I have a 2 1/2 yo, and 6 mo old. I just recently started some early childhoo education with my girls. My older daughter has always been advanced without my tryin to teach her anything. So after her showing me she is capable of so much more I have started putting more effort into their education early on. I wish I started sooner. We are YBCR, tweedlewink, and doman math method right now.
I am wondering what else I should work on with them. I have plenty of time to spend because I am a Sahm and try to spend all of my time with them. I am just nieve and don’t realize what else their is out there. Lol
Hi Niniedney,
There’s really a lot you can do to help your child’s early development. Not all of it has to be about academics. Sounds like you’re already doing quite a bit but let’s clarify a little first.
Tweedlewink - is this the classes or the DVDs?
YBCR - I’m assuming this is the program by Robert Titzer?
You might want to consider adding physical activities and “bits of intelligence” cards (Doman program). You can buy them from Doman or make your own. Just pick a topic, e.g. Solar system. One a card, paste a picture of the subject, e.g. The Sun. On the back, write down 10 facts about the sun. Make a series of cards - for this example, it could be Earth, Venus, Mars, Saturn, etc. Flash the picture part of the cards to your child and read the name of the card. Flash the cards again but this time read out the first bit of information you have written on the back of the card. Do this three times a day with 4 bits of intelligence cards. The next day, flash the cards and read the second bit of information. It should take you 10 days to get through four cards. Then start on another four cards. You can stay with the same subject or change topics. Follow your child’s interest. THis will be great for your 2.5yo. The recommendation is to start at 8 months, but you can see if your 6 mo is interested.
Physical activity - have you heard of Doman’s book “How to Teach Your Baby to Swim”? You can introduce swimming to your 6mo. Babies have a natural reflex for swimming because they have been suspended in amniotic fluid for nine months so now is the best time to get her started. Swimming offers other benefits to your baby’s development - because the brain grows through use, swimming provides additional sensory stimulation and opportunity for a baby to grow his brain. This translates not only to physical development but mental development.
Another program is called Shichida/Heguru - they are Japanese based. As far as I understand Shichida came out first but the teachings and methods are similar. Shichida’s ideas are based on Doman’s philosophy so they are all linked in some way. Some of the Tweedlewink stuff is also similar. The idea is to promote brain development and right brain potential (photographic memory, speed reading).
More about Heguru: http://figur8.net/baby/2010/01/25/henguru-right-brain-creativity/
I take my son to Heguru classes but I find that a lot of the activities can be replicated at home if you’re willing to put in the time to make the resources.
As I mentioned earlier, not everything has to be about academics. Jill Stamm - author of Bright from the Start talks about the critical first three years on the development of the brain. The three key requirements of a child are attention, bonding and communication. You can read a lot of the content from this book here:
Bronson and Merryman - authors of Nurture Shock - also talk about things you can do to jump start your baby/toddler’s language skills: http://www.babble.com/jump-start-language-skills/index.aspx. According to the research, the way you respond to your baby and the timing of your responses can make the difference between whether you baby learns to talk early or late.
If you follow the Vygotskian approach - also referred to as “Tools of the Mind” - imaginative play (particularly for your 2.5yo) is very important for her development. By imaginative play, they refer to games such as role playing. It helps children develop concentration, focus, and self-control.
Anyway, that’s just a start… Hope it helps.
Hi Shen Li
Thank you for such a great summary.
I’mm having a look at your blog now.
Thank you so much. I will def have to look for “How to teach your baby to swim” that sounds like fun. Thanks for the ideas. And we are just using the tweedlewink videos.
I attended a TweedleWink center today. I really like it. Tweedlewink/Heguru/Shichida classes are all supposed to help your child develop his or her right brain potential. Although I’m currently sending my older son to Heguru, I’m considering changing to Tweedlewink because I think the classes are more relaxed. Heguru and Shichida are very typically Japanese - regimented and results-oriented.
One of the most important parts of early childhood education is not to test your child - at least if you want your child to enjoy learning, you shouldn’t. Children hate to be tested. I like that Tweedlewink subscribes to this philosophy. Although it means you won’t know how your child is doing I think it’s better for the long run. Your child will reveal what he’s learned through day to day happenings - like when my son first read the word “duck” from a restaurant menu.
Wennie Sun at Tweedlewink was also saying that you shouldn’t worry if it seems your child isn’t paying attention to what you’re teaching. Your child learns whether she’s looking or not. Even if you just have your Tweedlewink DVDs playing in the background while she plays with her toys, she’ll be picking up stuff. Children don’t learn the way we do - our left brain dominance inhibits our ability to pick up information the way young children do so we do not realise that a child can seemingly pay no attention to you while being engrossed with his toys but repeat all things that you’ve said while he was supposedly playing.
It’s good to start your baby swimming earlier. I only took my older boy swimming after he turned one - by then he’d developed a lot of fears and didn’t like to go where he couldn’t touch the floor. My baby loves the water!