Hi everyone. I'm putting up Little Reader (with Sem1 + Sem2) for sale. You'll have the full lifetime license. This is a complimentary copy given to me (so I have two LR). PM me if interested. It'll be at a discounted price of course Thanks

"Teaching is learning twice." Saw this on a signature of one member. Indeed, I learned a lot within the loving threads of this forum. Thanks everyone! Thank you Kimba for starting the topic 

I wonder if children taught early exhibit some similar attitudes or traits?

Even before DD can talk, she's being showing humor and would always want to tease us. On her 5th month, whenever she sees her Granpa, she would make a deep gurgling sound then smile knowingly at him. It's just a couple of moments that we realized that Granpa has a habit of clearing his throat. Then when she can talk well enough, around 18-months, she would make jokes especially suited for the person she's talking to. For example, her chubby Granma would refer to herself as "sexy" but she, knowing otherwise, would call her "fatsy" (her combination of "fat+sexy"). When she saw her cousin climbing on a chair, she shouted "Don't jump Boots!" (the monkey in Dora). When her aunt (who's also chubby) is coming to get her, she exclaimed "Don't enter! The room will be full of you!". She's not in any way rude but is always teasing us. Always want to add some silliness to anything and would not want to listen to her lesson unless I make up some silly story about what I'm teaching. NAUGHTY girl

Hi Fludo! I agree that reading and writing at this stage are two VERY different things. My daughter (3.5yrs old) who's been reading phonetically since she's 15-months old is struggling to write. This is because she has little practice in developing fine motor skills when she was younger. Though we tried activities to hone this skill, her attitude gets in the way (she gets excited easily and would mess-up blocks instead of building them). I also know of a two-year old who can write her name but cannot sight-read nor sound-out words.

With regard to phonics, we have found these resources helpful. She began reading phonetically in just days after watching though I cannot be sure if she figured-out phonics on her own or with LR pattern phonics earlier.

Leapfrog Letter Factory
Readeez

Anybody who wants to put up their used My Father's World Curriculum?

[our]

Hi Mandabplus3 ,

my kid is 2yo.. I have shown him LR & LM & Yr baby can read, Brainy Baby.... We started LR & LM about 5mths ago... he do not wan to watch LM now.. esp.. when the video shows the equations .. haha,,, headache.. he also seems to lost interest in the LR as the same pics and words is repeating for few lessons.. haizzzz

& aangeles ,

thanks for the info and the useful links.

Hi Babymum! It is also like that for my 4-month old. LR, or any learning tool for that matter can get boring sometimes. The key is to personalize it to suit your baby!    What I did was take pictures of things around the house, of family and relatives, and even the things just outside (mailbox, walking path, your garden, etc) and make a custom playlist. My son's eyes just lit up when he saw our clock in the lesson, his Granma, and himself!

For a 2-yo, he might be more than ready to proceed with full sentences. So make silly stories of him and show corresponding pictures and videos of him or his favorite toys. Humor is always a hit! LR is so user-friendly that making these are a breeze. 

A video of little kids doing dan-level anzan. OMG such geniuses and it looks like they're having loads of fun!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/1J6t1j38TaM&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/1J6t1j38TaM&rel=1</a>

This is amazing Anna and Ella! How inspiring! We're going to go to SIP just as soon as we get a helper. I feel so blessed to be able to go to the same school. It's so good to know that they're very accommodating. Did you request for a one-on-one session or is it they're initiative? Did you pay extra for it? Thanks!   

That's terrific Mandabplus3!  Keep me updated with their progress, especially on right-brain training I myself was skeptical about this training before but when we did them and had so much fun, I knew it's more than worth the time!

Just last night we started with Memory Magic. I thought it would be too advanced for her but it was an immediate hit! I haven't even read how to use them and just popped it up for her. The Memory Linking game is so engaging! I find myself playing along with her. At first run, she can remember 8 items consecutively and then 16, then 20 consecutive items before we went to sleep. If you haven't tried Memory Magic yet, I suggest you give it a go. Tweedlewink is great but is not very interactive, probably because it's for soaking-up information. Getting our hands on Memory Magic's games gave us results in a minute's time! I'll try to record the game on video next time.

Thanks for all the heart-warming words everyone. It lifts my spirits to hear such nice words. I need them badly right now because support and encouragement is rare from our "traditional" relatives.

@ babymum & Latreia, I wish I could say we did training for speed-reading but we really didn't. Yes we've finished with Tweedlewink and is still going through them again for the nth time. I believe they're beneficial in developing the right brain until age 4.

I'm no expert but I think being able to read phonetically early on is a big factor for speed-reading. I think a child needs to master sight words first then master reading phonetically, and only then he can progress into speed-reading. If one halts to figure-out how to read a word, that in itself would create pause/s that counteracts speed-reading. Since Tweedlewink is the only program we used (since 6-mos old?) that has speed-reading practices, I believe we can attribute her skill to it. It also has "eye exercises" that trains the eye to move fast.

Perhaps you could consider making an appropriate climate for reading aloud. Since the whole point of reading is to gain information as well as entertainment speed reading is quite appropriate and you certainly don't want to risk that skill. I am thinking doing plays, nursery rhymes, performances and reading stories to siblings, use situations that require full expression and clear speach. I am no expert but does anyone know if  by encouraging slower reading in such young children you will turn on their internal reading voice? Just curious

Thanks for the great suggestions Mandabplus3  She is doing plays and performances of imaginary characters. Though the script / conversation between her invented characters are completely impromptu. I believe doing plays with a ready script that she would read aloud would really interest her. I'll get on with it right away! 

Arvi, I am thrilled to read that your 2yo can do math! That's amazing! What level/package did you purchase?

How I wish to be in the US right now! Is there a time-line when a convention is due in Asia? 

Yes Cammie is a big sister already! Oh don't worry about structured teaching. In my opinion (and also mentioned in Doman's book), babies can learn anything that is presented in an honest and loving way. In my experience, planning a structure in itself consumes a lot of time and adds stress.    I tried and there are so many factors that can alter the schedule I set so I just followed her interest. I just made sure materials are available everywhere we go (flashcards under the stroller, letter number foams in the bathroom, whiteboard in the backpack, etc). We also didn't follow the rule for retiring cards and videos, I just followed her interest and trusted my instinct. The only structured material we used is the LR curriculum     

Are you planning to show your DS and DD the Glenn Doman Pict Dictionary? It's a great way to learn general knowledge, reading, and has options for other languages too. I'll be following your blog Happy teaching!

Great job Anna & Ella! Inspired me to start teaching other languages as well.