4 Ways to boost your child's imagination, IQ, and capacity to learn

Wouldn't you like to know how to boost your child’s imagination, intelligence (IQ), and capacity to learn? How to place your child on the launch pad of life and watch him/her soar?

        Dress your child’s mind for success! Joan Ruddiman reports some intriguing results that “validate what we've always known – in the contest of life and learning, parents are the major influence in getting their kids to the head of the class.”

And they must start early. Three top and very distinct news sources reported on the solid evidence that what happens in the home impacts success in school.

        Early-childhood learning activities that researchers say contribute to a child’s success in school are:

• Parents reading to their children several times weekly
• Children visiting a public library
• Children attending preschool (this can be accomplished best at home- with the right method)
• Children watching less than 13 average hours of TV weekly

        These are all actions that parents can take with their children long before school age, during that important window of brain development for reading readiness, ages birth to 5 years.

        Children who do well in school arrived there knowing more than twice the words that struggling students knew when they began school. Successful kids came with "print familiarity," meaning they could follow a page from left to right, top to bottom, and turn the page as the story progressed.

        Kids who have grown up with books, visits to the library, and bedtime story hours with mom or dad are able to spring forward and feel confident. Clearly, parents aren’t just their child’s primary caretaker, but are also his most important educators. What occurs in the home- before children ever start school- strongly affects school achievement.

        But there's good news: knowledge is power. Parents usually want the very best for their children. After they become informed, parents can ensure their child's academic success by following some simple guidelines. Parents who turn off the TV, read to their children, visit the public library, and sing, talk, and play with their children will raise their intelligence and impact their educational progress.

        Some researchers have concluded that it may be easier to teach parents to do the necessary home behaviors early, than to later lift children who've fallen behind.

You, mom and dad, are the key. It's not rocket surgery!

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/head-start-4-ways-boost-your-childs-imagination-iq-and-capacity-learn

10 Top reading myths

The top ten myths of reading are a pet peeve of mine.

Let me debunk the myths and show you the right way to do it easily and well.

(These were also listed as part of the Spy Code Book in the appendix of It's Not Rocket Surgery! Vol. 1, “Catching Humpty Dumpty.”)

        Traditional ways of learning aren't always the best, and don't work for many kids. Most of us make these reading mistakes. The truth seems counter-intuitive at first. Teaching phonics early the right way brings out a child's imagination and opens the world of possibilities for the future.

        Myth 1. Teach the letter names, like in the alphabet song.

Truth: Instead, teach only the letter sounds. Do NOT teach the letter names. It is confusing to young children that the letter name u (you) doesn't say the sound "y" (yuh), the letter name y (why) doesn't say the sound "w" (wuh), and the letter name w (double-you) doesn't say the sound "d" (duh). Teach only one sound per letter to start, the sound given in the picture. Children easily pick up the alternate sounds and the letter names later. Keep it Simple for Success (KISS your child) with TGM.

        Myth 2. Teach the capital letters.

Truth: Instead, teach only the lower case letters, at first. They are the most common in written language. Children easily pick up the capital letters later, too. Again, Keep it Simple for Success.

        Myth 3. Wait until the child is older, can talk, etc.

Truth: Instead, start my phonics as young as 18-24 months old. The Godfrey Method picture-letter phonics cards can and should be used with young children and preschoolers. The earlier their minds are stimulated, the better. Don’t worry if a small child can’t say some sounds yet like, k, g, l, or r. S/he will still understand the phonics cards, and will improve pronunciation with time.
        This will also help prevent dyslexia, since speech problems are a precursor of it. It’s best to teach the picture-letter phonics cards before kindergarten, but they can help older children come up to speed, too. The Godfrey Method picture-letter cards can be found in the appendix. An enchanting, colorful version can be found in my books, A Funny Boy Was Prince River.

        Myth 4. Teach sight words.

Truth: Instead, teach only by sounding out words. Phonics structure the brain properly for maximum reading capability. Phonics actually heals the dyslexic brain. I have never met a phonics reader who couldn't sight-read, but have met plenty of adult sight-readers who couldn't decode an unfamiliar word. They get embarrassed and must guess.

Teaching children to guess based on context is one of the worst practices in schools. About 80% of English words are phonetic and follow the spelling rules for sounding-out, with about 20% of words having to be memorized.

We call the words that don’t follow the rules, ‘Platypus Words’. Platypus animals have features that don’t follow the normal rules of taxonomy. When explained, children understand this concept very quickly when they begin reading. There is a list of beginning-platypus sight-words in the appendix.

        Myth 5. Finish the whole alphabet before making words.

Truth: Instead, start making small words with known letters as soon as possible. Children don't have to know all 26 letter sounds to start blending some together. Try making simple 2- or 3-letter words as soon as possible. There is a wonderful beginning-word list in the appendix.

        Myth 6. The schools will do it.

Truth: Parents may not be spending enough time with the child one-on-one. Instead, parents must spend quality time teaching phonics to their kids. You must spend such time with your children for their best progress and growth. Children who can read before kindergarten feel much more confident in school and are happier. Use the picture-letter phonics cards as often as possible. The minimal amount for success is about once a week. Much more is recommended, even daily if desired.

        Myth 7. Make the child respond or reply.

Truth: Never use force, punishment, or criticism. Instead, have no control issues or power struggles. Use no anger or shame. Do not pressure the child to perform. Stay calm. When the child wants to stop, then STOP. Pick it up later. At first, go through all the cards aloud without expecting the child to repeat after you. When s/he is ready, s/he will repeat after you on his/her own. Eventually s/he will say the sounds and words without your help. Keep it fun.

        Myth 8. Use baby talk or simple words only.

Truth: Instead, raise your kid's vocabulary by using normal language. The picture-letter cards in A Funny Boy Was Prince River and accompanying story will increase a child's vocabulary. A two-year-old will not know what a quail or a yak is. S/he learns about them as you say them. Take every opportunity to reinforce and point them out on television, in a magazine, at the zoo, or in the countryside.

        Myth 9. Reading is just a mental activity.

Truth: Touch and other senses should also be used with reading. Instead, use tactile or kinesthetic teaching and have the child touch and trace each letter. On the picture-letter phonics cards, you touch your finger on the card under the letter on the left and say the sound, then touch under the picture on the right and say the word of the picture. Example: (as you move your finger from left to right) say, "ă, apple." Later let your child touch them.

        Myth 10. Let the child ‘discover’ reading.

Truth: This is not teaching the right way (as proven by PFT in Chapter 5). Instead, follow The Godfrey Method exactly as found in the book, A Funny Boy Was Prince River. The unique PICTURE-LETTERS are the first part of making phonics connect with a child (which squiggly line makes which sound). Each card has a letter and a picture, made from the letter shape, which begins with the proper letter sound. The second part is the WAY they are taught, which is just as important. Then follow-up with the rest of the HELPS in It’s Not Rocket Surgery!

        I would love to hear your success stories. If you have questions or comments, please contact me at shannahbgodfrey@gmail.com

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/head-start-10-top-myths-reading

34 favorite parenting tips

You are a caring, concerned, proactive parent, and you want to spend time with your children. You know that it is important for parents to be more involved in early childhood learning, not less.

 

More pre-school is not usually the best answer. Showing your children how to read early the right way, in a nurturing home environment, is much better. “If you delay, you may pay,” as the saying goes.

 

But kids don't come with a manual and good parenting skills are learned, so never fear, help is on the way. 

 

Here is a list of 34 of my favorite parenting tips. They work every time I remember to follow them.

 

No one can master a list of 34 parenting habits all at once. Just pick one or two to work on now, and when they’re comfortably established in your routine, try a couple more.

 

Continuous improvement is a life-long pursuit, and change can be slow. Be patient with yourself. Keep trying; never give up.

 

Like Dori says on Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming…”

 

Good Parenting Skills:

 

1. ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD

                A misbehaving child is a discouraged one.

2. AVOID PUNISHMENT & REWARD (love and logic instead)

                It reinforces mistaken goals.

3. USE NATURAL & LOGICAL CONSEQUENCES

                And don’t ‘bail the child out’.

4. BE FIRM WITHOUT DOMINATING

                Keep your choice without showing anger.

5. RESPECT THE CHILD

                Don’t humiliate or over-demand.

6. INDUCE RESPECT FOR ORDER

                Do not shield children from the results of disorder.

7. INDUCE RESPECT FOR THE RIGHTS OF OTHERS

                Cheerfully remove the offending child, or ‘play the game’ (do it his way for a minute).

8. ELIMINATE CRITICISM & MINIMIZE MISTAKES

                We cannot build on weakness – only on strength.

9. MAINTAIN ROUTINE

                Routine provides order and freedom, not license.

10. TAKE TIME FOR TRAINING

                Correcting the untrained child fails to ‘teach’, only criticizes, discourages, and provokes.

11. WIN COOPERATION

                Recognize a behavior’s purpose; feel NO rancor; discuss.

12. AVOID GIVING UNDUE ATTENTION

                What are the demands of the situation? A child seeking constant attention is unhappy.

13. SIDE-STEP THE POWER STRUGGLE

                Find a different and effective approach. Be firm, but ‘have no stake’ in the child’s reaction.

 

14. WITHDRAW FROM THE CONFLICT (don't react)

                Take the sail out of his wind!

15. ACTION! NOT WORDS

                Cheerfully, I decide what I will do, NOW. If possible, say nothing.

16. DON’T SHOO FLIES

                Children become ‘parent-deaf’ to nagging.

17. HAVE THE COURAGE TO SAY ‘NO’

                Children must learn to cope with frustration. We are not slaves to satisfy, nor indulge, their every whim.

18. AVOID THAT FIRST IMPULSE – DO THE UNEXPECTED

                Join the child; Give a hug instead of anger.

19. REFRAIN FROM OVER-PROTECTION

                This is discouraging the child’s abilities.

20. STIMULATE INDEPENDENCE

                Never do for a child what s/he can do her/himself. Within reason.

21. STAY OUT OF FIGHTS (or respond without anger)

                What is the behavior’s purpose? To get parents’ immediate attention. Separate the children or remove the object. Do not allow bullying in either direction.

 

(Children should NOT just work things out by themselves. The larger or meaner child always wins, which isn’t right. Some situations need calm parental intervention.)

22. BE UNIMPRESSED BY FEARS

                Don’t encourage fears by making a big fuss. Children are natural hams.

23. MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS

                Stay out of someone else’s relationship, unless there’s abuse. Have confidence in your influence at other times when you're not there.

24. AVOID THE PITFALLS OF PITY

                Pity is damaging, even when justifiable and understandable. This different than empathy or sympathy or compassion.

25. MAKE REQUESTS REASONABLE & SPARSE

                Don’t attempt to show authority. Use opportunity instead of oppositional reaction. Win-win, not win-lose.

26. FOLLOW THROUGH – BE CONSISTENT

                Otherwise, we train them in disobedience.

27. PUT THEM ALL IN THE SAME BOAT

                Dealing with children individually intensifies their competition. Treat all as a unit.

28. LISTEN!

                Children have valuable solutions and ideas. Also, what is the child’s meaning behind negative words?

29. WATCH YOUR TONE OF VOICE

                Don’t dictate, discourage, nor condescend, in tone.

30. TAKE IT EASY

                Don’t be over-concerned or worried. Relax.

31. DOWNGRADE ‘BAD’ HABITS

                Make no fuss. Quietly, privately give a choice, or ignore it totally. Otherwise, it’s more fun to continue.

32. HAVE FUN TOGETHER

                Hostility is reduced; harmony increases.

33. TALK WITH CHILDREN, NOT TO THEM

                Use sentences like -

 

        “I wonder why _?”

        “What if _?”

        “What else could _?”

        “Do you have any ideas _?”

        “How do _?”

        “What can _?”

        “You may be right.”

        “We’ll think about it and see what happens.”

        “I don’t agree with you.”

        “But you have the right to think so, if you wish.”

        “I would appreciate it if you would _.”

34. ESTABLISH A FAMILY COUNCIL

                The decision holds for a week, with no further discussion. Democracy is everyone working for the good of the situation, not for personal tyranny and license.

 

As you can see, most of these take self-control on the part of us parents. It has taken me a lifetime to get some of these.

 

One of my favorite mantras is:

 

"It doesn't matter how the child makes you feel; it only matters how you make the child feel - you're the adult."

 

Easier said than done, but I have faith in you. The goal is to raise independent, responsible, capable children with healthy self-esteems and motivation. You can do it!              

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/head-start-34-favorite-parenting-tips

3 important things every baby needs and 11 great parenting tips

Hello, there! Let's discuss the 3 most important things every infant or child needs.

As quoted in my previous blog, Professor David J. Armor from George Mason University writes,

“Children’s intelligence levels can change in response to some types of environmental influences… In other words, one arrives in the world not with a fixed IQ but with intelligence that can be damaged or enhanced, primarily by one’s parents and mainly during the pre-school years.”

(Taking time with your child to joyfully do The Godfrey Method gives him/her the two most crucial things that all kids need: parent time and reading skills. Not only that, but quality parent time and excellent reading skills.)      

According to Professor Armor, the most important factors that influence intelligence are the parenting behaviors of breast-feeding, cognitive stimulation, and emotional support.

1. Breast-feeding studies have long proven that it raises intelligence by several points and is the best start for a child, if possible. If medically impossible, then babies should always be held while being bottle-fed, even after they are old enough to hold the bottle themselves (and it should never be propped in their mouths). Proper nutrition is also important throughout a young child’s brain development.
2. Cognitive stimulation includes providing a learning environment at home with time for fun instruction, time for interaction and attention, and money spent on educational outings, reading materials, toys, and other educational materials. Such cognitive stimulation activities have a significant correlation to a child’s test scores and intelligence.
3. Emotional support is the other part of important parenting behaviors that increase a child’s intelligence. Children with emotional support at home have significantly higher test scores, on average.

        That leads Armor to conclude that the best way to maximize children's intelligence is through their parents and that the appropriate tools include strengthening parents and families and mitigating the adverse ‘risk factors’. (Note: Missouri’s “Parents as Teachers” program does a good job of this.)

        For ideas and creativity to flourish, there must be a safe place for a child to feel accepted, admired, and adored. Children need a psychologically and emotionally safe environment to grow into their best selves, to feel secure about sharing their thoughts and feelings.

        What are some elements of a psychologically-safe environment, a safe haven from the world? Sometimes children can be frustrating, seem hyper-active, and/or be prone to frustrating perfectionism.

Here are 11 tips for keeping perspective to help you in your journey:

1. Keep the negatives to yourself. Don’t 'call it like it is,' in our opinion. Such “honesty” may be based on our perception, not the facts. Other people may see our child or situation in a better light. Give child the benefit of the doubt.
2. Be patient. Don’t set a child's character in stone with labeling. Growth and change is life-long and constant. When it comes to a child's behavior, nothing is permanent. It is not the end of the world. Change is slow, and sometimes children don't "get it" until they move out on their own. So relax.
3. Stay positive. Don’t criticize or label the child. Such name-calling negativity is demeaning, saps hope, de-motivates people, and sets up a self-fulfilling prophecy in the wrong direction. It rarely changes someone for the better, if ever.
4. There’s always hope. Don’t act hopeless and disappointed. Often people try all sorts of things to manipulate others into doing what they want. But these often backfire and produce the opposite results. Don’t act like it’s the end of the world when children make mistakes. We aren’t perfect, either.
5. Let go of the shame game. Don’t tell a child that she is embarrassing herself. Maybe the parent is the embarrassed one, and maybe that’s because of a biased viewpoint. Give her credit for making the effort and taking the risk to try.
6. Appreciate the little things. Don’t treat a child like his efforts were a waste of everyone’s time. Notice what’s good and right in a situation instead of what is perceived to be wrong. Accentuate the positive. No one will ever be perfect, and something good can be found in most situations.
7. Let go of false pride.     “It is always better to be kind than right.” ~ Anna Maria Isaacson Whiting, as quoted by Douglas Shumway
8. Check your anger. Don’t make mountains out of mole-hills.     “Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.” ~ Lawrence Douglas Wilder
9. Teach in a positive way. Parents can mistakenly focus on negative things with their children. It’s natural to want to correct their wrongs, but this tends to be de-motivating, not inspiring, to children. And then parents wonder why they’re not getting results.
10. Repetition. Parenting takes calm repetition, repetition, repetition! Patience!
11. The bottom line: It doesn't matter how a child makes you feel; it only matters how you make the child feel. You’re the adult.

Easier said than done, but soooo worth it! (My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak.)

These are amazing tips. I must admit that it has taken me longer- on some of these- to become good habits than I hoped. Alas, human change is slow. But always keep trying!

                Without these preventatives, the cracks in your child may be attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children of rage, low self-esteem, insecurity, childhood depression, low self-confidence, lack of imagination, lower IQ, slower learning capacity, poor decision-making skills, lack of social skills, false pride, and/or lack of compassion/empathy for others. They all may be preventable or curable. You, mom and dad, are the key. It’s not rocket surgery!

http://thegodfreymethod.com/blog/head-start-3-important-things-every-baby-needs-and-11-great-parenting-tips