Using all three brillkids programs (how do you do it?)

[DominusVobiscum]

For those of you who do all three programs (reading, math, music), how do you do it?  All at once?  Three seperate periods throughout the day?  Please share

[Mandabplus3]

Little musician just before the school run, little reader on the iPad during the school run, Little reader again at kindy and little math if we are lucky! I can usually show an extra couple of downloaded files on the weekends ( well on the less busy weekends anyway!)
I don't know many kids who would sit throuh all three back to back and still be interested but I know quite a few mums here show them during breakfast or dinner to increase the attention span...and because the kids are locked into a high chair! My kids are always happy to watch one or two but three would be pushing it. They will happily watch three little musicians back to back..but they have to get ready for school early for that! 

[CVMomma]

We actually do all three back to back.  My daughter didn't enjoy the LM part though until recently when we stopped trying to do the daily lessons.  Now that we just use the learn numbers, and learn math sections, she is able to sit through that easily also. 

Generally, we start with LMs, just because she LOVES it!!!  Typically, she will ask for all of the extras when we finish the lesson for the day.  She wants to watch all of the you-tube videos that go along with all of the lessons.  Depending on how much time I have, we will do it or skip it and go on to LM.

Since Math has always been her least favorite subject, I sandwich it between the other two.  We watch usually some skip counting lesson; then we go out to our long hallway number line and do the same thing with her frogs hopping forward and backwards.  Then we come back to the computer and go through some adding and subtracting in the learn math section.  Then back out to the number line to demonstrate that.  I think being able to jump up and do something helps keep her focused.

Then we end with LR, which she also LOVES!!!  We go through the daily lesson just as it is displayed.  Now that the new LRv3 is out, she also wants to play a few extra games.  I don't stop her!   Then we go to the play and edit tab and go through whatever extra lessons I have made.  We have some French, telling time, subitizing numbers, home made categories, etc.  Things that we have done so often that the are old hat to her, are in a folder that we go through once a week. I made a folder for each week day, and once a category has been covered, I stick it in there just for review.  The Game button is wonderful for this review!    I love the game button!!  So does she!!  We also have a odd # day folder and an even # day folder, where we go over newer categories every other day.

All of this takes about an hour.  She gladly spends more time if I let her.  We definitely had to work up to that.  When we started, she was only up for maybe 5 minutes of each.  She impresses me nearly every day with her stamina!  ( I am a wee bit proud of my girl!! )  After all of our Brillkids stuff, she generally cons me into Reading Bear too! 

In the afternoons, we do a shorter version.  Only a couple of perfect pitch lessons and 2 or 3 songs in LMs play and edit tab.  Then we go through the 2nd daily session in LR, but skip all the extras (which she always tries to do anyway!)  Then we do MEP and/or Jump Math at the table.

I know this schedule won't work for younger kids, or busy moms who have a life    It does work well for us though.

[DominusVobiscum]

Little musician just before the school run, little reader on the iPad during the school run, Little reader again at kindy and little math if we are lucky! I can usually show an extra couple of downloaded files on the weekends ( well on the less busy weekends anyway!)
I don't know many kids who would sit throuh all three back to back and still be interested but I know quite a few mums here show them during breakfast or dinner to increase the attention span...and because the kids are locked into a high chair! My kids are always happy to watch one or two but three would be pushing it. They will happily watch three little musicians back to back..but they have to get ready for school early for that! 

Thanks!

[DominusVobiscum]

We actually do all three back to back.  My daughter didn't enjoy the LM part though until recently when we stopped trying to do the daily lessons.  Now that we just use the learn numbers, and learn math sections, she is able to sit through that easily also. 

Generally, we start with LMs, just because she LOVES it!!!  Typically, she will ask for all of the extras when we finish the lesson for the day.  She wants to watch all of the you-tube videos that go along with all of the lessons.  Depending on how much time I have, we will do it or skip it and go on to LM.

Since Math has always been her least favorite subject, I sandwich it between the other two.  We watch usually some skip counting lesson; then we go out to our long hallway number line and do the same thing with her frogs hopping forward and backwards.  Then we come back to the computer and go through some adding and subtracting in the learn math section.  Then back out to the number line to demonstrate that.  I think being able to jump up and do something helps keep her focused.

Then we end with LR, which she also LOVES!!!  We go through the daily lesson just as it is displayed.  Now that the new LRv3 is out, she also wants to play a few extra games.  I don't stop her!   Then we go to the play and edit tab and go through whatever extra lessons I have made.  We have some French, telling time, subitizing numbers, home made categories, etc.  Things that we have done so often that the are old hat to her, are in a folder that we go through once a week. I made a folder for each week day, and once a category has been covered, I stick it in there just for review.  The Game button is wonderful for this review!    I love the game button!!  So does she!!  We also have a odd # day folder and an even # day folder, where we go over newer categories every other day.

All of this takes about an hour.  She gladly spends more time if I let her.  We definitely had to work up to that.  When we started, she was only up for maybe 5 minutes of each.  She impresses me nearly every day with her stamina!  ( I am a wee bit proud of my girl!! )  After all of our Brillkids stuff, she generally cons me into Reading Bear too! 

In the afternoons, we do a shorter version.  Only a couple of perfect pitch lessons and 2 or 3 songs in LMs play and edit tab.  Then we go through the 2nd daily session in LR, but skip all the extras (which she always tries to do anyway!)  Then we do MEP and/or Jump Math at the table.

I know this schedule won't work for younger kids, or busy moms who have a life    It does work well for us though.

Great info, thanks!  That's the second or third time I've seen Reading Bear mentioned on this site; I'll have to look into that.  As far as "mom's who have a life" is concerned, I am a firm believer that my wife's job (raising our kids) is a thousand times more important than anything I do at work.  It sounds to me like you've got quite the outstanding little girl and I'd humbly submit that raising and educating her as you are doing is a far more meaningful way to spend your life than working in an office or even running for congress!  So hats off to you, ma'am. 

PS, do you do all the French extras on your own or do you have a language learning source that you pull the content from?  Thinking of doing something similar with German and Latin...

[kiwimum]

I don't really have much of a plan, maybe I should, we kind of just do something each day. I try and do Little Reader at least five times a week and Little Musician four times a week. Little Maths is on hold at the moment, the dots were just getting "no, no, no," So we do a lot of physical counting through out the day. We count anything we see and she enjoys that. We are also just starting out with Little Chinese Trial but I'm finding I have to slowly introduce it as its so different for her, so I try and do a bit of a lesson once a week and hopefully build up on that as time goes on.

In the morning while having breakfast I ask her "Do you want to do your words?" I normally get a yes or a nod. So we go from there, most of the time we end up doing Little Musician after Little Reader and then in the afternoon we might do the words again. At this age (19month) I just try and remember to stop before she want to stop and to expose her to lots of different things.

I would like to be a bit more structured through out the week and have a bit more of a plan but I think that could take away a lot of the the fun of it and make it too much like work. But I'm keen to hear how others plan their time and maybe over time I will get a little bit more organised.

[audrachloe]

We also do all 3 together, twice a day.  If he loses interest, we take breaks in between and try again later.  If he's still not interested, we may skip a lesson for the day.  The lessons are short and enjoyable for him.  I am getting ready to add some encyclopedic knowledge.  Night time is when we relax and do most of our reading.
For now it is not super structured but works for us!

[DominusVobiscum]

We also do all 3 together, twice a day.  If he loses interest, we take breaks in between and try again later.  If he's still not interested, we may skip a lesson for the day.  The lessons are short and enjoyable for him.  I am getting ready to add some encyclopedic knowledge.  Night time is when we relax and do most of our reading.
For now it is not super structured but works for us!

Could you expound upon the "encyclopedic knowdge" part?  How does that work and what are you planning?

[CVMomma]

Great info, thanks!  That's the second or third time I've seen Reading Bear mentioned on this site; I'll have to look into that.  As far as "mom's who have a life" is concerned, I am a firm believer that my wife's job (raising our kids) is a thousand times more important than anything I do at work.  It sounds to me like you've got quite the outstanding little girl and I'd humbly submit that raising and educating her as you are doing is a far more meaningful way to spend your life than working in an office or even running for congress!  So hats off to you, ma'am. 

PS, do you do all the French extras on your own or do you have a language learning source that you pull the content from?  Thinking of doing something similar with German and Latin...

 
OH, yes!! I highly recommend Reading Bear! 

And thanks for the hats off!    My daughter truly is my life, and I wouldn't change it.  I'm just used to my friends thinking it is quite strange.  They are always encouraging me to "get a life".  I used to teach school for 14 years before my daughter was born.  Most people can't believe that I traded in a career that I enjoyed and was good at for "just being a mom". 

Almost all of the French lessons I download from this site.  (See Little Reader Library tab at the top of this page.)  We also have used Rosetta Stone for French.  She doesn't sit well through a whole lesson yet of that, but she learns an amazing amount from the time she does spend with that program. To quote Mandabplus3 from this forum-- "focus on imput, not output!"  I am just exposing her to French right now, even if she doesn't retain any of it.  As long as I keep that attitude, then any progress she makes is a bonus!  I am also looking forward to the LR french version!

By the way, welcome to the wonderful world of early learning!!  It is lots of fun and very rewarding!!

[lois1]

Hi DominusVobiscum...

EK is simply teaching our children about the world we live in and assuming they have the capacity to absorb much more than we as adults can. You can show flashcards, read non-fiction, do experiments, but most importantly talk to your child about absolutely everything you are doing.
 
Chemistry, geography, astronomy, biology, languages, ornithology... Whatever they show the remotest interest in, cultivate it.

It's mummy having to go and find out the BSL signs for construction equipment so her 18mth old can sign what he sees on the job site.

It's having your 2 year old find Russia on the globe before his 20 yr old neighbour can, it's having your tiny toddler show grandma the parallelogram & tell you (grinning) that he wants triangles for tea (a.k.a pieces of pizza) thinking I'll fall for it.... It's all about input & then several months later you'll realise that he's telling you something that you gave up telling him ages ago because you thought it wasn't going in. How dumb can adults/ I be!

[lois1]

Oh & in answer to your original question we do LR morning & night, LMusic in the evening before bed. We don't have LMaths but try & incorporate maths into our daily routine, especially at mealtimes.

[Tamsyn]

I think everyone's comments about Little Math are very interesting.  I have wondered how successful it is.  I have heard second hand accounts that Doman himself admitted that his math program had the least success of his well-baby programs, but I've read the book, and oh boy!  If I had one kid with the kind of results he is talking about, it would be worth it!  When my oldest was a toddler, I spent HOURS making my own cards, and the materials themselves cost me about $45.  What a pain!  And then I didn't really use them.  With my homemade bits of intelligence, I could simply runt through them, but for math, I had to make equations.  So, what a blessing Little Math is for those who want to pursue it.  BrillKids did an amazing job.  But, it's the last of the 3 three that I purchased, and I wish I could say that I had more faith in the program.  Enough faith to buy it and use it, knowing that exposure to numbers will help, but I'm not a believer yet, and I don't promote it.  Yet.  (fingers crossed).  Anyway, your comments are all interesting to me.  I don't know how math could be made more exciting than BrillKids has done, for babies at least, but it's not the favorite subject.

To the original question.  I have all 3, and we do use them all.  I'm still trying to get into the swing of things, but for now:

In the morning, we do Little Musician, watching portions of the video segments, the complete day's worth of Little Math, and a full day of Little Reader.  My 5-year-old is excused for the latter two, my 2 and 3-year-olds are engaged the whole time, and my baby sits on my lap IF she is awake.  I should tailor our lessons to her too, but I don't, I just try to make sure she is present.  It worked for my 2-year-old!

Later that day we repeat the same Little Musician lesson, and explore in the nursery rhyme section.  Then we go on to a new full-day Little Reader lesson.  I'm trying to accelerate our progress through LR because my kids had a strong background in Your Baby Can Read before we purchased LR a few months ago.  I want them to gain from all of the LR content, but they are able to keep up with an accelerated pace, so we do.  I'm excited to get to the stories in the second semester!  This later session is not at a set time, instead I do it when it's convenient, and when the baby is awake- she needs at least one session a day!

Thank you everyone for sharing, it's given me a few ideas.

[Mandabplus3]

Tamsyn, we prefer the second semester  you will love it 
We can easily do two days worth of lessons on the days we don't have after school activities, especially in LR an LMusic where the kids are so enthusiastic for it. Sometimes I do two lessons with my kindy class even. I tend not to do two lessons mostly because if I have some spare time I use it for other activities like reading a book or writing or drawing. But i can see an accelerated program would be very beneficial particularly if you child is around age 3. Curious and still young enough for maximum benefit.
I have LM we used it for a few months then decided we had got the most we could outo f it. Now although i say that I can clearly see just what my son got from it. He has a wonderful ability of understanding what numbers represent quantity wise. So I still think it was worth it even though we shelved it. I could use it now to teach other concepts but I think he knows pretty much all the skip counting I want to teach him ( did I mention I don't enjoy counting? I enjoy math but not counting) I was considering getting it out to help memorize math facts. To use it as a left brain stick it in your head drill excersize but was concerned he may decide to be difficult with all the computer stuff if he didn't like it.
When we were doing LM it was his least favourite but if I kept the lesson brief and full of his favourite (random) icons he happily watched.
Hmm i am curious now I wonder what the kindy class will make of it? I shall try some with them once we get the big screen. Spiderman isn't going to be very interesting in minature dot size

[lzp11]

We do LMs and LR every morning during breakfast.  For LM I only do the numerals / counting part of the curriculum rather than the equations because I could not get my youngest to focus and my older daughter flat out refused to do LM at about 2, I think largely because of the equations.  I'm not convinced that she learned much from this part of the curriculum but like Manda, I do think her number sense was good from her exposure to LM.  She never learned to subsitize large numbers though.  She's happy to watch the counting and skip counting sections so we stick with that.  This makes it a lot shorter and actually easier to fit in at the same time as the other programmes.  We never have an problem sitting through the music!

In the evening after dinner we repeat LR and LM (counting only) and sometimes LMs but not always.  I have a laptop at the kitchen table so it's easy to set up and watch after meals.  My oldest does not need to watch LR as she knows all the words but often chooses to watch with us and still enjoys it.  She likes pressing the mouse buttons.

Then I space out our other EL activities throughout the day in small bursts.  We tend to do reading after breakfast, after lunch and at bedtime, and maths activities / Soft Mozart in the afternoon.  And of course everything else from swimming, gymnastics, park, walks etc etc in between!

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