I have just completed the course - and I myself still have many, many, many questions - not unlike yours! I will keep trying to get answers. Until then, may I guess at some of the answers now:

The price of the materials may seem high because they are a non-profit that has no real funding - aside from tuition and teaching materials income.

Janet claims that they break even or lose money on their Programs of Intelligence line (she didn't mention anything else - by the way, I think their POI material is very modestly priced and extremely high quality! I bought everything they had in stock...)

The CD ROMs cost something to produce and they have to recoup their costs with the price of the CDs.

They also claim to be running - non-profit - by "the seat of their pants" (barely paying the bills and staff each year - with shortfalls some years).

Keep in mind: almost everything Brillkids or any other "baby education" system does comes from Glen Doman's and the people at the Institutes 50 years of hard work.

I can tell you that the Institutes are definitely not wallowing in funds (like they should be!)

As to the arbitrary numbers and cookie cutter system: it is just a starting point - the most important thing they emphasize is flexibility and constant change to accommodate your babies educational (and brain development) level, aptitude, and whim. You are not so much "teaching" as simply presenting things for your incredibly curious, brilliant baby to experience, appreciate, absorb and learn.

As to the impossibility of their programs: they know how incredibly difficult they are to perform successfully - they designed them for a "maximum" ideal - and yet the most dedicated professional mothers do claim to succeed at them!

You can find the most basic info in all of their books from any library, Amazon.com, and of course IAHP.org.

I will ask about testimonials about the math - curious myself!

I have already asked "How, when and where can I examine all of the scientific data supporting all of these assertions"? No answer yet.

I will see what else I can learn from them directly or elsewhere!

Can you please come up with great questions to ask the Domans and the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential. Thanks!

I just finished reading "The Education of Karl Witte" - fantastic book - very informative and inspirational. If anyone has any questions, I might be able to answer them.

Note: It doesn't detail any of his methods, it only outlines them:

describing everything slowly, loudly and clearly to his infant -
never mentioning that he is teaching a given subject - which I tend to disagree with - I say whet their appetite with the subject titles - anthropology, chemistry, physics, etc.
He taught languages - one at a time from the most useful and relevant to the more obscure (Latin and Greek - very good ideas - NONE ON BRILL KIDS SITE!!??!) by having Karl translate word for word from simple, easy fun "readers" written for small children - with the aid of a bilingual dictionary and a good grammer book.
He taught through dialogue and "games" and travel and introductions to interesting/educational people and experiences (I am in NY taking my 7 month old sightseeing: zoo, museums, etc. Philly is next and then...cities of Europe??)

Note also that a Phd. at 14 years of age - back then - is a totally different - and much simpler - eduction than a Phd. today! There is infinitely more to know today than in Witte's day or Da Vinci's day!

Thanks!! Works great!

James

How do I export my whole library into a single file? Can I then import that file into the next computer?

Thanks for absolutely everything! (Brill Kids is the best new source for child education that I have ever heard of!)

James

Are there any shortcuts or easy ways to "sync" or "clone" LR or LM on two computers? It takes a very long time to load files on either system - is there any way to speed or automate the process - and LR records how many times you show each file (I don't want to lose that data when I switch computers).

We are traveling with our son (born Nov 2008) to NY and Philly to take in the sights (and so that I can attend the Doman "How to Multiply Your Baby's Intelligence Course".) I was hoping to "clone" both programs onto a laptop and take them with us.

Thanks for all of your time and effort.
James

Brill Kids Little Math is indeed an excellent tool and resource! I use it every day. We made all of the Doman math dot cards 1 through 100, but I still use the program to augment the first leg of the Doman program - and it really helps me keep track of where exactly we are in the equations - like when to switch from addition to subtraction and so forth (I actually think you should do a little bit of every sort of arithmetic every chance you get: two bikes with two wheels each is ...four wheels!!!). (I also plan to teach him the Shichida 65 day program with LM as well - the LM program makes everything easier!).

I love the alternate icons even though I usually just show him the red dots now that I have already used the baby friendly icons to get him enjoying the program. (He lost interest in the higher number dot cards - after ten or twenty. But when I showed him all of the baby friendly icons - like baby faces and funky little cartoon objects - he became very interested in watching the LM quantites and equations!) Also never underestimate "Being Joyous" - if you show enough enthusiasm and JOY you  can teach him to love and be interested in just about anything!!

I think the program has amazing potential for teaching him math way into the future.

James

"POSTERING": Since the day we brought our newborn baby boy home, I have been literally plastering the walls of our apartment with huge letters, numbers, words and putting small bold labels - with the words underlined - on just about everything in our apartment. I now plan to label everything in as many different languages as I can - possibly color coding them for clarity (black for English, blue for his Mother's language - Estonian - and a specific color for each language I present - and possibly a tag like: (Geman) after each word...)

 I have counted the "signs" in the past but I guess I have at least 1500 signs up on everything now. He particularly loves being "flown" around the apartment as I read each sign aloud to him (vestibular stimulation, fun and reading! But possibly better for the baby to be able to see you SAY the words with your mouth...). Still it is an excellent way to break up sessions where he is just sitting there. The words "high" and "low" are amongst his favorites - along with his all time favorites: signs of words on our fairly low, bathroom ceiling - that he can read and/or wonder about until his diaper is changed - then Daddy flies him way up high to read the words out loud to him (this is getting more and more dangerous as he gets bigger - so it is with great sadness that I have had to curtail these ceiling flights.)

I somewhat regret showing him the alphabet and numerals before showing him words and quantities - but I hadn't read any of the Doman books yet. (I am now a very serious supporter of almost all Doman techniques  - What is with the flashlights in newborns eyes and air horns for a newborns incredibly delicate hearing system? I am sure I am missing something. Why does no one advocate signs and posters?  In addition to - and as a constant review for - rapid flash cards of course...I am hoping to read all of Shichida's books and possibly get him into the Shichida school in Manhattan - but as far as I understand we would all have to learn Japanese!? )

I have received an amazing amount of criticism regarding my "signs" everywhere ("It might cause autism...") - I was wondering if everyone would be kind enough to let me know what they think based on what they know? Thanks!

PREMATURE STANDING: Also I am still searching for more information about helping my 5 month old to stand:  most sources recommend against it for various reasons - back problems, crawling avoidance (he isn't crawling much at all yet) ...but he absolutely loved it while I was abetting him. I have also received a great deal of criticism for doing the Gentle Revolution "How to Teach Your Baby To Be PHysically Superb" hand and fingers hanging sessions (where you try to strengthen their ability to hang from your fingers or a dowel). I was wondering what any knows about the latest science and research into these activities.

I plan to continue plastering our apartment with educational materials until he leaves us many years from now. I personally have always wanted foreign language labels on everything for my own edification - a lot of what I am doing is incredibly enjoyable and beneficial to my own continuing education: like the A3 (on up!) posters of fine art (and anatomy and geography) that I have been printing out and posting everywhere ( most printers will print multiple page "posters" - 4x4, 3x3, etc.) Does anyone have any thought on presenting material of a graphic or depressing or disturbing nature? Where shall we draw the line and at what ages? For instance: he is visibly disturbed by pictures of - say  - crocodiles - and particularly of adult skeletons (even cartooned!...I made a poster of a cartoon version of a labeled, standing child's skeleton which also seemed to bother him.) What about great art? Most of it is pathos and quite depressing - I have actually begun editing his experience: the happier the better - Mozart Eine Kleine Nacht music and Sonata in C  - BUT NO Symphony No. 40 NO Bach's Tocatta and Fugue - these pieces visibly depress and upset him...I think perhaps needlessly.

TEACHING MUSIC: (I endlessly repeat a few pieces over and over and over - until I can literally sing the entire piece to him as I attempt to play the rhythms on and with his body. NOTE: Anything in the backgroud - educational posters, music, etc. - will basically stay in the background unless you - personally - teach them it: caregiver to child (or the childs' own hands literally on) is the best and only way to go really.

CENSORSHIP: Furthermore, I have now also become keen on presenting only "optimistic" views of everything: the vocabulary that I am presenting him with is highly skewed towards "positive" expression: "good", "great", "awesome", "fantastic", "cool", "wow", "Yeah!" and only an occasional " bad", "sad" (and then only from before I had become such an avid proponent of censoring - much to my own surprise!) Any thoughts?

I try to integrate rhyme and music and humor and - what I call - SPACIALIity (space, time, movement) - into EVERYTHING I present. (Mega Memory and Speed Reading - from Kevin Trudeau - have both dramatically changed my view of education - for all age levels. Perhaps I can write more on these topics later...)

In addition to all the music basics (pitch, rhythm, instrument names, etc.) I am attempting to teach him to actually play piano and guitar and percussion. Any thoughts? Any pitfalls or a very young baby? ...other than the obvious prime directive: keep them as safe from harm as possible:

safe, healthy, happy!!!

I think you can teach anything - any subject whatsoever - just so long as you thoroughly research the subject yourself:

go to all of the libraries in your area and ask the librarians which books they would recommend for any given subject (like how to draw or paint or sculpt or...). 

Of course check with all of your local schools or send emails to the finest educational institutions you know of and ask for the contact info for the world's experts and pick their brains:

which are the very best books to learn from? - and then request those books from the library.

Just read a few chapters ahead in each book as you teach your child ( and yourself!!)