Thank you Kezia.  Karma to you. 
 
And thank you to all who are working on these programs.

Are there any current coupons or discounts running for LR Delux?  I am a new forum member and anxious to purchase it, but I fear it will take me months to earn enough loyalty points for a discount coupon.  Especially when I cannot make a download (to make earning points faster) until I have the program.  Is there any other way to receive a discount? 

Also, I was reading old posts and saw that one used to be able to earn enough points to get a 100% off coupon on a Brillkids product, and that this may be offered again in the future.  This is something I am very interested in.  I learned that there may be certain criteria a forum member would need to meet in order to be be offered such a coupon.  I hope that you will consider new members in this criteria.  And make it base on level of activity rather than amount of posts.  Because in my case, I need to purchase the programs but I don't have many points yet, or nearly as many posts as others, but I am constantly reading other members' posts, and learning, and posting my questions as they arise.


I am trying to save as much money on these products as possible.  My plan so far was to purchase LR deluxe, then make downloads for it to earn enough points to get a coupon for Little Math.  I am also trying to stay active in the Forum (both to earn points little by little as I post things as well as to learn from the wealth of knowledge that exists here)  Is there a better way to save on these programs that I don't know about?  I will think I may eventually refer others, (to help earn points as well as to share with them what I have learned) but want to use the programs first so that I can give an honest recommendation.

When LR French and Spanish are released, will they be sold as an addition to our current LR programs?  Or do we have to buy them as a separate program completely? 

Are there any local distributors in the United States?  I am preparing to make a purchase and would love to save on shipping costs.

Are there any parents doing a meetup in The Orange County or Long Beach area?  Or anyone who would like to meet up?  Please send me a PM if you are interested.  Thanks!

Wow, many thanks Kimba15 for sharing! Learning new things everyday from this forum! I've never heard of formal swimming classes for 4 months old (mostly due to ignorance on my part)  now i wish there is a swim center like that in my area!

Here is a website that offers instructions on how you can teach your baby (starting as early as 3 months) to swim.  Complete with instructional videos and lesson plans. 
http://www.uswim.com/home

My baby is only two months old.  I have taken him swimming once and he absolutely loved it.  He even tried to put his face in the water a couple of times.  So I cannot wait to start following this program. 

I also noticed that the very first skill can be taught in the bathtub.  So even if it is cold in your part of the world right now you can still get started.

Happy swimming

Do the characters have a specific correlation to the spoken chinese languages.  ie. are Simplified characters Cantonese and Traditional characters Mandarin?

"So what did the AAP actually say?  Here's the recommendation regarding babies and TV:

- Discourage television viewing for children younger than 2 years, and encourage more interactive activities that will promote proper brain development, such as talking, playing, singing, and reading together.

Firstly, notice that they say "discourage", not something as absolute as "no screen time" which we hear so often.

Secondly, notice that it follows on to say that they encourage "interactive activities... such as... reading together". "

The AAP mentions Reading as an alternate activity to watching Television.  I feel like Watching Television for the sake of reading (or learning to read) is a clause and therefore negates the recommendation to discourage it.  Especially if the reading program is an interactive activity. 

I think one way to show a positive side of early learning is to emphasize how much young children enjoy these programs.  My baby is two months old, so we haven't started the LR program yet.  But we do the infant stimulation cards, and he really responds.  He focuses, and smiles and babbles.  It is quite obvious that he enjoys it. 

btw- Cute Video Heidi!

I am a mac user and am anxiously waiting for LR to be available for a mac.  I was hesitant to use Bootcamp and other programs to make it compatible now.  So, I posted on facebook that I was looking for an old PC laptop.  One of my friends had one that they wanted to get rid of.  So I picked it up.  I am so excited because now I have a way to use LR easily, and I have a computer designated for use with my baby's learning that can endure wear and tear of daily use by an infant.

We are in Southern California.

I am a mac user and would love to purchase LR.  But I am hesitant to install bootcamp because I already have limited space left on my Hard Drive.  So I am considering trying YBCR instead.  Please please make LR available for mac asap.

Although they did not follow the Doman method, my parents were very concerned with my education from a very young age.  I went to a progressive preschool and learned to read at the age of 3.  They also put my sister and I in very rewarding extracurricular activities such as music lessons and dance lessons.  Eventually money became tight and the lessons had to stop, and we had to switch to a public school, so they supplemented our regular schoolwork with additional supplemental education.  I didn't always like it at the time.  However I can say that looking back on my adolescence, the years that I was the happiest and most self confident were the ones when I was the most engaged in learning.

It may be difficult now to be the ugly duckling, but what your children will become, because of what you are doing for them, will yield great rewards, and grateful intelligent children.  Whatever you do, keep going. 

 I am so excited to have found this forum.  I have already learned so much from reading many of your posts and responses.  Thank you all for sharing your advice and knowledge with the forum.  It helps many more people than you may be aware of.