Hi there and welcome to our community - we're very happy to have you here!

Please don't hesitate to go through some of our forum posts - you will find some great insights and shared experiences by parents and educators who are interested in giving their babies a head start in life!  We all believe in teaching children how to love learning early, so don't hesitate to ask any one of us questions on how to navigate through the forums or anything under the sun!

Hope to see you posting around!

Cheers,

Lappy

Hi Irma! Welcome to the forums!

We're glad to have another mom in the community, and we look forward to hearing about your experience teaching baby Amirul Iman! 

If you have any questions - about baby education, the software, or anything under the sun - just ask any one of us, and we'll try our best to help out!

Hope to see you posting around!

Cheers,

Lappy

Hi Pang, and congratulations on your baby princess! 

Welcome to our forums, and we hope to be able to help you teach your little one!  You can download loads of free stuff from our File Downloads area, and you can also talk with other parents in the forum for some helpful tips and advice about teaching and baby education!

Hope to see more of you in the forums soon!  We're glad to have you!

Cheers,
Lappy

Hi Deneen!

You can use existing ones if you like - Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle, Little Miss Muffet and Jack & Jill - or you can also go for the original route and make your own!  We put no limits to creativity here, so we do hope that a lot of people join!

 

You're welcome Leanna! 

Let me know when you get to try it - it's was just great that I had some of these things lying around at home (like a powerpoint slide shifter - it looks like a ballpen and it wirelessly changes the slides... and they work for Little Reader! HAHA) I think it was just great that we were able to extend the functionality of the program.

 :biggrin:On another note, I was also able to connect a laptop to my TV via an S-Video Cable and an audio plug.  [This is how I used to present in meetings] The S-Video cable is cheap and they're very easy to set up too - let me know if you guys are interested in learning how this is done, and I'll be happy to share my techniques with you!

 

Hi Tim and Dylan!  Glad to have both of you on board!

I hope you share your experience with us as you teach your little boy! We're always open to opinions and fresh ideas on the subject of teaching, and we hope that we'll be able to help you as you grow to love our community.

Let us know if you have any questions - navigating the forums, about Little Reader, anything!

Hope to see you posting around!

Cheers,

Lappy

Thanks for the thumbs up Leanna! 

Another thing that I would suggest trying is investing in a set of wireless keyboard and mouse (if afforded). I just realized - as I was teaching my god daughter of 8 months - that I was quite fortunate to have a wireless desktop, and what I did while showing the presentations was I hid my keyboard (tucked it away from plain sight) and took the mouse in my hand where she didn't see it. 

It worked very much like a remote controller, flipping through the next screens, and without the distraction of having something to bang on, she became more curious about the presentations!

 

I must say Leanna, your post was beautifully composed and very well written! Props to you just for that!

I would agree with you that although the computer is a wonderful learning tool, it still doesn't replace the value and learning that one can be had with reading a book - learning how to read from right to left, holding the book right side up (directionality) are all essential parts of learning language, and I believe that holding a book in your hand also provides a tactile part of learning about life that can't be replaced.

I personally wouldn't say I am an expert on anything, but also adding in my experience growing up, I have loved the innovations given to me as a child by the computer (my first CD-ROM encyclopedia, interactive learning games, puzzles and mind teasers off the internet) but I also remember the inner joy I feel when holding a book, flipping through its crisp pages and leaving much to my imagination.

As for Little Reader - of course I have to agree with KL haha - the software IS intended to do SO MUCH MORE than just teach single words.  As shown in one of your default categories (Hey Diddle Diddle) Little Reader can also display whole sentences and rhymes - stories are not even beyond reach!  You can do so much with Little Reader, even choosing to attach music if you like or narrate whole stories if you have to.  Just having the basic functions (attaching pictures, audio, video) gives you so much leeway for creativity, you can teach anything - language, math, even sign language if you like!

As a last note, I am very happy that our forums discuss these sort of things, and we are very fortunate to have everyone here who is so willing to lend their ideas to everyone so that each of us may learn something new.

Cheers!

Hi Priya! Nice to have you in the forums!

Your daughter's name is Asmi - she has a very beautiful name, which means nature!  I hope you enjoy your time in the forums - feel free to browse through the topics and and post a reply to any of the discussions, you can even post questions of your own if you have any!

If you need help navigating through the forums or using Little Reader, let me know. I'll try my best to help.

Hope to see you posting around!

Cheers,
Lappy

Hi everyone!

Some of you may be in need of license key extensions soon to be able to keep on using your Little Reader.  To get a license key, please read Attention All Beta Testers - Extend your Little Reader License!

For those of you who have already downloaded the license extensions, we would like to know your feedback.  Please discuss any issues, comments and suggestions regarding the license key installation here.

[EXTENSION LICENSE KEYS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO EXTEND YOUR LITTLE READER BETA TESTING PERIOD UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2008.]

EXTENSION LICENSE KEYS ARE NOW AVAILABLE TO EXTEND YOUR LITTLE READER BETA TESTING PERIOD UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2008.

For those who have already posted in this thread, we will be PMing you the link to download the new license, so you won't have to post a request again.

And for those of you who have yet to request for the license key, kindly follow the instructions below.

Cheers, and happy beta testing!

Lappy   

---------

THE EXTENSION LICENSE WE ARE PROVIDING YOU WILL EXTEND YOUR LICENSE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30, 2008.
NOTE: If you have downloaded and installed Little Reader after September 1st, do not request for this license key.

Here’s what you need to do:

1.) Make sure you have downloaded and installed the newest beta version of the program – Little Reader (BETA) 1.04.  This license key will only work for Little Reader 1.04 and higher versions, so make sure you have the correct version.
     •   If you want to know what version you have currently installed, simply open your Little Reader Program, and on the upper left part of the program, press the drop down menu for “Help” and select “About BrillKids Little Reader.”
     •   If you have an old version, download and install Little Reader (BETA) 1.04 by going to your Accounts Management Page.

2.) Reply to this forum thread to let us know you need a license key!
     •   We’ve decided to spice things up a bit to make it more interesting – In your request for a license key, include a brief sentence or two telling us how much you LOVE Little Reader! (Yes, this is a bit of shameless fishing for compliments on our part, but we really do want to know!)

3.) We will then send you a Private Message (PM) with a link where you may download your license key extension! 
     •   Download the license key [little Reader (License Extension 1).zip]
     •   Assuming you are using Windows XP or Vista, simply double click on it to view the contents of the zip file.
     •   To install the key, simply double-click on Little-Reader-Beta-Extension-Key-1.lrd-lic, and it will automatically open your Little Reader program and confirm if you want to input the new license key. 
     •   Click on “OK” and you’ll be able to use your Little Reader until September 30, 2008!

Hope to hear from all of you soon! 

Having problems installing the license key? Discuss them here.

[Contest Rules:]

Contest Rules:

1. Submit a full-length category featuring a Nursery Rhyme in the English language.

2. Categories must include pictures and pronunciation files.

3. All categories must be uploaded to the File Downloads Area.
               English Language Downloads - Little Reader Library Files - Multimedia Category Downloads

4. All submissions must be titled Nursery Rhyme – Title of Nursery Rhyme

5. You must include the verses in the Description for the category
Example:
         Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool?
         Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
         One for the master,
         One for the dame,
         One for the little boy who lives down the lane.

6. You must type in “nursery rhyme” in the keywords section

Duration:  Contest ends on June 30, 2008
Judging:  KL & I will review the entries on July 1st. We will then shortlist the entries and pick the top 3 contenders and open a poll for everyone to vote in.  We will open the poll on July 4, and leave it open for voting until July 11 (1 week voting period).

Prizes:   
First Prize - 2,000 points
2nd Prize - 1,000 points
3rd Prize - 500 points

Have fun! 

Great job! thanks! 

Hi Noha!

Yeah, by this time you might've already gotten my PM, but since other people are having the same dilemma, I think I ought to post it here as well.

There is no need to go to the File Downloads home page for every time you add a download.  All you need to do is be conscious of the PARENT CATEGORY (it's a drop-down menu) because it tells you where your file is going to go.

Here's an illustration of it:

And yes, we will be getting better features for the upload functions soon.   

Hi Miriam!

I agree with Noha - using the flash cards twice a day is fine, no problem about that.    The lovely thing about teaching little children (and all children - both young and old) is that learning is always subjective; there's no exact science to it because all kids react in different ways during different times.  Some children will want to see flash cards only once a day, some don't like it during some days, and some are insatiable, wanting to have a look at different cards very frequently.

The most important thing to remember in all this is that we should take our cue from the children - if they are distracted or beginning to get bored, then we should put the cards down and stop. The whole point of teaching is to make learning a fun and enjoyable task for them, and if they aren't having any fun, then we should take a step back and rethink our process of teaching and find some ways to spice it up so that they can look forward to it. 

  We have a lot of working parents in this forum too, and I think that it's great that we are all looking for a good sense of balance between work and time with kids.  Teaching can be a fantastic way of bonding with your child, especially if both the parent and baby are having good fun in the process.