[net.kids] Teaching your baby to read/math

ksh@cbosgd.UUCP (11/09/83)

Recently, my husband and I came across a couple of books that were of
great interest.  The books are written by Glenn Doman, Director of the
Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential and are titled "How
to Teach your Baby to Read" and "Teach your Baby Math".  Basically, the
Institute had originally done work to improve reading and math skills
in brain damaged children, and then began to wonder, 'what if we apply
these methods to children who are not brain damaged'?  Their results are
these books.  

You may start your child on these methods as young as 8 months (if you
are very patient), and you should certainly have started them by 2 years.
Their claim is that math is MUCH harder to learn after the second year.
It's basically a flash card system, using words and later sentences to
teach your child to read.  The flash card system for math involves cards
11" x 11" with dots (3/4" diameter) numbering one through 100.  Their
claim is that your child can distinguish between the card with 50 dots
on it and the one with 70 dots on it.  Later, the child will be able
to tell the difference in cards with only one dot differences.

We are starting our one year old on this system, on his first birthday
(11/11).  Has anyone heard of any systems similar to this, or perhaps
any results of this one?  At any rate, we will keep you posted on
Matthew's progress, and we'll let you know if it really works.

	Karen Summers-Horton

P.S.  An interesting note - the incentive here is to make learning FUN.
	Therefore, when your child has been bad or disruptive, do not
	let him have his lesson.  Make learning a privilege, and most
	of all, show your enthusiasm and approval at his success.

mark@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/14/83)

Children are learning all the time.  If they are not learning math
and reading from flash cards, then they are learning something
about their environment, their family, and themselves (assuming
reasonably interesting surroundings and caring attentive parents).
I do not think that parents who choose to have their children
read and do math very early are doing any harm, but I don't know
of any evidence that this early achievement has any impact on
later success, positive or negative.

We have chosen with our children to let them choose themselves
each thing that they want to learn about.  

Einstein didn't even talk until he was 4.-- 
spoken:	mark weiser
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