i have worked with a therapist on and off for a couple of years who uses his stuff.  i wouldn't say that i am the type to go this direction in therapy easily but because i liked my therapist so much i was willing to try it and i'm not sure if it 'works' (as in something concrete and directly accountable) but i can say it's definitely interesting and there is definitely something happening when you listen.  my therapist went so far as using light and physical vibration with the music and it was really amazing. 
some i find i can't listen too because i get really agitated.  if i sleep while listening i will have very disturbing dreams and wake kind of run over feeling but then i have other tracks that click the right way with me and though i have never meditated, i can imagine that sense of peace would be about the same.
i think a lot of the work is something like what right brain kids does in using sound to tap into alpha waves and such.  i draw pretty pictures for a living so the science part kind of loses me but i think there is something to it. 

i could try to zip up a few tracks and send them on to you if you were interested.  i got them from my therapist so i'm pretty sure it's okay with the copy right stuff. 

i wish i knew how to make one at home!  we've had a few and my dd uses them until they stay blue.  i take one with me in the car, on airplanes, to restaurants... you name it.  great for working with letters and words and general playing with kids. 

Sorry for the delay in replying octaviaorca - I only just saw your post. I found these crayon rocks that force a tripod grip because of their shape - I think they helped, but Marina's been manipulating very small objects since she was six months old, so maybe she's just a natural tripod-grip-type kid...

http://www.crayonrocks.net/

awesome!  thanks for the suggestion!  she has started 'coloring' her own letters but although they don't look like anything she tells me what they are.  and her favorite have been letter tracing pages so i think i will order those crayons and see if she is ready.

i haven't found one as effective as starfall but i do like sesamestreet.org.  there are a lot of games on it but the ones i try to focus on are the keyboard games (keyboard-o-rama i think it's called) and the big bird mail game.  all of which focus on a letter, phonetic sound and image.  what i would loooove to see is starfall to create a counting and math site like they have with letters... then i would be sooooo happy (not that LM isn't doing a great job!). 

hey, i'm sure there are repeat sites here but i found this great list of montessori resources.  i'm not sure i'll ever be able to get through them all.
enjoy!
http://jojoebi.blogspot.com/2009/07/montessori-links.html

hey there,
i've been following this thread that i hope will help.  seems a bit mixed, still can't decide myself.  but the creators of the program pop up so you might be interested in that.
enjoy

http://forum.brillkids.com/product-partners/wink-and-tweedle-wink-program/

i thought of you when i saw these... i think they are what you mean.  i get the montessori services cat. and ran across these books that may be what you are looking for??  i am very tempted to get them as my dd loves the non-fiction section of our library but like you can't find anything that isn't fairly above her comprehension level.

http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=91_248_2355
or
http://www.montessoriservices.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=91_248_2356

look through the other books too... sometimes they offer great pricing. 

amazing sites!  my dd loves having coloring pages and these are perfect!  ooo... i'll be spending some time in front of my printer this afternoon.

this blogger (http://totallytots.blogspot.com/) does some that you can just download... i forget how old her eldest is but they range in age from toddler to 1st or 2nd grade.  that's an interesting idea to do it for your high schooler though.  kind of jeffersonian and an artistic approach... i hadn't even thought that far down the road but i can totally see how that would engage someone older. 

just google lap books and you will find a ton of resources.  some you have to pay a minimal fee for and some you don't.  also, search through the totally tots sight and you also find her other 1+1+1.  she does have some great ideas for her bebes.

i read a few older books like Mary Poppins, AA Milne or Kipling and even in those i am very sensitive to some phrasing that would have been acceptable at the time of writing but now, are fairly racist.  it definitely takes some quick reading at times to make sure you can avoid some of them.  my dd is only 2 and i know she can't understand the meaning of the statements it is inappropriate for me to read them to her.  if she can take in and use words like 'cactus' and 'persistent' then i am not about to mess with ill conceived notions of other cultures. 

my dd hates playdough but i wish that she would love it because it would be great for motor skills... she loves anything to do with pegs and building or putting together things.  hit your local craft store for small boxes of different sizes and shapes.  fitting tops on those are a great motor skills builders and then you can play hide the bead (or whatever fits) for them to learn how to search out hidden objects.  your craft store will surprise you with the most simple things inspiring great ideas.  also, around the house things like closing doors or 'washing' dishes are also good. 
i always say watch what your bebe shows interest in and then provide a diversity of variations on that theme and you will find your winning games.  but also keep it simple.  no need to spend a ton of money or time building. 
this age is so much fun.  i love watch dd come up with things like counting and the alphabet.  over the next couple of months your bebe is gonna bowl you over with all that she can do. 

we have been in the 'wasat?' (what's that?) stage FOREVER!  she had that question before nearly any other clear statement. and it applies to absolutely everything!  finally we've found the trick of turning it around and she's very happy to answer.  if she doesn't know she'll shrug and 'ah-dunno' (i don't know).  it's pretty cute.  but after about the millionth time in a day one does begin to go a bit batty.

i'm sure you had this feature with the last version but i have to commend you on the printing capabilities for flash cards.  i have to do a little funny work with adjusting the layout for the type of paper i'm using but i'm so impressed with the ease.  what would have taken me days (weeks/months) making and doing them myself it has been a joy to simply choose the subjects and categories that my dd likes and basically being able to hit print.  we are going low tech with the flash cards for a couple of weeks while we (hopefully very soon...  ) welcome our new baby and nana is just not ready to take on the computer world to keep up the reading fun.  the flash cards will help keep everything going and being able to get them done in these last few days has been awesome.  thanks again and again for the great work Brillkids!!

i should also add that i wish i could give karma to all the categories that my dd loves.  i'll go through one day and find all of you... from the brillkids files to all the people who contribute their time to making files.  amazing work.

i thought my dd would NEVER speak!  we kept going in to the pediatrician and having to get that 'look' when i said she really didn't have any words... she wasn't even a baby babbler!  sure she said mama and dada probably around 12 months and i would say her first clear words were the dog's name maybe shortly after that (and of course 'no' shortly after the dog's name because the two were used simultaneously).  but it wasn't until probably between 14 and 15 months that all of a sudden the kid exploded with words!  we are a one language family and though we did signing we only did the bare communication necessities (milk, all done, etc) and she seemed to have a sign language all of her own actually speaking just took a while.  she's a pretty contemplative child so perhaps it's just that she was busy observing and listening before jumping in. 

is it strange that i can't remember?  i liked to use a few idea books from the library (homeschooling montessori and slow and steady get me ready) and then really just followed dd's lead.  i'm sure i did things specific to age... the sandbox was one of them.  right before a year i noticed she loved to pour and scoop so we built a sand box and also used things like buttons and rice to use as indoor rice.  we did a couple of classes together like mom and tot's gymnastics and swimming and i think both are very beneficial (though i agree about her excitement and 'comfort' around water... sometimes that does make me VERY nervous).  and we encourage a lot of role/ pretend play.  but i think the key to what we've done is just followed her interests providing a diversity of activities for those interests regardless of age (within reason of course ).