I've just got LMs installed and tried the first few days of the curriculum.  I LOVE IT!   Thank you, thank you so much for such an awesome program.  I can’t wait to use it with my DD when she wakes up.

I have just a minor question ... is there any reason the name of the chords (eg C chord, F chord etc) are not mentioned before the chords are played?

I registered 2 days ago using promotion code ESN72GLC and I tried it out yesterday. Code worked for me.  It looks great.  Karma to you, mtb999.

Your daughter sounds like mine… imaginative, loves to be read to and make up stories when going through books and had not seem to pick any words despite my various attempts to teach her to read.   My daughter is 3 year and 3 month old.  I started LR when she was 10 month old.  Very soon after that, she would only look at the screen when the pictures came out and her timing was almost perfect! I also showed her YBCR inconsistently about the same time.  Although she read “smile”, “dog” and a few other words when she was around 1.5 year old, she had forgotten everything after that.  I’ve not shown her LR or played intensive learning games with her for more than a year as she lost interest very easily.  Basically, I’d shamefully given up on teaching her to read.  Any learning games I did with her (using tips from other forum members here) have been very casual and inconsistent… when she was in the mood.

I started using physical flash cards with no pictures a few months ago but I was still not very consistent as she said “No” most of the time.  Occasionally, she was able to pick the right cards when playing word games.  The turning point for me was 2-3 weeks ago when I showed her cards with “flesch” and dolch words without pictures.  Many of the words are 2-4 letter words.  Guess what, within a few days she showed me she could read many of those words.  She can now probably read about 70 simple words + some Chinese words consistently.  It’s nowhere near what other kids can do based on what I read here and I know she was guessing for some of the words that look alike to her (eg “nap” vs “map” and sometimes even “like” vs ”little”).  But I’m already jumping with joy as with much less consistency, the result in less than 3 weeks is much better than what I’ve done for more than 1 year when she was younger.  BTW, I am sure she did not learn much from my earlier efforts because if she did, she would have shown it … she likes to show what she knows (you can call her a show-off). 

The big difference this time is I’m using shorter and simpler words which are easier for her to pick up and which in turn boost her confidence.  When she realizes she can read them, she gets more interested.  She now competes with me to get to the cards and use them to teach her toys.  There is also no picture to distract her (there is no need for pictures as she already knows what those words mean as her vocabulary and verbal communication are quite good for her age).  What I like to do sometimes is to make sentences with those words after I flash each card and I use phonics to teach her to read them too at different time.  When reading books to her, I’m also trying to get her to read the words that I’ve flashed to her (although she rather has me read the whole books).  My only hope is for her to continue to be interested.
 
I hope what I did with my daughter will work for your daughter.  Good luck.

Anyone knows if we need to bear the international shipping cost? Thanks in advance.

Thank you for being so generous.  Karma Karma Karma to you.

Hi,  I personally made a collection of all the countries of the world.  Blank outline maps great for push pinning also   let me know if you would like a copy and i can send it to your email.  PDF  file....

susan khan

Wow….this sounds great!  I would like to have a copy too and I’m sure I’m not the only one.  I hope it is not too much to ask … is it possible to upload that here?  Thanks in advance.

When my 28 month old DD was younger, I’ve never given her any candies or junk food.  The snacks that I gave her are usually low in sugar if there is any at all.  Juice (only freshly squeezed and usually diluted) is a treat and not a very frequent treat.  Now, when she sees other kids having candies, she may ask what they are but so far (fingers crossed) she is ok if I told her that they are sweet and is full of sugar, colouring etc which are not very healthy to eat.  I guess if she has never tasted it before, she will not miss it. 

As for chips … well, my husband let her try once and she got hooked.  She will take from his plate without asking.  What I did is give her home-made baked sweet potatoes seasoned with olive oil, rosemary and a bit of sea salt as a healthier alternative to satisfy her craving. 

There is quite a lot of brain-washing and explaining why certain food should not be taken too much/too often.  She does have her occasional sweet biscuits and she even tells me that it is ok to have a little bit but not too much of them.  I think it is easier to handle the situation now.  But it is a different matter when she starts school (which will be very soon) when I will not be around to remind her.  I read that kids who are not used to eating junk food and sweet stuff in the first 3 years are less likely to develop a craving for them later (although they may still eat them).  This is exactly what I’m trying to do.  Hope it will be work for me.

When my DD was around 16 month, she would stare and cry in fear during sunset and asked that the curtains be closed.  She was also afraid of the night if she looked outside but not as much as in the evening when the sky was turning dark.  But strangely, she did not seem to be afraid to walk into the room by herself when the light was not switched on (provided that the curtains were closed) … may be because there was usually some light source (though it could be quite small) from the other room or from the hall.

What I did was showed her Youtube that explained day and night and that helped a bit.  She grew out of it after a few months but occasionally it comes back but definitely not as afraid as before.   But now at 28 month, she gets scared when she sees curtains and even cartoon that shows long hair being blown by the wind … strange.

Hi Hypatia

I don’t know PinYin as it wasn’t taught when I was in school then .  But I did a search on the internet for the Pinyin for 小 (little or small) 朋友 (friend) and found Xiao Peng You.  Maybe someone who knows Pinyin can verify this.  Sorry, I couldn’t help much.

BTW, out of curiosity, how do you know that it reads “Sha pong yo”?

Hi Hypatia

It means "little friend" literally and it usually refers to little children.

I remember reading in a forum (can’t remember which one) about a mom who got her daughter to stop stuttering within a few weeks by getting her to crawl around a few times a day.  I can’t remember where she got her idea from.  I guess there is no harm giving it a try.  Good luck.

I used Youtube downloader quite some time ago.  Recently when I start to use it again, it gives me a “No flash video found” message.  Does anyone encounter this problem?  Can someone let me know how to fix it?  Thanks in advance.

Do you use toothpaste for a 2 yr? I wonder if they do know how to rise and spit.

Hi Susan

I do use a toothpaste for my 2 year old DD.  She likes the spitting part of the tooth brushing the most but she does not always spit.  I’m using First Teeth baby toothpaste which claims that it is safe to be swallowed and contains no fluoride or saccharin.   

... she starts bite me and not let me clean (even if I clean, she was with bad breath).

That was exactly what happened with my DD.  Another thing that also helps me get her to brush her teeth is to show her TV ads on toothbrush and tooth paste.  They are more effective than anything on Youtube that I had showed her.  As she watches the ads, I would explain how the bacteria produce acid that will erode the teeth and cause cavities and so on.  I also sneakily add on to tell her why she shouldn’t take so much sugary stuff.  The visuals of the ads really catch her attention and make it a lot easier for her to understand what I’m talking about.  This is the only time that I don’t mind her watching the ads on TV.

Hi joni2009

I started cleaning my DD’s gum and tongue with gauze before she had any teeth to get her use to the idea of cleaning her teeth. After her first tooth was out, I used finger brush and later changed to a baby toothbrush.  She liked it initially but she started to bite the brush and then rejected any attempt to put the finger brush or baby toothbrush in her mouth.  I could not get her to clean her teeth and gum for a long time even if I showed her Youtube of other children brushing teeth, songs about brushing teeth and pictures of bad tooth decay.  And the sticker reward only worked for a week.

Out of desperation and after getting clearance from my dentist, I started mixing a little xylitol in her drinking water and her last bottle of milk of the night.  Xylitol is a natural sweetener that also helps fight tooth cavity. You can google it to see if you want to give it a try while getting your little one to brush her teeth properly … it may have some side effect for some people (eg mild diarrhea in the beginning until the body gets used to it) although my DD doesn’t experience it.

Then, she heard All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth and asked me what the song was about.  I told her that the little boy who sang the song lost his 2 front teeth because he did not brush his teeth.  She finally reluctantly let me clean her teeth but only with a soft handkerchief but she still protests against it every time she sees it. 

Then, I got her an electrical toothbrush for her.  I let her to choose between the electrical toothbrush and the handkerchief.  And she always chooses the electrical toothbrush.  That works for me so far.  Every time she refuses to brush her teeth, I will take out the handkerchief and she will quickly start brushing her teeth.  I always brush for her after she is done brushing herself. The electrical toothbrush makes it a lot easier and faster for me to complete the task so that she does not protest for too long. 

As electrical toothbrushes look a bit different from the normal toothbrushes and is used differently, it may help break the habit of biting after you show her how it is used.  .  Hope this helps.