I mentioned the Chinese DVD's which we use with our kids. You could start kids as young as 1 on these DVD's I think.
Journeys to the East, The River Dragon King (games and activities at www.mandarinadvantage.com
Early Start Mandarin Chinese with Bao Bei the Panda (several volumes, all good)
Let's Go Guange
We also watch Ni Hao, Kai Lan and have her movie about traveling to China.
We started Chinese because we were scheduled to move to Singapore. That move was canceled, but we are keeping up with the Chinese. Basically, if you want your kids to learn a second language, there are great dvd's for just about all of them. A recent article in the New York Times highlighted new studies about people who speak two languages fluently. Among other benefits, these dual language speakers developed an increased ability to think creatively and problem-solve.
Another great resource we found for Alex has been a website called www.abilitations.com. This site has all kinds of tools for kids with myriad disabilities. We found an awesome weight for Alex's left hand which is basically a glove full of beans that attaches to either the back or front of his left hand, simply and easily. It means that whatever he does with lefty, he has added weight which will help build his arm and shoulder muscles. Also, the very fact that something is touching that hand seems to wake it up and remind it to move more throughout the day. Alex wears this thing for a good chunk of the day and doesn't complain too much.
And finally, on happiness...we were tipped off that this book might change our lives. It certainly has given us reason to examine how we live and our daily interactions and make some changes, that's for sure. I recommend it to anyone. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment