about these cards except they stimulated those brain connections to happen so I used a fold-out book of black-n-white contrasting patterns from Dr Miriam Stoppards Baby Play & Learn pack (www.dk.com) which I bought at a 2nd hand baby stuff shop.
I folded it out and put it down the side of Azaria's bassinette, so it was close enough to see when she was newborn.  I just rotated it a bit so she'd see a different image each time.

I think its Ok to be flexible.... I think I'd go crazy if I had to follow Doman to the letter, even though the guy's my hero.  I do different things everyday, and although at 8 months azaria isnt necessarily reading, I think by 1 year she'll be streets ahead of my other kids at 1 year. (they're much older and I didnt have access to the educational videos/DVDs we have now).
I vary what she watches... I bought Tweedlewink but she gets bored with the encyclopedic knowledge part if there are no words flashed on the screen (she loves seeing words)  It's a costly set...$256 to buy and ship 7 DVDs to australia.
 I just started BabyBit, which has 7 hours of lessons Doman-style, but is just maths and reading focused. I have 2 English and 2 Spanish Dvds, at $100 each.    Its expensive, but at least that frees me up to do other things . I don't have the time to flash cards all day!
I have other sets...Baby Bumblebee is Ok, but no-where near enough word-flashing or commentary, Brainy baby is excellent...the Animals DVD is packed full of info...a baby horse is a foal, a group of lions is a pride, giraffes are the tallest land animals...supports encyclopaedic knowledge flashcards in a slower way. Baby Einstein, Baby Genius, Baby Babble, so smart, baby brainworks, Galloping minds, Montessori house, My baby can talk are not my favourites for a baby.  I do like baby See'n sign...lots and lots of signs.  Bubby's absolute favourite is Your baby Can Read.  She would happily watch those ALL day.. she is riveted.  If she's sooky, teething, grumpy and I need to attend to something else, I pop these on and she's mesmerized and happy.  I sit her in her walker and she just bounces up and down for joy, squealing with delight.  And when they finish, she claps, as if to say "Bravo! Encore!"
It's a pity Brillkids wasnt happening earlier, as I'd prefer to have made my own flashcard/encyclopaedic knowlege DVDs. Which I will be doing, when I can figure out what to do.

I do both...one reinforces the other.
Babies can never be saturated in enough words and pictures, i reckon. No point in knowing the word "cow", though, if you don't know what a cow looks like. With common words, you'd see the items in real life, but many flashcards teach uncommon words, like the Steve parish set I have which teaches Australian animals.  How often is my baby going to see a jabiru, platypus or numbat in real life, let alone underwater creatures? So I reckon dont just focus on words, as they need to see the visual representation of the meaning of the word. In fact, other than on educational DVDs, bubby probably doesnt see that many cows or sheep, as she always seems to be asleep when we drive past any in the car!!

I did this with my older kids at 1 year old, so it may work earlier... I showed them flashcards of words like mummy, mum, daddy, potty, toot, cat, dog etc and then gave them the magnetic letters (fridge magnets)that spelled those words (tossed them in a pile in front of them) and asked them to spell a certain word.  and they did, no errors. I put larger alphabets in the bath (you can buy foam ones now) and they loved to put bubbles up the walls and stick the letters to the walls making words of their own choosing. They preferred to do that than play with other bath toys.

any spelling errors are typos!! It's busy with 4 kids..I have to type quickly!

I have found with my 3 older kids that exposure to print in any way shape or form is helpful (adult-only stuff the exception).  Having a picture to put to the word is the best way of learning, as it seems to help develop a photographic memory, and better spelling ability.  I have bought old picture books and realized I recognised the images from when I was a child, a long time ago! I taught myself to read before school, just by repeatedly gazing at these books with the picture and word on the same page. With Azaria, I use an A3 laminator to laminate flashcards, not individaulaly, but one large, usually reversible page of them.  I've plastered the hallway wall from the skirting board to half-way up the wall with them, plus the doors of wall units in the lounge-room. I also make smaller (A4) sized laminated pages by buying thrift-shop kids books, old magazines, junk mail catalogues etc and cutting words and pictures out of them...a page of pictures of cats, with the words kitten, kitty, pussy, cat (will do foreign languages soon) in different colours, sizes and fonts...in capitals and lower-case...so she recognises the word in different situations, in different handwriting. I also found that constant repetition and thus memorisation of books like Green Eggs and Ham helped my kids to actually READ the words and recognise them as toddlers. due to circumstances I did not do much with my son, and he has very little interest in reading, and is not a good speller.

Azaria is a biblical hebrew name, meaning Whom jehovah (god) helps. I named her after Azaria Chamberlain, a baby who was taken by a dingo at ayers rock in 1980...I always believed the family innocent of her murder, as no-one puts the effort into thinking up a name like Azaria (or JonBenet) and then murders the child. Strange thing is, god didnt help Azaria Chamberlain one single bit, did he? Azaria is a very UNpopular name here in australia due to the history of the other Azaria. I was being radical calling her that.

Hi, I'm Nicole. I have 3 older kids and an 8 month old girl, Azaria. I've never been in any sort of forum or chatroom before so I'm quite clueless as to what I'm doing!