This is what I've planned for Edison and I hope that I can get it fully implemented when he turns ONE next month.
Purpose of home practice: Strengthen the weekly input & ensure both sides of the brain are well connected.
Duration per session: 15 mins
Min requirement: One session per day
# Always cultivate a good and happy mood emotionally before home practise. #1. Energy ball exercise (Relaxation)
2. Breathing exercise
3. Praise his good points
4. ESP games
5. Flash cards
6. Eye training
7. Photo Memory
8. Music – Counting and ABC
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9. Speed Reading
10. Linking Memory
11. Flash cards - Dot Programme
** Will introduce #9-#11 when Edison is 18 months **
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Here's a brief description of each activity:
Energy Ball Exercise
- Rub their hands, gather the energy, raise the energy up and make a big ball to wash themselves.
- Repeat with rubbing their hands, gather the energy, compress them into a small ball and swallow the energy into their tummy. Tell them the energy is with them now & they feel great.
- Give them a big hug after this exercise!
Breathing Exercise
- Breathe in and out for 3 times.
- For younger babies, you can make a little ‘gadget’ for them to blow. Example: a small piece of paper, colored feather etc.
- For older babies, you can use a whistle.
- This is for them to relax before the start of the session.
Praise their good points
- Praise them for something that they did well on that day
ESP Games (or telepathy games)- Ask them to guess what is hiding in a bag, behind a card etc.
OR- Take two cards – one with a picture and one blank card. Put the cards face down & shuffle them. Ask them to guess which card has a picture.
- Tell them this: “You have a special brain. Use your special brain to guess which card has the picture.”
- You can also use UNO cards for them to guess the numbers or colours.
Flash Cards
- I will start with flash card slideshows to capture his attention, followed by normal flash cards.
- Start with 100 cards in the first months, to an average of 250 cards, then to 1000 cards.
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Note: Do not repeat the same set twice in the same session!
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Speed: average 0.5 second per card, ideal 0.3 second per card
Eye Training- This is important to relax their eye muscles after looking at so many flash cards!
- Helps to improve attention span and visualization skills too.
- You can use a picture card with a small bell attached behind the card or an object like finger puppets. Move the card/object in zig-zag motion in 3 directions:
left to right,
up down and
butterfly shape.
- You can also make a slideshow, with a ball moving down in zig-zag direction. It looks something like this:
Photo Memory
- You will need two identical pictures.
- Show them one of the pictures. Ask them to take picture of it. Repeat for 2 or 3 times (2-3 seconds each time).
- Now, show them both pictures and ask them which picture they saw just now.
- For young babies, you have to look at their eyes to see which picture they are looking at.
- Example:
Music (ABC and counting)
- Play the ABC music, sing along with him and point to the letters as we sing.
- Play the counting music and sing along with him. If you have an abacus, you can use it do some counting with him.
At the end of the session, don’t forget to give your child a hug! Sounds interesting, isn't it? Start yours today! :)
I'm sure there will be a lot of obstacles to start the home practise especially when they are still young and attention span is very short. Let's see how are going to tackle the issues.
YES... I've run out of ideas what to buy and what to rent for Edison... He seems to lost interest in his toys too fast! The other day, our helper was persuading him to play with the new bicycle that I have rented. But he simply 'bo-hiew' her (don't bother about her).
