Early Childhood Education with PowerFlashCard

Phonics

2006-06-24T23:12:00.000-04:00

Last week, I was pleasently surprised to find Renee started to tell the first letter of a word. I thought it was just by accident, I tested her with different words. She correctly answered all. It's amazing she must have clicked since when I teach her a word, I sometimes pronouce the phonics of it. The only one she was confused was "Car". I asked her what the first letter of "Car"; she answered "K". I explained that "C" also pronouces the "k" sound. Today, she got it right on "Cat". She is a little over three and half. Her little brother is also listening and learning.

We've got a zoo

2006-06-24T23:09:00.000-04:00

Have you got a zoo in your house? We sure have. Here is the list:

a dog, golden retriever, hairy;-D
a cat, very beautiful, good with kids, but catches anything
two fish, could care less
two snails
four tadpoles, got legs
a crawfish, a bully
a bunny, found by the dog, and couldn't let go by kids
two frogs, got from the road side ditch, I bet
countless bugs brought in my girl
two birds, just adopted today from Pink Nursery

What else could be added to the list. My husband enjoys all of them along with the kids. He is re-living his childhood with the kids. Our zoo has attracted neighborhood kids, they find excuse to come see this and that. Of course, our ice cream supply goes down quick, and kids are happy.

I was not quite an animal person before. After we got the dog, our first pet, we've got two cats afterwards. Then, after the kids were born, it's just unstoppable. I agree with my husband that having animals in the house brings fun and gives kids a chance to care. But sometimes, kids go overboard. We do have to keep an eye on them. Most of all, no matter how the kids promise to take care of the animals, the animals are ours, not the kids'. Having this mind set is important, so that we don't complain later the kids, after three minutes, not taking care of "their" pets.

I always admire a clean house with three little kids. How do they keep up? I CAN'T. My house is messy six days out of a week. I vacuum once a week upstairs and twice downstairs. I will clean after the kids, and that's about it. I sometimes pick up toys, but mostly, toys are everywhere in the living room. Why bother since the kids will take them out again. Sometimes I make the kids to pickup their toys. I guess that is how I keep my sanity and lower my stress. A spotless house is not my priority now.

Winston should eat dog food

2006-03-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

March 16, 2006 Sunny

After a couple of wet days, we were so ready for a sunny day.

Iris, JP and even Winston, the dog, came over for a visit. While all kids were sitting in the swing seats, we heard Winston was barking loudly in the woods, “wolf, wolf, wolf.” “Winston! What is it? ” Iris yielded and ran to the dog. She knew that Winston must have found something. I saw Winston was barking at a little black flowerpot. By the time Iris reached Winston, the dog had a mouth full of something and ran to the other side of yard. It was a bird nest with eggs inside.

We heard the mommy bird, a robin, was crying in the tree. As soon as I got Renee and Luke off the swing seats, they rushed to the site. Renee was especially feeling blue when she saw what happened. “Why Winston ate the bird eggs, Iris?” Renee cried. “Honey, Winston is a hunting dog, he has a good nose. When he smells something, he will check it out” Iris tried to calm Renee down and continued “Sometimes, Winston catches a rabbit or a rat or a bird. He is just a dog, honey.” “Is Winston hungry, Iris?” Renee asked. “ I do not know.” Answered Iris. “Winston should eat dog food if he is hungry!” Renee was still upset. I jumped in: “Honey, let’s take a look if eggs are still there.” To our surprise, we found one little egg was still on the leaves. Renee and I picked up some leaves and put the egg back to the pot. “Can we have a baby bird from this egg, Daddy?” “Yes, we will” I answered with full confidence. Renee and Luke were happy again.

Renee at 14th month

2006-02-25T23:35:00.000-05:00

I just found my diary when Renee was 14 months old.

Ever since Renee was able to grab things, it was not easy to sit her down in front of the laptop to show her PowerFlashCard. She was busy in picking and banging on keys, grabbing the mouse, chewing on the wires. Recently she discovered the DVD drawer. She constantly opens and closes the drawer as if it was the greatest amusement. Only the picture session worked a bit better.

In the meantime, Renee starts to talk a great deal. Her learning speeds up amazingly. Every night we take a short walk after supper. Once we put a jacket on her, she gets excited. Walking into the garage, she would immediately say "leash", and point to the leash. Stepping outside, she would spot streetlights, chandelier in houses, planes in the sky, Her favorite object is the moon. She would keep saying "moon, moon…" many, many times.

It clicked me that I should use PowerFlashCard to teach her the exact words she already says.

I tried with "moon, daddy, mama" and socks and shoes in Chinese. She smiled and watched screen kindly. I, then, write up the words she says into a few lessons. I counted, she pronounces at least 60 objects so far.

Renee has developed a keen love for books. Even when she wakes up in the morning, she demands Frank to get books for her. She would not let go unless Frank reads something from the book. I have to pull her away to change her. I guess a book is a game to her, and game is fun.

We have the routine for night, bath, books, bottle, and bed. After bath, I dress her up, then hand her a stack of books. When Frank comes out, he would ask Renee enthusiastically "are you ready for books?" Renee would knock her head, and say "yes, yes". Then Frank starts to "read" books. Actually, he simply makes up stories with simple words, mainly points out objects such as flowers, Elmo, birds, bears etc. Renee listens with her eyes fixed on the picture.

Renee's favorite book is the Golden Egg book. It was nicely drawn. Each egg is differently colored and decorated. We found that realistically drawn books are the best for her.

Of course, Renee still says "daddy" the best. The other day, when Frank came home, Renee screamed "Dada" and ran to him. Frank hugged her tight. I was so moved.

Find our pictures at www.frankchenphoto.com

Buddy's Beef Stew

2006-02-22T01:06:00.000-05:00

This is from my husband's diary. Buddy is our Golden Retriever. Renee is three and half and Luke is almost two.

Buddy's Beef Stew

It has been cloudy and wet for several days. Besides reading the books, I let Renee and Luke to watch some cartoon movies.

While the Mickey Mouse classic was on, I had lunch ready for Renee and Luke, it was a leftover of beef stew with pasta from last night. Everything was so cool till Luke took one of his socks off. “Put the sock on, Luke” I said. Luke did not listen. He jumped off the sofa and went to the fireplace. “Come back little boy, please.” I continued. The little boy looked at me with his funny face as if saying “come to get me if you can”. Out of option, I left the bowl on the little white chair and went after Luke. Before I got Luke back, I heard Renee’s voice: “Why Buddy eats our food, Daddy?” “What!” I tuned my head and saw Buddy’s huge head was all over the stew bowl! I was just about to scold Buddy for being so rude, then I heard Renee’s little voice again:” Daddy, if you want to leave our food someplace, you need put it on a tall table, I think.” I was speechless. Renee and Luke were looking at me with straight faces.

It all started with a sock. I almost thought that this is some sort of conspiracy. Luke took his sock off and went to the fireplace. To get Luke back, I had to left food somewhere. Then Buddy had chance to have his taste of the stew and, most of all, Renee got opportunity to remind me that I need put the food on the tall table. All of this is my fault! Great job!

So instead of scolding anybody, I mixed beef stew with dog food. Buddy had good lunch. The cartoon was still on. Renee and Luke were sitting on the sofa and enjoying their favorite characters again.

Early Childhood Education with PowerFlashCard

2006-02-05T15:24:00.000-05:00

I don't know it's just us or everybody has little babies. We are soooooooooo busy. Before kids, we go to work; come home eat and watch TV till bed time. We sleep about 10 hours a day. Life was great. Then came the two kids. Two months after our first was born, I wrote PowerFlashCard while I was breast-feeding and going back to work. One month after our second was born, he quitted his job and started his photography business. Last year, I started a software development company "Crescendo Technology" with 6 other people, building web based applications. In a few days I will invite all to my new e-commerce website. I have a full time job working for a big corporation. Life is so busy these day. I can only dream the days that we would sit on our butt and do nothing. One day, one day, I hope. But now, I am happily being busy. Shar

My kids progress

2006-01-06T00:00:00.000-05:00

My girl is three plus three months now. She does 50 piece puzzle at ease. Daddy found out a few months ago when he gave her some 24 piece puzzles. She put them together in minutes, and asked Daddy for more, and more difficult ones. That was when Daddy took her out and bought a bunch of 48 and 50 piece puzzles. She went through all of them in a matter of days.

One evening before going to shower, Daddy asked her to take the outfit off. She pointed to her cloth underneath, and asked if they were "infits".

I think my son is quite musical. He dances and hums with music. Both of them watch "Cats" show every evening. The little 21-month-old boy hears me playing piano, he will bang along. I didn't hear my girl sing until quite late. But the little boy sings a lot.

They are so very different, but so much fun.

My daughter is three now

2005-11-05T22:14:00.000-05:00

My girl is three. I started PowerFlashCard on her when she was six months old. Before I was using the card board paper cards. To be honest, I didn't strictly follow Dr. Doman's instruction, and I didn't do it everyday. However, my girl's progress is obvious especially compare to same age kids in the neighborhood. She is so much verbal, and speaks clearly and logically.

The other day, she put her pink pants on her little brother. Her dad started to lecture her on how girls and boys have different type of clothing, such as girls have skirts. She immediately rebuffed Daddy that the pink thing she let her brother wear was not skirt, therefore it was OK. Three-year-old girl argued with a point and scored.

She constantly amazes us by her wittiness. She uses "because" a lot, and of course, she raises "why" hundred times a day. She does appear unusually smart. I believe the early education worked to some degree on her.

Last summer, she exceled physically, too. She plays in the playground for kids 5 years and older. She can easily play on all settings including a "rock climbing" board. It is pretty difficult to coordinate the body, and balance each move.

The interesting thing is my 18 month old son can even do the "rock climbing" very well. Of course, Daddy is ready to catch him any second. Before he was born, my doctor had suspected that he might not have a good mobility from the reading of the ultrasound. We were so pleased to find that he is not only very well balanced, but extremely active and mobile.

See some of my kids' pictures at this link:
http://www.frankchenphoto.com/collections.htm
http://www.frankchenphoto.com/

I have a blog now.

2004-07-29T21:48:00.000-04:00

Hi all like-minded parents, I have a blog now. Please post your questions, comments, and experience teaching your little ones here. Let's share our stories.

As you may already read, I started to try out Glenn Doman's teaching methods when our daughter is four months old. The first time I showed her the dot cards, she was kicking and squeal with joy. I, then, developed PowerFlashCard, the software to make "flashing" easier. There were ups and downs during the teaching process, but in all, we held on. Now she is 22 months old. We still flash every night before bed. She recognizes many words. She speaks long sentences. She is very bright and pays attention to minute details, which is surprising. We are using the program to work with our four-months son now. Hope he will catch up with his sister soon.

Please feel free to post your experience for all to share. I love to hear from you all.

Best wishes,
Shar

http://www.frankchenphoto.com/

Welcome

2004-07-28T21:03:00.000-04:00

I have a Blog.