Category Archive:
Brain development

Creating Phonemic Awareness

creating phonemic awareness I spy game

Around age two-and-a-half to three, your child becomes aware that words are made up of individual sounds. This skill is called phonemic awareness. “Phonemic” comes from the word “phonics,” which means sounds. When you help your children become aware of the individual sounds in words, you are helping them develop a very important skill for […]


Truth in Numbers: Count to Ten

Number Train 1 to 10

“It’s not fair. He has more than I do.” Bryan and Dana had started out with identical candy canes. Dana’s had dropped and broken into three pieces. There was no convincing her that Bryan had the same amount as she did. She wanted the long peppermint stick. It was more. Bryan, then six-years-old, traded his […]


How to Help a Child Learn to Read

how to help a child learn to read

Observing a child learning to read words and numbers is one of my life’s pleasures. These two skills, literacy and numeracy, are critical to a person’s reaching his or her fullest potential. Numeracy is the ability to read, write and speak the language of numbers. By the time a child is six years old, he […]


Boys and Girls Learn Differently

In his book Boys and Girls Learn Differently, Michael Gurian cites 20 years of brain research to highlight the differences of how males and females learn. In the past few years, being a boy seems to be a pathology as more boys are being diagnosed with ADHD, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and undergo drug therapy, […]


Help Your Child With Brain Gym

brain gym

“Floyd acts as if he’s missing part of his brain,” my grandmother commented on the behavior of a neighbor. Recent discoveries from neuroscientists let us know that when certain parts of the brain do not communicate effectively, it may appear that someone has “lost” his or her mind. As a Montessori teacher, I’ve had the […]


Taming the Television Monster

television monster

“All my three- and four-year-old want to do is watch TV. They fuss about having to turn off the TV at dinner and bedtime. They wouldn’t even play with their friends yesterday because their favorite shows were on. I think I’ve let it get out of hand,” lamented Robin. I was impressed to hear Robin […]


Using Positive Statements with Children

using positive statements

“If I tell Ginny not to do something, she just looks me in the eye and does it. She seems defiant,” Sam, Ginny’s dad, told me at a company picnic. Ginny, an almost four-year-old curly-headed brunette, ran over from the swings at the park. “Ginny, how about playing a little game with me? I’m going […]


What’s Your Child’s Learning Style Preference?

what's your child's learning style

There are four basic ways we take in and process information: Visual involving the eyes, Auditory regarding hearing, Kinesthetic with movement Tactile using touch, taste and smell Each of us has preferences in the way we take in information. Most of us are highly visual, therefore much of our learning and teaching methods are visually […]


What Do You Mean? Turn Off Your Screen?

turn off your tv

A school age child may spend more hours watching television, phone and computer screens this year than going to school.  A CBS News reports that children ages 8 to 18 use an average of 7 hours per day of screen time, or over 2500 hours per year, versus 900 hours of school time per year […]