As you move through the program you will customize it to your needs. These rules will help you customize to your needs.
1) Start out with some physical exercise. This could be a quick game of catch. Some yoga moves. Hopscotch is a favorite. Bonus points if that exercise has cross lateral motions. Something like Cross crawls is a very simple cross lateral physical exercise. As you move through the program you will be introduced to more complex cross-lateral exercises. Some are physical, some are not. You can always find them by selecting the dropdown on the exercises page. For this first exercise of the day you will want something physical. Get the blood pumping and the muscles working. Not only does this get more oxygen to the brain but it also causes neurogenesis. Neurogenesis is the formation of new brain cells. We are telling the brain to make us some new cells which we are going to put to work. If we put them to work they will stick around.
2) Do a non-physical cross-lateral exercise. Anything that crosses the midline is good. An example would be Poke the Smilies or Magic Eights. Physically demanding cross lateral exercises are good too. So if you've reached a point in the program where you have physically demanding cross lateral exercises that's good too. The point is to do something physical and do something cross lateral. If they are both in the same exercise great. Hopscotch would be a good example of an exercise that has both.
3) Pick a micro-skill exercise. Any micro-skill exercise. This could be visual memory, auditory memory, whatever, in the end, we are going to cover them all. And we will be mixing up the order. Variety is key. Just a little bit of one exercise or a full exercise. But really not that much. We want to take this slow. I'd rather have your student asking for more that drudging through it because they have too. Done well the system becomes a treat, not a chore.
If your student had any trouble at all with the micro-skill exercise, save it, do it again in a couple days. Keep doing that exercise until it is super easy. Do not move on to the next version of the exercise. We want to set your student up for success, and that means slow and easy. No stress. No fatigue.
4) After a few days of this add another micro-skill exercise. So now you are doing two micro-skill exercises per session.
5) Keep adding more micro-skill exercises until you have enough to fill up the time you allotted in your commitment. Use previous exercises until they become very easy then when they do switch them out for new ones. The exercises that are hitting trouble spots will naturally take longer and get more attention. If they are too difficult then just do a small portion of them and come back later. After a week or two you should be setting into a routine.
6) Journal all of this. Journaling keeps you focussed, on track, and helps you see the progress. When you see the progress you will be inspired. This is a positive thinking exercise. If you are always looking at the horizon you will be frustrated. If you look back once in awhile and see how far you have come you will be inspired. Journaling is an amplifier. It will amplify you results. Please do it.
7) So now that you have a routine, break it up once in awhile. Play a game, one of our card games is good. And we highly recommend listening to stories in audio format. Old time radio and children's stories are the best (coming soon). Sit in the dark and listen to a Lone Ranger episode. I really believe that the lack of audio only storytelling has had a negative impact. Let's bring it back.
To your success. It happens slowly without noticing at first. But it happens. That is certain.
P.S. If you want to get ahead of the game and organize your materials, we maintain a list of products used here.
I love what you are doing! As a dyslexic parent trying to help their dyslexic child figure out the way to journal progress is really hard. Could post a couple sample journal pages? Thanks!
Liz talks to parents in that situation all the time. I think more often that not. Which is one of the motivations behind building this. The other is adiults who have no one to help them.
For a sample let's encourage the other parents to do this. There are some homeschoolers in the group and I think they are the experts in this. I'll keep an eye on it to make sure it happens and if not will come up with something.
Thank you!
Can't wait to get started! This system gives me hope!
This is going to be hard for my wife and I because of our age. 71 and 77 respectfully. Our grandson is 9 and has some issues none of the other kids or grandkids have or have had. But it's worth our time and effort to see him succeed. We have no clue of what we're doing as we have never done this before. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let us know. Thanks.
I think it amazing that your son or daughter is having this support from you. We moved from the UK when our children were very small so my parents, though always willing, weren't able to have the day to day input as your grandson is going to have from you. As a parent of a child with learning difficulties it can be both exhausting and isolating, so having this support from you is invaluable. That said, the rewards of seeing your child with difficulties progress is also remarkable. Perhaps one thing that is important to bear in mind is that steps are small. Some times parents see rapid and remarkable changes in their children from these sorts of programmes, but I don't think that is the norm. But small steps, the constant putting in place for building blocks for these children are essential. The lovely thing about this programme (and I have tried a few over the years!) is that is really carefully structured and clearly directed. I wish you all very much luck and success.
I am enthused that you found a simple way to reach out to this grandchild. I have noticed that paying attention to a child is a HUGE benefit, and you have had experience with that. I think this course could be beneficial if this child has learning difficulties. I'm glad you're trying. The benefits depend on each child's cooperation.
where do i find the "micro skill development" exercises referred to in #3-5 above ?
All of the exercises are available at the homepage of this portal.
The lessons are dripped out to you by email. Then here, in the portal, you will have all the exercises available to you up to the month you are on. You can follow the exercises as presented in the emails or jump into the portal and grab what you want. You will always have access to this portal.
I am so excited to get started. I am currently a student teacher who noticed these signs in a friend's daughter. I brought it to the attention of her Mom who had her assessed and turns out she is dyslexic. She started extra classes but wasn't making much progress. Then she specifically asked her mother for my help. I'm in some deep ocean here and YOU are my life jacket. I am really excited to get started and to help :-)
On the same note what is the best way to organize all the papers we print? Binders, hanging files, by child? What to keep what they are working on in verses a main storage for all lessons printed? Thanks again!
I'm going to give the same answer. Let's ask the homeschoolers.
However, on a side not, we are working on a tech solution for this but it is not at the top of the tech list.
i'm so happy to have join here! Can't wait to start using with my daughter! I'm so motivated to make this work!! Thank you so much! Lorena
hoping this program will help my son to learn in a stress free and effective way. PTSD PANDAS GAD SAD Child Trauma and delayed development
I'm not tech person and I'm not an organized person and I have a small house. I'll just share what is working for me. I have a very large shopping bag and a binder where I put print-outs. The binder, white board, markers and any materials we used for Learning Success go in there and then it goes on a wooden hanger in my coat closet. Easy to take out and put back. I think the list of exercises on the website is enough as far as that goes. We'll go down, pick and get started. My homeschooling stuff is not that easy :) Although I do like tote bags that I organize by subject and put them in large decorative baskets that I have in convenient locations where we work. Books and school supplies in my house are like shoes -- a professional organizer once told me shoes are her worst nightmare.
Excited and a little vulnerable but I'm going to try because my son and I are worth the effort
Wow can wait to start.
Getting frustrated isn't the answer but when you have no idea of what to do, this feeling comes first. I'm excited to learn new strategies to teach my son how to read properly and feel good about himself.
How do I get you to slow down! I thought it said that you sent a new one only when one was opened. We have had some family crises, and haven't gotten to work for quite a while, but the lessons just keep on coming! We are buried in them with no time to work on them right now.
Do you need to pause the email lessons for now?
Since I see the child I tutor only three (or at most, four) times a week (and sometimes less), I sometimes ignore the daily emails and go directly to this web page where they are all listed sequentially, then pick and choose what I think he most needs (and in some cases, will most enjoy.) Hope this helps.
Yes that's a fine strategy. Just so long as you are mixing them up a bit. Also make sure not to completely ignore the easy ones.
The video does not match the content in this section
I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this! There are also a lot of typos on the website, and it's not very user friendly. I think it could use an update. :)
Hi Liz,
I am feeling frustrated at the moment as when i click on your suggested exercise i get page not found.I have also been asked to log back in and click the remember me button numerous times only to be told to do the same thing again and again.Can you or anyone explain to me what the problem is? or where am i going wrong.
Regards,
Martina
This should be fixed now. You should still have access to the next lessons. :)
I always have the same problem a Martina, I clicked the remember me at login and it doesn't seem to help. Is there something you can do on your end so it does bring me to the OOPS page and takes me to the Lesson?
Thanks!
Jen
Hi Jen,
The problem you are having is probably not a login issue but instead it's that you haven't been given access to the next month's lessons. Usually the system will update your account each month and give you access to a new set of lesson. However there are some situations where it will fail and we have to do this manually for you. I've just done that but if it happens again just let us know and we'll fix asap
Thanks
Phil
cant wait to start this afternoon!!!
I have a 5 year old in Kindergarten. She is really smart but is still falling behind her peers in school. I just finally asked her to write her alphabet and numbers to see what she knows. The first thing I said to my wife after I looked over her work was "Our daughter is dyslexic." The only thing that concerns me about this program is what ages is it targeted to? Will it be a good fit for my 5 Year old?
Yes, the system will work for any age group. It aims at correcting problems, not dealing with specific age level academic issues.
lack of focus/concentration
lack of concentration
Lack of concentration can come from a number of causes. Sensory integration is a big reason. Imagine the senses not working fully together. The mind doesn't know which to pay attention to. Kind of like when a mosquito buzzes in your ear. Hard to focus on anything else because that sensation draws your immediate attention.
Whatever the reason I have seen over and over that proprioceptive exercises are very helpful for this. I have seen amazing changes. A little at a time it will happen.
I can't wait to get started on the micro skills. The concept of the tenets is brilliant!
Hello! I'm excited to get started. How do I know which exercises belong in lesson 1? I didn't get a message with a lesson one agenda so I plan on pulling from the 'lessons to be done' tab. I'm just looking for a little direction on which ones to do first. Thanks!!
You should already receive the first lesson via email. The lessons are dripped out to you by email. Then, here in the portal, you will have all the exercises available to you up to the month you are on. You can follow the exercises as presented in the emails or jump into the portal and grab what you want. You will always have access to this portal.
We are investing everything we have, emotionally, physically and mentally to support our son in achieving and gaining confidence.
My daughter was doing poke the smiles for 15 min , how do I mark that complete, or how do i know it is done
Hi there. I signed up for the program through my Charter School. I have access to my account. I have watched the start here videos on the main page. Will I be getting e-mails? I haven't gotten a welcome e-mail or anything. I sent an e-mail asking but have not heard back. I want to be able to start asap. I know you are supposed to wait two weeks before starting the exercises. But I definitely do not wait to wait any longer than that.
Yes you should get your first email within an hour. I'm not finding your email in our email system. Something is wrong. Can you send an email to [email protected] and include when you signed up. If you have a receipt you can just respond to that instead. That will help us figure it out. Thanks and sorry for the issue
Thank you. I just sent an e-mail over.
So, I sent an e-mail right away to the e-mail address you provided. You have not contacted me back. I have waited half the school year for my son's Charter School to process the Learning Success program. And now I am eagerly waiting to get started on the program. My Charter School set up the account for me under my e-mail address. So I don't have the receipt. Can you please check your e-mails and get back to me? Thank you.
Hey Jamie, Sorry for the inconvenience. We are already looking into this. We'll get back with a resolution via email. Thank you for your patience and understanding.