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Develop Your Child’s Genius  

Weekly Newsletter

Contents

Welcome and Update 

Your Child Can be a Genius, Too

Drawing as a Developmental Tool 

Questions and Answers

Welcome and Update   

   It has been a long time since I have sent out the last newsletter. I apologize. Things haven't been easy here, my husband had some severe health issues, and my assistance was required. My days were filled with doctor appointments, tests and treatments. And it just so happens that I tend to get very stressed in this environment, and have difficulty completing my day to day assignments. 

   I finally have gotten the time and the peace of mind to send out the 2 articles in this newsletter, and I think that you will enjoy them. 

   The first article will delight and entertain you, while the second one provides information about drawing and how to turn it into a very beneficial activity. 

    I will not tell you more, you will have to actually go and read the articles. All I can say is - I think that you'll enjoy them.     

   If you'd like to find out more information and ideas to develop  your child's genius, please take a look at "The Manual Your Child Should Have Come With - How to Develop Your Child's Genius".    

      Enjoy!

   As usual, you are invited to email to me with any questions, thoughts, comments and input. I always go to great length to answer each email personally, so you can expect to get a personal reply.  Email me at  esther@all-gifted-children.com           

         Esther Andrews

         http://www.all-gifted-children.com

                  Your Child Can Be a Genius, TOO!

       My son had a friend, Belinda. Belinda was a lovely girl, a teenager, and like so many teenagers, was very interested in her appearance. Belinda spent a significant amount of time doing her hair, getting a new haircut often, changing her hair color, buying new dresses, she was an expert on all the new fashion. She was a genius at combining just the right colors in her clothes... a typical teenage girl. Belinda was not very interested in academics at the moment, and her grades were not the best. Since she was not the best student, her confidence in her studying abilities suffered.

          One day I listened to the lovely girl talk about her new hair color, and exactly how she should take care of her hair after coloring it, Belinda explained exactly what hair products she should use to keep her hair in top condition. It suddenly dawned on me: BELINDA IS A GENIUS!

          If she can know, remember and figure out exactly all the products she should use on her hair, why she should use each product and at what time, couldn't she master in the same level of detail the chemical makeup of different substances, some biology material, or for that matter, any subject she tried to study?  

          THAT WAS A REVELATION! Little Belinda, the girl who thought she is "not too smart" could without a doubt be a genius in Chemistry, Math or Physics - as long as it was taught to her in an interesting and fun way, broken down to small bits of information, and as long as she believed that she could master it. 

           But how can we actually teach academic material to a child that is already convinced that she can't study, she is not too smart? How can we undo years of negative messages this child has gotten from teachers, her parents and peers? 

            Here you come into the picture. The parent. This is your job, your responsibility. The teachers in school will tell you that a parent should not work with their own child. They will tell you that you should leave all this to a professional teacher. Take a tutor. 

            But I am here to claim otherwise. Children always want to please their parents. Children always enjoy their parents' attention. Your child will be happy to spend time with you, as long as you make studying fun. 

            "YOUR CHILD CAN BE A GENIUS, TOO"! Is the claim I make. 

            Here is what I did with my children, and in my observation, parents of other children in the "gifted class" did with theirs. It will take some "work" on your part, but really I should say - it will take some "fun" on your part. 

            Choose one subject your child could use some help with. Borrow the text book and the studying materials your child is using at school. Go over the material, familiarize yourself with it. Think how you could make studying this material fun. Find a movie related to this material. 

            Try to put together a game. Cut the material into bite size information bits. Put these facts each on a card, in a form of a question. Put the answer on the opposite side of the card. Put all the cards in the center of the table, and take turns picking up cards and answering the questions. The person who answered most of the questions correctly is the winner and gets a prize. The whole family can play this game, and make it great fun. Turn it into family game night. 

             Another game could be taking turns re-enacting the fact on the card, or writing a story around it. 

              Remember to make it fun! Praise your child if she answers correctly. Invite her friends to participate in the party. Have some favorite party foods like pizza or healthy snacks. 

              Repeat this event, periodically. Choose more advanced material, or just reinforce the knowledge your child has already acquired. 

             The proof is in the pudding: does your child improve her skills? Is her confidence improving? Please write to me and tell me about your successes, so that I can share them with the rest of us. esther@all-gifted-children.com 

                                        Drawing As a Developmental Tool

          Drawing is an interesting activity. It has a profound affect on brain development and it increases intelligence. 

             In recent years we have heard and read a lot of information about left/right brain activities, how children's right brains are more active until the age of 6, how to take advantage of that, how to develop the right brain, and some articles even went to the extreme of instructing parents not to develop the "left brain" before the age of 6. 

             I have read articles that claimed that a child starts developing analytic skills only after the age of 6, that suggest not to teach a child to read before the age of 6, math skills should be developed after the age of 7... 

             But I can't agree with these opinions.

             Have you ever seen a 2 year old arguing with her mother, when she wants something? Or when she doesn't want to do something? I agree, children have a different kind of logic than adults, which is sometimes amusing to us - but they do have logic, don't they? They definitely have the ability to use their left brain to analyze and use argumentation!

              The left brain and the right brain hemispheres are present, active and involved in every activity that we take on, as of course in learning. Whether it is reading (we consider it a left brain activity, but isn't the imagination active during reading?) math (left brain activity? Don't we use creativity and imagination in order to find original solutions?) arts and crafts (right brain activity? But don't we use our logic and analytical skills in order to figure out how to construct our project?)

               My point is - we use both in every activity, and the balance between them is  important. The ability to integrate both brain hemispheres is the key to optimal function.

               One of the activities that balances right/left brain and improves the connection between the two hemispheres is drawing.

               Providing the child with ample amounts of paper and pencil or charcoal is crucial. When my daughter was young, I have left paper and drawing pencils all over the house. She could not refuse a clean paper - she had to cover it with content. 

               My son, on the other hand, was not drawn to drawing (pun intended) and wouldn't pick up the paper and pencils himself, I had to encourage him and participate in the activity.

               You can plan ahead and find interesting subjects for drawing. You can prepare some things at home, like a bunch of flowers in a vase, or an interesting vase... the favorite toy, a pet, if it agrees to stay in one place long enough... or you can take a trip into nature and find some interesting things there, like an interesting tree, a barn or a lake.

                Here are the key points to consider when you draw with your child:

1. Encourage your child to see the form of things, and put them on paper first.

2. Then ask your child to observe the value, the amount of darkness in different parts of the drawing. Have your child observe the amount of darkness in the scene that she is drawing. Then adjust the amount of darkness in all areas of the drawing itself.

3. Now encourage your child to observe the size of different parts of the drawing. For example, the size of the barn in relationship to the hills. The size of the vase in relationship to the flowers. If it's a person, the size of the head in relationship to the body. 

4. Encourage your child to look at detail and texture of different part of the drawing. For example, the texture of the leaves of the flower, the texture of the roof of the barn... the texture of the surface. Add that to the drawing. 

5. Put on the finishing touches. Any small details that she has missed, any little details that can embellish the masterpiece. To enhance this, ask your child to describe the subject of the drawing  in words. The more the child observes the subject, the more she comes up with detail - the more detail will come up. The more detail she sees, the more detail she will see. Have her add all these details to the drawing.

6. By now, the drawing should be quite awesome - now praise your child, celebrate the beautiful masterpiece she has created. Show your pride in her creation and abilities. You can frame the picture or just hang it on a wall or refrigerator. Show it to as many people as you can (in front of your child). Make a big deal of it!

           Your child will develop a whole new way of seeing things and observing things. She will have fun drawing, while developing a skill she wouldn't have developed otherwise.

Questions and Answers

Questions: Dear Esther, what can I do to improve focus and concentration in my 4 year old? My child seems to be scattered, over stimulated and over active.

Thanks, Elain 

Answer: Dear Elain, thanks for your question.  

Please take in consideration that all 4 year old kids are very active, and don't seem to have a very long attention span. You can't expect a 4 year old to be as focused as an adult. 4 year old kids until a few years ago used to play at the park, run around, swing, jump and learn for the first time how to ride a bike. They were physically active and outdoors for the bigger part of the day. Nowadays we want them to sit down indoors, study and learn, play computer games. We restrict their movement to a shorter period of time during the day, and sometimes expect from them to behave like a 9 or 10 year old. 

I recommend, when you teach a 4 year old, to adopt your teaching to their speed and temperament. If your child's mind is active and fast, adopt the speed of what you are doing to his. Teach short little bits of information - fast. Put together a little paragraph with the information you want to teach him and turn it into a song he can sing - or you can sing together - while he is playing or moving around. Write it in the form of a story and read it to him before he goes to sleep. Work only when the child is in good mood and feels good. 

Keep it all fun. Always make sure learning is fun. Don't test your child - children hate that. At this age, the most important thing is to make it fun and turn it into a happy occasion. You want your child to associate learning with fun!

I think that if you remember these principles you will have no difficulty teaching your child in an age appropriate way.

Additional ideas you can find in The Manual Your Child Should Have Come With - How to Develop Your Child's Genius".

I wish you good luck, and please let me know how things are going!

Esther