Science Project Stumped? Miami Herald News Has Answers

Today's Instant Learning Tip from the Miami Hearld News:

Are you and your child stumped for a science project this year? Gone are the good old days when these projects were easy.

But Miami Herald News Columnist, Cindy Goodman, solves your science project woes in her December 12th, 2007 column. - click here for more.

Relax, get balanced and pick up those unique science projects you need.

P.S. - When you want more tips, subscribe to How To Learn's Instant Learning Parent Tips and leave a comment on this blog about your science project experiences. I'll send you my son's blue ribbon project that won him the $100 first prize!

What Your Doctor May Not Notice That Can Cause Your Child To Struggle In School

Two weeks ago, I worked with Ivan, a third grade boy, whose reading and handwriting problems told me he had vision issues. As a reading specialist, I knew from experience, these were not the kind of problems he'd "grow" out of.

Not only was reading hard for him, but there were no spaces between the letters when he wrote the words in the book we were making.

Ivan is much like the one in 10 American kids that USA Today and the American Optometric Association say have undiagnosed eye problems. When I asked, Ivan told me he'd never had an eye exam.

What's even more worrisome, when nearly 70% of our kids do not read at grade level, is that an "estimated 85,000 children will enter kindergarten with lazy eye" (USA Today) - which can lead to serious eye and vision problems, and maybe even blindness later on.

Doctors can easily miss a lazy eye during a routine well child check, because it's not always obvious. It's not easy for parents to spot either, unless a child's eyes are crossed. Sadly, lazy eye causes so many problems both in school, in sports and at home, a child's self-esteem can virtually be destroyed if this problem is not diagnosed.

Ivan told me he thought he was dumb, but I knew better. I assured him that his eyes were playing tricks on him and that he might want to ask his parents for an eye exam.

This seemed to make him feel a whole lot better, and he even laughed out loud.

In the meantime, I had Ivan put one finger between his words, and write on paper with large lines and spaces. We also used graph paper for his numbers.

Then, we started practicing some tracking activities from the I Read I Succeed Kit and Ivan went home much happier that day.

Tip: If you have a child under 12 months, former President Jimmy Carter is the national spokesperson for a program called Infantsee at infantsee.org. Your baby can have a free eye exam and you can give your child the gift of good "eyesight" and "vision" to make sure reading is fun, and like James Patterson says, a "page turner."

Tip: If your child is older, go to http://www.covd.org/ or http://www.oep.org/ and find and eye doctor now. It's never too early, and definitely, never to late. Then make sure to tell your pediatrician the results so everyone is on the same page...

Thankyou!

My deepest thanks to all our readers and Thanksgiving blessings to you and your families.

The second greatest gift you can give your child, after your love, is the ability to learn and understand how to apply that learning. How To Learn is here to help you do that, answer your questions, and give your child learning success today and in the future.

Our family celebrates Thanksgiving on Saturday this year, as my daughter is is helping her patients at the hospital until then. What are your special plans?

I encourage you to share your Thanksgiving stories here and thank you again for your love and trust. One of my former students, who I helped years ago, invited me to her college graduation "with high honors" at USC this year. She wrote a beautiful note and thanked me for believing in her from the very beginning.

Every child is truly a precious miracle and has a special genius you can help them unleash. Step back for just a moment and allow your "genius" child to grow up happy and healthy, and "pay it forward."

Blessings to all,
Pat Wyman

Can Visual Thinking Show Your Child How To Learn, Raise Grades and Actually Change Your Family's Life?

And so, the Back to School jitters begin...

As parents, we know schools test our kids endlessly these days. Just like the energizer bunny, this written testing 'keeps on going' through college, grad school and even beyond.

So who gets this and aces the tests? Well, it turns out, kids who think in pictures, the "visual" learners, have long unlocked the secret.

They naturally have all the traits that match the school's written testing system just the way it is - (Hint - ask any teacher what the class grade roster looks like -- all the kids are not getting A's every time - and it's a real shame -- because, as I've heard someplace before, we do have the technology) :):)

So, as much as I'd love to see the world change, and schools adapt to your child's learning style, sad to say, it's unlikely that either school or employers are going to shift quickly enough to help kids who struggle today The tests go on...

Question: So, what next?

If you notice that institutions often change very slowly, how can you help your child pass all those darn tests now? Remember, you need a RIGHT NOW PLAN, not a five or 10 year plan.

Answer: Applaud, revere, respect your child's learning style, and then show your child how to learn faster and easier by thinking visually.

Why? Because, a whole lot of neuroscience and good old fashioned experience shows that come crunch time, the child who has just a few of these simple, how to learn visual memory strategies, now has precisely what they need for the zippy fast study and recall methods they need to succeed on the tests.

O.K., sounds simple enough, but have you ever tried to tell your kid to "picture" something he just read and then remember it? A lot of kids have real problems with this.

It's not that they aren't smart, it's just that they either don't know and don't know HOW to use the visual learning strategies they need to read, remember and retrieve the information during a test.

So, after 30 years or so in the education world, (parent, teacher, reading specialist, school administrator, etc.), I've refined this "here's HOW TO LEARN ANYTHING FAST to help your child succeed RIGHT NOW" -- into a system that is literally the fastest ways to A's and B's (assuming of course that your child actually uses the strategies).

Yes, and I agree. There's only a gazillion programs out there telling your kids how to do better in school.

But they all omit this one biggie - kids who get A's are mostly visual learners. They are neater, more organized, can really "see" things long term, and when they remember what they read for the test, they see it all in pictures - which is far faster that trying to recall how they feel about it or what it sounded like. Brain basics 101.

So, now it's up to you. Knowing "HOW TO LEARN" and think visually in school, can literally change your child's life and your family's life. Imagine the peace and quiet - no more homework hassles, no more horrific report cards and really low test scores...

I'm quite serious about this one. Imagine how you'd feel if you and your child learned a few of these visual strategies and then got A's and B's in oh, say a week or two.

I coach people how to do this all the time. It's not rocket science, it's a visual piece of cake. And... when it's used, I've watched kids beam... "Hey Mom, I failed my spelling tests for the past three years, but am getting "A" 's all the time now, cuz I use those visual picture thingy strategies we learned before school started this year..."

So, whether you want this "top secret" RIGT NOW information live, with me, in real time, or the CD version, here's more on How To Win The School Game, by thinking visually...

What are your thoughts on this testing business since you know it isn't going away any time soon?