Love Learning

Strategies for Struggling Readers... That Work!

For the past few months, we've been sponsoring live online classes for parents of children who have special needs or who just need a different way of learning than what's traditionally done in the classroom. Pamela Jarvis, M.Ed., of Shady Oak Learning has been doing an amazing job teaching the classes.

This past Monday, she led a class called "Strategies for Struggling Readers... That Work!" where she provided ideas and resources to help struggling readers succeed. After the class, an attendee shared with us: "Pam was a wonderful source of information. I am so glad that you presented this class and that I attended, I got so much out of it as a parent trying to help my child. I loved that she mentioned the Snapwords. My daughters school was using a horrible program and she struggled with it, I have been using her Snapwords all along and she does wonderful with them. Thank you." --Lora F.

Pam is leading 3 more classes this spring: Creating an Effective Learning Environment, The Three M's: Movement, Mnemonics, and Multisensory Strategies, and Personality and Learning. In all of these classes, Pam will discuss strategies for teaching each the way that they learn best and helping them reach their full potential. They're all super affordable and high quality. Sign up today!

It's Child1st's birthday!

March is Child1st Publications' birthday month, and this lovely spring March we’re turning six years old! So many changes have come about during the last year!

NEW PRODUCTS

The products we launched since March of 2011 include:

• SnapWords™ Spelling Dictionary: a handy book with over 372 stylized sight words, including the word in a sentence and a related body motion, all in ABC order. Funny thing, less than a year later we are already working on a revision so that this book will include all of our 593 words! Perfect for children who need a quick reference, or as a reminder of the sentence and body motion that goes with each word for teachers.

 

• Sight Words in Sentences: 200 sentences made of the sight words from SnapWords™ Lists A-E, divided into 5 levels by difficulty level. A great way to assess how well your students know the sight words once learning them with SnapWords™ sight word cards and to provide practice reading the sight words in context.

 

• Right-Brained Multiplication & Division: a hands-on book for teaching multiplication and division through stories, visuals and skits for a stress-free math time. Includes practice problems with an answer key. Perfect for visual and active learners!

 

• Multiplication & Division Teaching Cards: this set of 8.5" x 5.5" cards contains all the main visuals from the Right-Brained Multiplication & Division book. The reverse of each card includes the text that explains each visual, taken from the book. Display the stylized facts on a wall, bulletin board or in a pocket chart for an added reminder as you go through each chapter.

 

• The Illustrated Book of Sounds & Their Spelling Patterns: a revision to include a suggested sequence for teaching the lessons. The book still covers all the different sounds that letters can make, teaching through funny cartoons and mini stories.

 

• Easy-for-Me™ C Books: this new set of full-color readers cover sight words from List C (59 words), all the nouns from SnapWords™ Nouns List 1 (59 words), the sound spellings for oo as in BOOK and oo as in MOON, sound spellings for OW, the R controlled spellings, diphthongs, digraphs, and much more.

STAFF

This year, our office/project manager transformed from Hannah Gray to Hannah Clark!

Our marketing assistant/editor, Deborah Gray, was accepted into grad school!

 

Sarah became a grandmother, much to her absolute delight!

 

GROWTH

Thanks to all of you, our growth in 2011 was over 42%! And in 2012 already we are showing signs of doubling our business volume. This fills me with gratitude as we see this as a sign that more and more children are getting access to materials that help them learn and grow to their highest potential.

What we have heard from so many encourages us to keep on keeping on. Here are a few comments we have received this year:

"My children LOVE learning with these cards!  Thank you so much for creating a simple & effective way to learn.  I wish these had been around when I was younger." --Mara B.

"Seriously wish I had ordered this years ago. Well worth every penny! Used it as a refresher for my 7th grader, and to help my 4th grader who was having trouble remembering facts for longer than a week. She now understands multiplication, and since division is taught at the same time she no longer cries at the thought of it!"

"I absolutely love your products. I'm new to home schooling and I'm faced with the frustration of teaching 2 struggling learners who hate to read and write. Sometimes they just don't get it, and I didn't know how to help them. Your products provide not only the best way for them to receive and retain the content, but they teach me how to reach them and why they struggle!! I wish I had the money to purchase all of your merchandise! I will buy every chance I get!"

Our growth has always come by word of mouth, and we are also filled with gratitude to all of you who share the Child1st mission with your friends.

With love and with gratitude,

“Granny Sarah”

Lost Island Smugglers Book Review

Lost Island Smugglers, by Max Elliot Anderson, is an engaging story about a new kid in town who encounters unexpected adventure and challenges.

In the book, Sam Cooper has just moved to a new town in Florida when he meets Tony and Tyler. Since Tony's father owns a marina, the boys take scuba lessons there and eventually sneak out to scuba in the ocean by themselves.

Throughout the narrative, Sam struggles to find the balance between doing what he knows is right and fitting in with his new friends who tease him for always asking for permission from his parents before he does something potentially dangerous. The author portrays this struggle in a realistic way without edging into didacticism.

Through a raging storm, being marooned on an island, and encountering a group of dangerous drug dealers, Sam realizes leadership skills he didn't know he had and learns about the consequences of acting against what he knows to be the right thing to do. Because of Sam's personal growth throughout the story, the book is in many ways a coming of age tale.  

Lost Island Smugglers is intended for kids 8-13 and especially boys, although any child who enjoy stories about adventure would enjoy it. Personally, I loved the parts where the boys build a shelter, make a fire with a magnifying glass and search for food on the island. In many ways, it reminds me of a modern-day Swiss Family Robinson story.

The print is good-sized, and the story moves quickly enough that I surprised myself by finishing it in only one day. I just kept turning page after page after page...

I'd recommend Lost Island Smugglers to anyone wanting to encourage their reluctant readers, whether boys or girls, to read. Get your copy and dive into the adventure today!

About the Author

Max Elliot Anderson grew up as a struggling, reluctant reader. Using his extensive experience in the production of motion pictures, videos, and television commercials, he brings the same visual excitement and heart-pounding action to his adventure and mystery stories, written especially for tween boys. Both boys and girls have reported that reading one of his books is like being in an exciting movie.

Author Web Site

Books for Boys Blog

 

--DLG

Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/ Left Brain Education

Linda VerLee Williams' Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/ Left Brain Education may have been published a few years back, but her points about the importance of engaging both sides of the brain when teaching still hold true today.

The book includes specifics of research on this topic as well as practical tips for how to engage the two sides of the brain in the classroom, where traditionally only left-brained activities are employed.

From the back of the book:

"Recent research on the brain has revolutionized our concept of how we think. We now know that the two sides of the brain serve radically different functions. The left hemisphere is associated with linear, analytic thought; the right hemisphere governs spatial, integrative thought. In Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind Linda VerLee Williams explores the application of this important research to the classroom, summarizing current knowledge, discussing its implications, and providing practical teaching techniques that draw upon the right side of the brain."

Chapters:

1. Learning with the Whole Brain

2. Scientific Theory and Educational Practice

3. How Do You Think?

4. Metaphor

5. Visual Thinking

6. Fantasy

7. Multisensory Learning

8. Direct Experience

9. How to Start

10. Conclusion

Go check it out for yourself!

Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools

A few years ago I read Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol. It broke my heart, saddened me and angered me all at the same time. Here is an editorial review of his book:

“Kozol believes that children from poor families are cheated out of a future by grossly underequipped, understaffed and underfunded schools in U.S. inner cities and less affluent suburbs. The schools he visited between 1988 and 1990--in burnt-out Camden, N.J., Washington, D.C., New York's South Bronx, Chicago's South Side, San Antonio, Tex., and East St. Louis, Mo., awash in toxic fumes--were '95 to 99 percent nonwhite.' Kozol (Death at an Early Age ) found that racial segregation has intensified since 1954. Even in the suburbs, he charges, the slotting of minority children into lower 'tracks' sets up a differential, two-tier system that diminishes poor children's horizons and aspirations. He lets the pupils and teachers speak for themselves, uncovering 'little islands of . . . energy and hope.' This important, eye-opening report is a ringing indictment of the shameful neglect that has fostered a ghetto school system in America.”

From Publishers Weekly on Amazon

Unicorns Are Real: A Right-Brained Approach to Learning

By Barbara Meister Vitale

"This mega-best seller provides sixty-five practical, easy-to-follow lessons to develop the much ignored right-brain tendencies of children. These simple yet dramatically effective ideas and activities have helped thousands with learning difficulties. Includes an easy to administer screening checklist to determine hemisphere dominance. Engaging instructional activities that draw on the intuitive, non-verbal abilities of the right brain, a list of skills associated with each brain hemisphere and much more."

Read more

Power Brain Kids: 12 Easy Lessons to Ignite Your Child's Potential

By Ilchi Lee

"According to author Ilchi Lee, every child possesses a marvelously capable brain. Using its full capacity is simply a matter of accessing and supporting the rich potential that lies beneath the surface. In Power Brain Kids, you will find a child-appropriate and parent-friendly guide to Lee's world-renowned Brain Education (BE) method. Each lesson focuses on a particular aspect of mental ability, including concentration, creativity, memory, and emotional control. Through the book, straight-A and struggling students alike will be challenged to apply full brain capacity toward the creation of a genuinely happy and successful life. Power Brain Kids features colorful design and full-color photography to help keep your child interested and involved with the lessons. Let our charming group of Power Brain youngsters demonstrate correct posture while your kids build flexibility and strength. In addition, the brain-building exercises and games will provide hours of constructive fun for you and your child. Power Brain Kids is perfect for any teacher or parent of children ages 6-12. In twelve simple lessons, help your child: * Develop better concentration. * Improve memory skills. * Gain tools for emotional self-control. * Activate creativity and imagination. * Establish connection between mind and body. * Cultivate confidence and self-discipline."

Read more

A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity and Free Time Create a Successful Child

By Rae Pica, founder of Moving & Learning and internationally recognized expert on childhood physical activity

"What parent doesn't want their child to achieve and get a head start on the path to success? But, life today for young children has become a dress rehearsal for type-A adulthood— a competition to be the best. Parents have been led to believe that enrolling their kids full time in special classes, extracurricular academics, competitive sports, and other structured, high-commitment activities will give them an edge— leading to a pressure cooker environment that can interfere with kids' natural development. Young kids can spend their free time finger painting, playing in the sandbox, inventing games, and still turn out to be smart, talented, successful adults. In A Running Start, renowned educational expert Rae Pica looks at the many misconceptions under which today's parents are laboring. Among them are beliefs that "earlier is better" when it comes to athletics and academics; achievement is more important than play. This book shows how learning through play is vital to a child's development and fostering their unique personality. A creative childhood is one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, and Pica offers techniques on how to raise a child with the right balance of play and structured activity."

Read more or buy

Dreamers, Discoverers, and Dynamos: How to Help the Child Who Is Bright, Bored, and Having Problems in School

By Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D.

"Millions of children--one in five--have what psychologist Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D., calls the Edison trait: dazzling intelligence, an active imagination, a free-spirited approach to life, and the ability to
drive everyone around them crazy. Named after Thomas Edison--who flunked out of school only to harness his talents and give the world some of its finest inventions--the Edison trait is on the rise in our younger generation.

The heart of the issue is that they think divergently--they overflow with many ideas--while schools, organized activities, and routines of daily living reward convergent thinking, which focuses on one idea at a time. Drawing on examples from more than two decades of private practice, Dr. Palladino helps us cope with this challenging aspect of our child's intellect and personality, explaining in clear terms

• The three Edison-trait personality types: dreamers, discoverers, and dynamos

• The eight steps to understanding, reaching, and teaching your Edison-trait child

• The connection between the Edison trait and ADHD"

Read more or buy now

A Must Read for Parents with Children Labeled as ADD or ADHD

Parents, if you suspect your child has ADD or ADHD, or if he’s already been diagnosed, a must read is the book Right-Brained Children in a Left-Brained World by Jeffrey Freed, M.A.T., and Laurie Parsons. Just drop into your local bookstore and at least read the preface and intro. See if you can find your child described in those pages and see the wonderful hope extended to you if you do find your child described.

What caught my attention immediately was this statement:

“Freed related that all children who are labeled as ADD are right-brained and have a visual learning style. Instead of focusing on the deficits of these kids, which our schools and doctors are all too quick to do, Freed emphasizes their many strengths. These children are creative, can do difficult math problems in their heads, and are excellent speed readers. They tend to do poorly in school because educators tend to be left-brained: detail-oriented, auditory processors who view visual learners as 'flawed.' Freed says that what these children need isn’t a prescription for pills but a prescription for a different teaching method. For the first time I was hearing something about this mysterious thing called ADD that made sense.” (p. 13). Laurie Parsons speaking.

And:

“Through more than a decade of working one-on-one, first with gifted and then with ADD children, I’ve had the framework to make a startling discovery: Most gifted and virtually all children with ADD share the same learning style. Simply put, they are all highly visual, nonsequential processors who learn by remembering the way things look and by taking words and turning them into mental pictures....

While our schools have been harping on the deficits of children with ADD, I’ve had the pleasure of unearthing their many gifts." (p. 17) Jeffrey Freed speaking.

So why do they do so poorly in school?

"Our educational system hammers at visual learners’ weaknesses rather than utilizing their greatest strength: an uncanny visual memory. The cost of such rigidity is incalculable, and the lost potential is astronomical.” (p. 18)

So go get the book already, and read it.