Right Brain Training : Part 1

The thing about education for the young is that there is no one method fix-all. Even as an educator, it is best that we acknowledge the need to constantly seek fresh ideas and perspectives and upgrade our skills as much as we can. Some of the reading material I read shared that boys have more of the right-brain capacity built in them. A few sessions with different lecturers and workshop speakers, I have had the pleasure to listen to their views, their research and their convictions of the difference in educating a boy and a girl. So before I delivered chubs (the 1st boy in our family) had me scouring the internet for a right-brain-training methodology that I could perhaps try with him (when he grew older) if I had the time to... however the search lead a noob like me to choices aplenty. I finally set my eyes on The Glenn Doman® Method. How To : Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge™ and commenced my search for quality Glenn Doman resources apart from his books which I later realized I already own but shelved deep in my resource library. Coming first from mainstream.. followed by Montessori.. then now learning about this training, I was of course initially skeptical. To which I must admit it was normal. I had a gazillion misconceptions and a lack of conviction for the Montessori Methodology too when I first embarked on it. I kept my eyes peeled for value for money bundles and pre-loved encyclopedic cards, for like the Montessori Method, these cards feature life-like illustrations. Taken from the Glenn Doman webbie :-
		"The Encyclopedic Knowledge Program provides  parents with the tools they will need in order to organize and expand what they are teaching. Both parent and child will maximize learning and experience the joy of accomplishment with minimum expenditure of time". I didn't start out the GD cards with chubs immediately because I was lazy. I didn't feel like reading up much either. So, I went ahead with Montessori Education for chubs. It was a natural choice especially since I love hands-on work plus I have all the Montessori resources that chubs needs to start with.  Aniwaes here's sharing some of the titles in my new-found collection :- Biology Amphibians Mammals Butterflies & moths Insects I Not having read the book at all, I randomly picked out a set to work with chubs around the time he started to express himself clearly. I think it was between the time chubs was 14mths to 16mths old. It did nothing much because all the first few presentations, chubs just had a jaded look in his eye but he seemed keenly observant and didn't indicate any objections to the material. I'm no pro in flash carding since I'm not that nimble. So I showed him the cards quickly which didn't quite qualify as flashing like a trained person would do. There was no response from chubs at all but I continued presenting to him every alternate day. Yes, I admit I was lazy... plus remember what I said. I didn't actually believe in this flashing method to begin with. I started with the Amphibians set first to test water.. The programme highlighted interesting returns detailed as below... The program will help you to: 1. Provide baby with a life long love of learning. I found myself nodding to this point as the cards came with extremely detailed information of the pictures they each represented. It was like a set of amphibians' characteristics and facts taken out from an encyclopedia. Aaaaahhh, now I get why they call the sets 'Encyclopedic Cards'.  2. Create his respect for knowledge for its own sake Agree, because later on chubs indeed displayed this respect. 3. Broaden and enrich his vocabulary. 4. Enhance his language development. Oh yes.. these above pointers are VERY true. 5. Increase his sensitivity to surroundings. Chubs seemed to be more observant to nature when I started the set. 6. Nurture his ability to use information to solve problem. 7. Nurture his ability to relate one area of knowledge to another area and draw conclusions. YES! Will share this in the next post on right-brain -training! 8. Enthuse him to teach others. Yes yes! He showed his prowess by sharing what he had learnt to his sisters. Ohh yes... the sister's were floored! *To be continued...*