Are Kids Driving You Crazy?

Mentioned the other day that we probably all live in an attention-deficit world. Then rambled on about myself and my to-do list.

But what about kids? Kids imitate us so, as you well know, they exhibit living in an attention deficit world too. Either they’re running around like mad, driving their teachers and parents crazy. Or they’re zoned out in front of the TV or a video game.

Then we label them ADD and give them drugs. (Most of us run around like crazy too and zone out in front of the TV but we’re way less likely to label ourselves.)

I’ve also talked about that before in the blog. Obviously, I’m obsessed with this ADD thing. So I’m sure you can guess what e-book Two in my “Brain Boosters for Your Kids” series is all about.

“They’re Driving Me Crazy: What to do about ADD without Giving Kids Drugs” includes what ADD is, how you know if you or a kid has it, the many factors that can lead to ADD-like behavior, and why it’s really a label and not a disease.

And most importantly, lots of parent and teacher tips, strategies, and resources for managing ADD—if not stopping this behavior all together.

For example, keep a schedule and set firm boundaries. Watch how much sugar kids eat. Calm down yourself.

By the way, if you’re looking for a quick way to calm down yourself and help kids, even preschoolers, settle down, then take advantage of Thursday night’s free Intro to Brain Gym TeleChat. Tell a friend, a parent, a teacher.

You’ll discover what makes Brain Gym so effective. I’ll give you two of my favorite Brain Gym activities (they’re the one’s that help you calm down), and I’ll stay on the line to answer your questions about Brain Gym . . . and ADD.

While I’m at it, might as well mention e-book Three: “Why Smart Kids Fail” since it fits with the ADD book. After all one of the reasons smart kids fail is lack of focus. And, of course, ADD is all about focus.

Now if you can’t wait for my ADD e-book, then take a look at Dr. Edward Hallowell’s books. He’s my favorite ADD expert. Although Hallowell’s an MD, he agrees that drugs aren’t always the answer.

Was going to give you a link but Hallowell’s everywhere on the Web, and I couldn’t choose the best link. Just Google “Edward Hallowell, MD.” (without the quotes).

He’s got books and articles and interviews, teaches at Harvard Medical School and runs the Hallowell Center for ADD. He even mentions Brain Gym in one of his books. (And you're wondering why he's my fave!)

Or just pick up “Driven to Distraction” by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey. I’m giving you the link for the Hallowell Store so you can browse all his stuff. Of course, you can probably get the book cheaper at Amazon. Or read his articles on line for free.

Anyway, watch the blog over the next couple days for your opportunity to get in on my pre-publication four-e-book-series-with-super-bonuses extravaganza.

I’m so excited about this that I nearly gave you a link and the page isn’t up yet!

Oops, Wrong Link for Free Brain Gym TeleChat

Guess I got so excited my four e-books that I accidentally gave you the wrong link for signing up for the Free “Intro to Brain Gym TeleChat.” Not once but several times. Duh!

See what happens when you try multi-tasking? It's not a brain-based learning strategy. I talked about the latest research on multi-tasking in Saturday's post.

So click here on the right link for the Free Brain Gym TeleChat.

It’s Wednesday night, November 4 at 6 pm mountain time. Lasts an hour. Time for your questions and includes handouts.

If you can’t make it, sign up anyway. You can listen to the Web audio at your convenience and get the handouts.

O.K. so sure you’ve figured out that this free class is a marketing tool for me to get you to register for the Brain Gym Basics TeleChat 4-week series and you know Brain Gym Basics isn’t free. Not very expensive but still not free.

But you’ll get enough Brain Gym on the free TeleChat to use Brain Gym yourself and with your kids at home or in school. And you’ll find out what Brain does and how.

I’ll be showing you actual Brain Gym movements—some of the most effective, always-work exercises. The easy exercises you’ll use to get kids and yourself calmed down and focused. You’ll get full-color pictures of these movements, instructions for using them, why they work, and when to use them.

If your kids can’t calm down and concentrate, they can’t learn.

So sign up right now. The telephone bridge line is limited and you don’t want to be left out.

Finally, Brain-based Learning Books in the Works!

So I finally did it! After years of procrastination I started writing an e-book. (By the way, procrastination’s not a brain-based learning strategy.)

Now once I get started, I don’t mess around. It’s the getting started that’s hard. So why write just one e-book when four’s more fun?

And to give myself credit, I’ve been writing bits and pieces, outlining chapters, gathering notes, clipping newspapers, downloading and printing stuff off the Web forever

You got it. I’m right in the middle of writing four e-books! Of course you’ll find tips and strategies you can use right away. And they’ll all have lots of fun workbook fill-in-the-blank pages for you. Plenty of self-quizzes and kid-quizzes.

Plus tons of resources—for parents, for teachers, and even for kids. I love e-books because you can get all those links to other resources right in the text. You sure can’t do that with bookstore books.

The first one’s called “Brain Boosters for Your Kids.” (Now there’s an obvious title.) It’s a hodge-podge of easy tips and strategies for helping kids learn faster, be happier, and stop driving you nuts. It’ll be out mid-December.

I’ll tell you about the other three books later.

I’m so excited about the Brain Boosters e-book series that I’m doing a huge pre-publication special deal where you get all four books plus a bunch of bonuses. All at half price. And in plenty of time for holiday gift giving.

More about this tomorrow. I need to get back to writing.

P.S. Brain Gym® isn't in the series. So if you want to know about Brain Gym, you’ll need to sign up for the FREE Intro to Brain Gym TeleChat , Thursday evening, Nov. 2.

Or just register for the Brain Gym Basics TeleChat Series beginning Nov. 8. (Teachers, you can get graduate-level professional development credit for this 6-hour class.)

Curious about Brain Gym in general, the research, who “invented” it? Check out the Educational Kinesiology Foundation’s Web site.

Brain Gym’s taught in 90 countries around the world. And both the "Wall Street Journal" and the CBS morning show have featured Brain Gym.

P.P.S. Busy time around my office as the Manitou Springs one-day super-cheapo Brain Gym Class happens this weekend. Don’t forget that high school and college kids can come to this class too. And for only 25 bucks.

Then next weekend Eric and I are off to Ohio to play with three of the grandkids. The other four live in New Hampshire. Too bad we can't take the time to do Ohio and New Hampshire all in one trip.

When I get back to the mountains, this blog will get a forum so you can comment, disagree with me, and ask questions.

And the blog will split itself into two: one blog for teacher/parent how-to-help-our-kids stuff and another blog just for school and education news.

Clearing up the Confusion: So What is Brain-based Learning Anyway?

Guess it’s time to explain since folks keep asking: “What on earth is Brain-based learning anyway?”

Well, technically, it’s a theory that says kids have different ways of learning and if we teach to all of those ways of learning, every kid will learn and learn more effectively.

Some kids are visual learners, some are auditory, others learn best kinesthetically, and so on.

It’s another way of talking about Howard Gardner’s work in Multiple Intelligences.

However, I use it in a much broader sense. Anything we can do to boost brain power is, in fact, “brain-based learning.” So brain-based learning includes everything from eating food high in nutrients for the brain (protein, for example) to moving across the mid-line (Brain Gym exercises)

Stimulating the brain by doing something different or learning something new is brain-based learning. Even drinking water which increases the electrical conductivity of your brain cells fits the category.

This definition of brain-based learning works for everyone—not just visual learners or kinesthetic learners. We can all use it and so can our kids.

Want to know more about Brain Gym? Sign up for the FREE 1 hour Brain Gym TeleChat. It’s Thursday night, November 2, 2006. Can’t make it? No worries. If you sign up, you’ll still get the link for the Web audio and the handouts.

Life in an Attention-deficit Society

Was reading some stuff yesterday about Internet marketing by guru Rich Schefren. He thinks we live in an attention-deficit society.

No kidding.

So today I need to get the basement picked up and rearranged so there’s room in the guest room for a guest, pay some bills, run to the Post Office, work on my e-book “Brain Boosters for Your Kids" (deadline is Nov. 9 for rough draft), get 60 workbooks ready for next week’s Brain Gym class, listen to a teleseminar from my Internet marketing mentor Tom Antion, and . . . the to-do list just for today never ends

I’m overwhelmed. It’s too much. Can’t keep my attention on anything or figure out what to do next.

So, yes, I agree with Rich. Even in quiet, peaceful Marble, Colorado, I live in an attention-deficit world.

And the latest brain research is saying that my brain doesn’t like multi-tasking which is how I’ve always tried to manage my to-do lists.

Possible Solutions:

1. Randomly cut up the to-do lists in very small pieces, put in hat, and draw.

2. Go fishing (People in Marble fish in the Crystal River even in snow.)

3. Eat a little very dark, rich-in-something-that’s-good-for-you, chocolate.

4. Listen to my OptiMindzation CD for brain entrainment.

5. Do Brain Gym.

Today’s Decisions:

Do 3, 4, and 5 in that order. No. 1 is scary and no. 2 is boring. 4 and 5 are good brain-based learning techniques. I guess 3 is too since your brain learns better if it's feeling good. And what makes one feel better than chocolate? (Well, I can think of something but we can't mention it in a family publication.)

P.S. If you’d like to help yourself and your kids recover from our attention-deficit society, sign up for a free TeleChat about Brain Gym. It’s Thursday evening, Nov. 2 at 6 pm mountain time. You’ll get handouts and an audio recording of the call you can listen to later on the Web.

Who's Getting Attention in School?

When my son Stephen was in high school, he never had a problem getting a job. He was always employed.

His girl friend, on the other hand, had a harder time finding a part-time job. Both bright kids with good work ethics. And she had better grades than he did.

I’m convinced that gender got in the way. Bosses hired boys over girls. And I believe it’s just as true today as in 1985.

How does it play out at school? Study after study shows that teachers pay more attention to boys than girls. Do they mean to? Probably not. And it doesn’t mean that girls aren’t often at the top of their class.

Back in 1972, Title IX prohibited sex discrimination in education. No more single sex schools—at least if you wanted to receive Federal funds.

Now the Department of Education is saying that as long as you offer a “substantially equal” school to students of the other gender, you can provide single-sex schools.

Before we go any further, let me state unequivocally that I am, and have been since 1970, a Feminist. I taught Women’s Studies for years. And I rarely support this Administration’s Department of Education policies.

But Feminists don’t always see eye to eye.

Is it the same argument as “separate but equal” that meant segregation for black kids?

Or is it a way to empower girls?

Sure, in the best of all worlds, we’d be empowering girls at school with or without boys. Teachers would be paying equal attention to girls and boys. Just as many girls would be class president or editor of the school newspaper.

Remember it isn’t just grades that get girls into college. It’s all those extra-curricular activities, especially ones that show leadership abilities.

The National Association of State Boards of Education has a good overview of the same-sex school discussion although written before the latest Dept. of Education ruling.

Philanthropist Ann Tisch founded the Young Women’s Leadership Foundation. The Foundation opened a public girls-only school in 1996 in East Harlem in New York. For six years, the test scores of the graduating classes are well above the city’s averages. Despite a complaint filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, Tisch has opened five more inner-city schools for girls.

If I were an East Harlem single-mom with teenage girls, you better believe they’d be in Tisch’s school Good brain-based learning strategy. Then they’d have a shot at getting into Harvard!

Brain Gym empowers girls too.

Does Your Baby Need a Shrink?

Now there’s an off-the-wall headline! Babies seeing shrinks? Surely not.

Turns out there’s a booming business in mental health for babies. Ten major universities across the country offer programs for babies and their parents.

By the time I’d finished reading the article, I got it.

Yes, it’s a good idea for some babies. Given all the research about the impact of pre-natal trauma—even what Mom says to her unborn child—babies can in fact come into this world with “issues.”

Bottom line, negative experiences alter a baby’s brain chemistry.

Mom and Dad fought a lot during Mom’s pregnancy. Mom’s ambivalent about having this baby. Dad is stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed. Mom didn’t bond with her parents when she was an infant.

All of these contribute to a baby’s lack of well being. And that extends to difficult times during the first three months and beyond.

Once the pattern is set in the baby’s brain, it stays there and can wreck havoc unless there’s some kind of intervention. Depression, anxiety, learning disorders, anorexia—all can be see in babies and certainly can show up later.

So which babies should see shrinks?

Adopted babies, babies whose Moms had difficult pregnancies and deliveries and they’re still recovering, babies of Moms and Dads (and Grandparents) who worry about every little thing.

Newborns not interested in sights, sounds, and touch. Older babies who aren’t connecting emotionally to those who love them. 1-2 year olds who aren’t interested in pretend play and have limited emotional range.

These babies and their parents will benefit from early-childhood family-based therapy.

You can read more about it at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06297/732517-114.stm

Brain Gym can also be used effectively with babies and toddlers. Check out “Brain Gym Basics” at www.brain-based-learning.com/BrainGymTeleChatforTeachers.htm. (Parents, this is for you too.)

Lots of Snow for the Brain

So, as you probably know by now, my husband Eric and I moved high up in the Colorado Rockies last summer. No more city living for us. Wow! What a change. And yes, we're lovin' it.

We live in the "suburbs" of Marble, Colorado--Marble boasts a population of 85 folks so obviously we're not exactly crowded here in the "burbs." Marble does boast a store but it's only open in the summer.

And as you also know from the last post the first snow of the season knocked out the electricity. Then we got more snow--about a foot or so. Gorgeous. Not all that cold. Our back yard looked just like a Christmas card.

The satellite dish which provides our Interent connection also got a foot of snow. Unfortunately, the dish doesn't like snow and stopped working even though the electricity was back on. Now what? Maybe living in the Marble "burbs" at 8,000 feet isn't so much fun after all.

After much grumbling and then calling tech support types, I discover that I simply need to brush the snow off the dish. Duh! No big deal. Don't need tech support. And I'm back on the Internet in seconds.

O.K. so what does this story have to do with my aging brain?

Everytime I learn something new--even as inconsequential as brushing snow off the satellite dish--my brain makes new neuronal connections. Couple more brain cells connected and firing. In fact, my brain goes for the whole adventure of living up here in a cozy log cabin after a lifetime of city living. I'm discovering new things every day.

Now imagine what would happen to your brain if you took on a major new project . . .a new job, learning a new language, taking piano lessons when you've never played the piano, discovering how to tie flies for fly fishing. The list is endless. A healthy brain depends on this.

So it's no wonder we often think kids are smarter than we are and learn things quicker. They're in school and their business is learning new things every day.

Interested in mastering a hobby quickly and with ease? How about lowering your golf score? Wish you could help your kids succeed in school more easily? Check out Brain Gym. It's for you and your kids. It's for parents and teachers.

You can listen to a free hour-long TeleChat about Brain Gym (and get 15 psges of handouts) at www.brain-based-learning.com/BrainGymIntroTeleChat.htm

How to Use Brain-based Learning when the Electricity Goes Out

Woke up this morning to 6 inches of wet, heavy snow. We're up in the mountains so snow in October isn't unusual nor unwanted. Except that this snow brought down power lines. And zap, out go the lights, my computer, and the coffee pot.

I'm so addicted to electricity and an internet connection that I drove 26 miles to the nearest library so I could blog and check e-mail--after stopping for coffee, of course.

Got me to thinking about our dependence on electricity and it's connection to learning. So what do kids do when the electricity goes out--other than whine because there's no TV and ask when it's coming back on?

Next time it happens, here's a list to choose from. After they've checked the list, see who can add the most activities to it. Have a "no electricity" contest. The brain likes contests--contests build new neuronal connections.

1. Read
2. Play board games
3. Make a snowman
4. Take a walk in the rain
5. Do arts and crafts activities
6. Finish homework
7. Figure out what to eat that doesn't require a stove or microwave. Could you fix an entire dinner without cooking?

No contest for me. I found electricity as soon as I could even if it meant a long drive.

And speaking of Brain-based Learning, check out the FREE Introductory Brain Gym TeleChat. Discover a program that helps kids (and their teachers and parents) learn anything more easily and quicker. It’s Wednesday night, October 18, from 6 to 7 pm mountain time. Can’t make it? Register anyway and listen at your convenience on Web audio.

And while you’re at it, take a look at a new brain entrainment program. It’s called OptiMINDzation. I’m using it myself and just love it. Helps me focus when I get overwhelmed by my 10-mile-long to-do lists. You can do it without electricity--as long as you remembered to get batteries.

Why are We Using Accommodations when Simple Brain-based Learning Strategies Work?

Jimmy Fox just finished writing his memoirs about growing up on a tenant farm in Maryland. His book’s wonderful, filled with laugh-out-loud anecdotes. One of those rare can’t-put-it-down stories.

Since lots of people write memoirs, what’s the big deal about Jimmy’s? Well, he has severe dyslexia—so severe that he struggled in school, repeated a grade, and never graduated from high school—and he’s recovering from cancer.

Of course, if Jimmy were many years younger and in school today, he’d receive accommodations for his “disability.” Longer on tests. Maybe someone would read the questions to him and he could answer verbally.

And then what happens when Jimmy graduates? According to Sue Shellenbarger, a columnist for the “Wall Street Journal,” turns out that in many workplaces the accommodations stop.

The folks with dyslexia, ADD/ADHD, and other “learning-disabilities” are moved to dead-end jobs, don’t get promoted, and often fired.

Now I’m not against accommodations for children who struggle in school. But why are we depending on them when they don’t help kids prepare for life after they graduate? Aren’t we setting them up to fail?

After all we have programs, techniques, and strategies to help with dyslexia and ADD/ADHD. Brain Gym®, Retrain the Brain®, Tomatis®, brain integration therapies, and scads of neurofeedback, and brain entrainment programs work.

Some like Brain Gym can be used in the classroom, are inexpensive, and don’t require special equipment. Others such as neurofeedback technology are used individually. Some require taking children to centers such as Tomatis.

In other words, we have proven techniques that help many students overcome these “disabilities.” Strategies the students themselves learn to master. Then we can send them out into the workplace without labels, able to work effectively at their chosen jobs.

You can check out one of these programs yourself tomorrow night. Register now for a FREE Introductory Brain Gym TeleChat. Discover a program that helps learning-challenged kids learn anything more easily and quicker. It’s Wednesday night, October 18, from 6 to 7 pm mountain time. Can’t make it? Register anyway and listen at your convenience on Web audio.

And while you’re at it, take a look at a new brain entrainment program. It’s called OptiMINDzation. I’m using it myself and just love it. Helps me focus when I get overwhelmed by my 10-mile-long to-do lists.

Cancel Recess? Surely They're not serious!

Creghton Elementary in Phoenix just cancelled morning and afternoon recess. Whitman-Hanson Regional School District in Massachusetts cancelled morning recess for all its elementary schools. The Frank M. Silvia School in Atlanta just cut back recess.

They're not alone. In every Brain Gym class I teach, teachers report that their school has just cancelled recess or cut out gym.

What's next? Tying kids to their seats? Gluing their arms to their desks?

What are they thinking? Scientists and child development experts have known for years that physical movement is crucial to brain development and learning.

Think about it. How many times have you gotten stuck on some thorny problem so you take a break, get up and move around or take a walk. And then get back to it and sure enough, it's easier.

Luckily for our kids, The American Academy of Pediatrics just issued a report that free play involving physical movement is necessary for kids. And some academic types are doing the research. They're proving what we've known all along: recess helps kids focus more and fidget less. And that equals more learning.

Make no mistake. Moving is a crucial brain-based-learning strategy.

Find out more at http://www.topix.net/med/pediatrics?full=c537a34e4c

Discover movements that improve learning for you and your kids at the FREE Introduction to Brain Gym TeleChat on October 18, 6 pm mountain time.
Sign up at www.brain-based-learning.com/registerFreeBGIntro.htm

What Makes TV Stressful?

Just read about a low-budget Disney TV show for kids. “Quelli dell’ Intervallo” is so popular in Italy it’s being picked up in other European countries.  A bunch of kids, standing in a group, look straight at the camera and talk. No animation. No special effects.

Has a fun plot line and actually sounds kind of interesting to me. And keep in mind that there’s not nearly as much TV for kids in Europe as in the US.

Now there’s talk about bringing the show to the U.S. But I’ll bet it will never fly over here even though the segments are short and can be watched on tiny cell phone screens.

Our kids are used to extreme special effects and equally extreme rapid movement—even on Sesame Street.  In fact they’re mesmerized by TV in ways that were unheard of when my son was a kid and watching Saturday morning cartoons.

Unfortunately these rapid visual effects and movement aren’t great for the brain. A few years ago the rapid movement and laser effects in a Japanese show sent kids to the hospital with epileptic seizures.  

Bottom line, TV can sometimes be pretty stressful even if the content of the show is benign.

So how much do you know about the connection between stress and learning?  Take the free “Stress Quiz” and find out.

Stress is Not a Brain-based Learning Strategy!

I was listening this afternoon to a teleseminar with Dr. Carla Hannaford, a biologist and the author of Smart Moves: Why Learning is not All in Your Head. She was talking about why kids who are stressed out have trouble learning. Not exactly a new idea.

But I sure didn’t know that 75 percent of your frontal lobes shut down under stress including your non-dominant side completely. In other words, if you’re left-brain dominant and stressed out, your entire right side will stop functioning as will most of your left side. The frontal lobes control thinking and reasoning, not to mention communication.  

Now there’s a mind boggling statistic. No wonder I botch things up when I’m feeling stressed out. And no wonder kids under stress don’t succeed in school, flunk tests, and struggle with learning.

If you’d like to manage your stress around your kids’ homework or their test scores in the classroom and help them manage stress, register today for “Kids + Learning = parent and Teacher Pressure: How to Lower Your Stress While They Learn. It’s a TeleChat at 6 pm mountain time Wednesday night (Oct. 11) and comes with lots of handouts.

Register even if you’re busy since the audio will be posted on the Web site so you can listen later. And while you’re at the registration Web site, be sure and take the “Stress Quiz.”  Discover how much you really know about stress and learning.

Warm Fuzzies Equals Brain-based Learning: Surely a Joke!

Study after study says “Reading to your kids makes kids better readers.” O.K., I’d agree with that. The reading specialists, bless their hearts, have analyzed what this means. It’s about seeing words on pages. About hearing the words. Connecting what they hear to what they see on the page. It’s even related to beginning to understand phonics—if you think phonics is important. (I do.)

I say forget all this analysis. There’s one reason kids who are read to become good readers. It’s called “warm fuzzies” and “warm fuzzies” have a scientific, neurological basis.

All of us and our kids must have a connection to the mid-brain or Limbic System in order to be motivated to do anything, including reading. The mid-part of the brain is the brain’s emotional center. In other words that’s where love is.

So of course, my four-year-old granddaughter Cari, sitting on her Daddy’s lap during bed-time reading, feels loved? It’s quality time with Dad. It’s warm fuzzies.

So now Cari’s a big girl and doing a splendid job of reading in first grade. She’s learned to connect reading to love. And love’s just about the best motivator we’ve got.

Want your kids to love reading? Read to ‘em every night. Hold ‘em in your lap. Do the quality one-on-one time with ‘em. Connect reading to love and you’ll have a kid who loves to read. It’s a brain-based learning strategy.
* * *
Feeling stressed out by parenting? By teaching? Don’t forget next Wednesday’s Telechat:  “Kids + Learning = Parent and Teacher Pressure:  How to Lower Your Stress while They Learn.” Register Today for this Brain-based Learning TeleChat .  The TeleChat’s Wednesday, October 11, 6 pm mountain time. Put it on your calendar now. My TeleChat’s always come with handouts you can use at home and in the classroom.

When Brain-based Learning Strategies Don't Work

I’d like to believe that folks think of me as expert in brain-based learning strategies. And certainly I’m passionately interested in the subject. Teach it, read about it, study it, talk about it to anybody who’ll listen to me.

It’s my thing. I believe in it. It works! It helps kids learn! And it’s easy for parents and teachers.

But brain-based learning strategies don’t work all the time—even for me!

Bottom line: You can’t learn something if you aren’t interested. And you aren’t interested unless there’s an emotional connection to whatever you feel you must learn.

Go back to yesterday’s post where I admitted that I’m really bad at math. And there’s certainly an emotional connection there. My father hated math. I loved my father. So I hated math too. Made me feel closer to him.  And now I can’t even balance my checkbook without a struggle.

Explains why some really smart kids don’t do very well in school. And why some not-so-smart kids end up doing great.  

So discover what your kids love and connect it to learning. She loves ice skating and hates reading? Get her books about ice skating.

Want to discover more about motivation and learning? Register now for tonight’s free TeleChat, “All about Reading.”  It’s at 6 pm mountain time. I’ll be talking about how to motivate kids to read.

And I’ll also be showing you a neat Brain Gym exercise you can do to improve reading skills—you can even use it yourself.  You’ll get handouts and templates you can duplicate to use in your classroom or at home.

It’s all free. Go to www.brain-based-learning.com/registerreadingtelechat.htm to register. Send the link to a friend, a teacher, or a parent—anybody who wants to help kids read. Remind them that enrollment is limited so they need to register right away.

Like Father, Like Daughter

More about kids imitating adults—the good, the bad, and the ugly. So I learned to read before I went off to Kindergarten. After all my father read all the time. My mother didn’t read quite as much but she still read a lot.

We had books, books, and more books plus magazines and newspapers all over the place. I thought my parents were terrific so I wanted to do what they did. And I learned to read.

Now my father, however, wasn’t crazy about math. So when he went off to college, he convinced the Dean to excuse him from taking the required Math 101.

When I had trouble in arithmetic, he told me that story. Well, guess what? I’m still not very good at even simple math and nearly flunked algebra and geometry in high school. Forget math in college!

It’s just another story about kids imitating adults. He didn’t like math so I didn’t bother with it either.

And speaking of motivating kids to learn, don’t forget about my free TeleChat, “All About Reading” on Wednesday evening, October 4, at 6 pm mountain time (5 pm pacific, 7 pm central, and 8 pm eastern.  And yes, even motivation, is a brain-based learning strategy.

Go here for more information and to register:
www.brain-based-learning.com/registerreadingtelechat.htm  

P.S. While you’re at it, pass the word to other folks who care about children and reading—teachers, parents, anybody who works with kids. I’d love to “see” you on the TeleChat.