Hello again! Thanks for the compliment & I'm glad I could somehow help :-)

A big congratulations to you & your baby! You must have been so happy :-)
Don't worry if sometimes he would choose the wrong answer. Just as u said, maybe he was just distracted.

I don't think you should re-do anything. If any, your child would be more inclined to be 'bored' If you're going to repeat the lesson because he has already seen them. To refresh his memory, you could include the quantities in the equations. Have u started w/ equations already?

Most of the time, I use LR and LM but I also use real cards to supplement. I try to use the same pics in the flashcards as the ones in LR. I would say I use computer software (LM, LR, Doman Picture Dict CDrom) 90% of the time & real flashcards only 10%. My baby used to be very clingy so I couldnt put her down and show her flashcards & that's where LR & LM helped tremendously. She would sit in my lap contently while watching the lessons.

Just this afternoon, we made the mistake of testing Cammie again & again. She didn't want to answer at all. I tried again this evening & she chose the wrong answer. She didnt even look at the other card, she just grabbed the nearest card & put it in her mouth! I guess it's her way of saying that she's so bored with 'testing'. Dont make the same mistake we did. In our excitement & eagerness to capture her again on video, we went against Doman's rule of not testing.

You see, babies are sooo smart, it's an insult to them if we test them again & again. It's making them feel that we don't trust their ability.

Don't worry too much on the 'right' way of teaching. I have not been very consistent but I made it a point that each lesson is FUN for BOTH of us. The nymber of repetition is not that impt bec each baby is different. Each has different learning curves. What's impt (as Doman emphasizes) is the JOYOUSNESS.

Hope this helps! More power!   

UPDATE!!!

I would have written this sooner but my hand was shaking with excitement. Cammie has just floored us with her problem-solving abilities! She was 100% correct in all 12 questions. If she had been guessing, there's only a very,very small chance that she'll get all questions right consecutively so there's no doubt her answers all came from her memory. Note that these are the cards I've shown her when she was 4 mos old.

Last night, I presented 6 pairs of cards and she touched the correct ones each time. I continued to ask the 7th question but then she decided to crawl to her sleeping daddy. Perhaps she was bored, it was too easy to for her! I wasn't able to capture it on video because it was totally impromptu - this is the first time that I formally "tested" her. I happily told Donald about Cammie's feat after-wards.

The next morning, I awoke and there's Donald - testing Cammie again! I was still at bed and hurried to get the camera. This is what I managed to capture. Donald said they have gone through 3 or 4 questions when I got the camera.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2B7yQmEyu2Q&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/2B7yQmEyu2Q&rel=1</a>

This next video is a an attempt to continue the session. Cammie picked the right answer again but when she heard me, she turned around and decided that the camera is more interesting than the cards! Haha!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/yxmFp5BasP8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/yxmFp5BasP8&rel=1</a>

[at the same time]

Nadia,

That was well worded, "Alert, calm, and purposeful." Thats exactly what I meant. That lady whom I mentioned before also said about the calmness, though I would say that my baby is calm only when we are outside. At home, he is very active and always wants to talk something.

Well, I did a problem-solving session again yesterday after nearly 3 months and he was almost 90% right. The couple of words he missed were from his earliest sessions (when he was around 4-1/2 months). So that reinforces the importance of doing couplets regularly. Something interesting happened. I had shown him some EK pictures of indian national leaders when he was around 5 months. I would have shown him this around 3 or 4 times and then I stopped as Dr. Doman asks to do EK only after reading and math. So I just wanted to see if he could remember those. I picked up 2 pictures and asked which was Mahatma Gandhi. It was just beautiful to see what he did. He looked at both the pictures one after another, did that almost 3 or 4 times, and then looked imploringly at me, as if saying "mommy did you teach me that? I dont know this." Though It was really sweet to watch him do that, I felt bad and realized I should not have done it as I was actually "testing" him. Just felt like sharing!

I guess only both of us are sharing instances here. It would be nice if others could also join and share such interesting incidents, however small it may be. We will only be motivating each other by listening to each other's stories!

Questers.

Congratulations again for your well-rewarded efforts in teaching your child. What a smart baby, you must be so proud! I can imagine his expression when he looked back-and-forth at the EK cards :-). As per experience, teaching EK or Math is totally up to you and your baby. I have started ALL (words, dots, ek) at the same time. The "test" I talked about involves EK cards, not words and she answered correctly every single time. So I guess it's safe to say that the EK program will work even if we teach it at the same time with reading, etc.

Maybe Doman said that as a guideline but we mothers know best :-) Babies are soooo hungry for knowledge and I think they will absorb anything and everything we teach them no matter what order the lessons were taught. I can say this because I have corresponded with texaslady222 regarding the "proper" time to teach math. As per her experience, ALL of the program were successful and she started ALL of it at the same time. Her son is a living example of it.

More power & inspiration!

Hello Shaman!

Thanks for the karma :-) I just "tested" Cammie "formally" for the first time and she answered 100% correct! I planned to give her 10 problem solving opportunities and we got to number 6 with her choosing the correct card everytime. At number 7 though, she decided crawling to her dad is more interesting, she "walked-out" on me! Imagine my happiness and awe despite of the abrupt end of our session! :-)

I understand your child hates being tested. Who doesn't? I hate it myself. The key is to make it fun as possible. Here are some ideas I picked-up from fellow Brillkids members (some are from my own imagination):

1. The "fishing" game.

You scatter cards on the floor with paper clips attached on them. "Fish" them out with a pole/rod with magnet at the end. You could ask your child to "fish" for the right answer!

2. The "surprise reward" game.

You scatter cards on the floor again and put a healthy treat under like a raisin or a favorite candy. After your child take the right card, he/she can eat the treat under it!

3. The "hit" game.

You stick the cards on the wall and let your child "hit" them with a ball. Be involved by also playing the game. Each hit rewards him a point which you can write on a board. You can "compete" by gathering points.

**Of course these games are not suitable for all ages but I hope you could use some! Happy teaching!

Congratulations! I can imagine how amazed and happy you felt right at that moment. I eagerly went to your blog to know more but I can't read it. I understand you're Malaysian? Hope you could share some more stories of your little angel. God bless!

I have a very active baby and I have been stimulating her since fetal stage but I am careful not to "over-stimulate". You know you are overstimulating when your baby seems withdrawn or bored with what you're showing him.

I know over-stimulation results in cranky babies but I'm not sure about the supposed link to hyperactivity.

Nadia,

We do get a lot of motivation when they do such things, don't we? I still remember how I felt the first day my little own showed he knew the words. It was actually an impromptu problem-solving session when he was around 61/2 months old and he identified 7 out of 8 cards! It was simply amazing...! If it were not for these instances, I too would have found it difficult to do the program consistently.

Apart from that, do you feel that your kid looks brighter and smarter "look wise" when compared to other kids of her age? Have people told you that? Though I have heard this comment in my son's case, I am not sure if this is true. I heard this from a  lady who teaches Doman method here in my city. She has dealt with a lot of children and she swears by it. Any comments anybody?

Questers

Wow, your baby must be very very bright! I know a handful of Doman children and they rarely displayed knowledge before their 8th month. It's not that they don't have the knowledge but I guess they (or our babies) are still too young to be interested to "show" what they know.

Funny you mentioned about others commenting on your baby "looking wise" because Cameron has been receiving the exact comments! Some even say that she looks "smart-ass" haha! It may be partly because of her features but I'm sure it has to with her looking "alert", "calm", or "purposeful". It must show in her face that there's a lot going on on her mind. I know most babies look "innocent" or "angelic" but these are NOT the adjectives people use to describe my child!

Thank you Kappasweet. What she displayed actually gave me renewed zest to continue teaching her. I'll be following your blog, seems interesting!
 

Questers and Kyles Mom, thank you for the encouraging words! I could have given up on the program if not for people like you :-)

I just want to share what my baby just did. Though I am doing Doman's full program (bits, math, reading), this is not directly involved with her knowledge of the lessons (I have not really "tested" her) but instead, this serves as a proof that the more you teach a baby, the more she CAN learn.

Cammie just showed me she knows much, much more than I believe she does. She identified "electric fan", "closet", "computer", and "iPhone" by twisting her body towards the objects and looking directly at them.

The other day (she was 8 mos and 1 day old), she identified "Mama", "Daddy" "Lola" (granma), "light", and "chimes".

Some objects that she identified are included in her lessons but some are not like "chimes", "iPhone", "light" but I made it a point to say the objects' names when I show them to her.

I am just AMAZED! It may not seem much but I know this skill is advanced for her age. I'm soooo happy for her :-)


 

Isa ako sa maraming Filipino na nangangarap tumira sa ibang bansa, esp the US. I can't stand the corrupt government dito sa Pinas! Willing ako mag-bayad ng tax basta nkikita mo na nagagamit ng tama. :-)

Like Viv, I'm a little confused about the new LM. At step 3, I don't see any curriculum to download. There's also nothing loaded in the "curriculum" tab when I launch the new LM. I assume the content is not released yet? Thanks in advance!

I'm guessing that your child's age is 5 yo? You mentioned that he's your youngest and your profile says that your current child is 5 yo. You're not exaggerating when you said that he's advanced in art for his age! His work is amazing! I believe your child is gifted in every sense of the word.

I wouldn't worry for his obsession though. In my opinion, food is just another thing one can be a little obsessed with. Eating may be the most delightful activity he has experienced hence his "obsession". Of course, consulting a professional is the best way to ease your fears especially he has a weight issue.

You could try activities that involves "food" as a reward (healthy foods that is). He will not like the physical activity at first but soon his body will eventually "beg" for the exercise. I can say this because when I was a couch potato, I dreaded exercise but when I started exercising, a day is not complete without it.  This may not be the case with your boy but it wouldn't hurt to try mixing physical activity while using his penchant for food as a reward. Instead of showing him that his "food obsession" is "bad", you could take this opportunity to introduce healthy eating habits. You could bake healthy dishes with him, etc.

Well wishes for your art genius!

I'm really happy for you.It's always really encouraging hearing stories like this. It makes the rest of us persevere and not get weary!

Wintermom, I also have a 5month old baby and I've been doing LR lessons with her and signing as well. I personally think 5 months is way too early to see any signs of what they know now. I know my daughter really enjoys the presentations and that's enough for me now. I guess in her own time, she'll start showing us what she knows. It's just like talking, I believe at this age, they're already acquiring language, they understand a lot of what we say to them, but they can't talk back. A few months to come, they'll start revealing to us what they know. So I won't worry at all.

Wintermom, rest assured that NOTHING is wrong with your child! 5 months is WAY too early for him to demonstrate what he have learned. 

I have been fortunate to train my baby to "like" tummy-time since birth. After feeding, I'd put her on her tummy and even when sleeping. I know it's a risk factor for SIDS but I was not worried because she can turn her head side-to-side since day 1 and we we're careful not to put pillows or blankets that could suffocate her. Up to this day, she even prefers being on her tummy and would protest if put on her back.

At 3 mos, she can turn-over both ways. At 3.5 mos, she belly-crawls and at 6 mos, she can criss-cross crawl. Come 6.5 mos, she can stand without anything to pull-up on. I really believed that "training" her early on helped with her mobility.