Einstein Never Used Flash Cards

jychan

Did anyone read the book called
"EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASH CARDS:
How Our Children Really Learn - And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less"
by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff with Diane Eyer

I just read some book excerpt & review of it. Tried to buy it but it is out of stock in various bookstores.

You may search by typing "EINSTEIN NEVER USED FLASH CARDS" in yahoo search engine & many discussions or reviews on this book:

Children learn best at play. "lay equals learning. And play, plain and simple play, is the key to nurturing happy, intelligent children."

The author argue that the omnipresent pressure to boost intelligence by cramming classes and rote memorization into babies and young children relies on misinterpreted science and empty marketing. This "flash card" approach, they argue, takes parents away from easier and more personal methods of teaching.

Evaluate your child's structured activities. Obviously, there's no need for you to abandon all of the structured activities your children participate in. But when you make choices for your children, select what looks like the most fun. Visit some of the classes or activities and see what the children are doing. Is the place one in which children can take a lead and show their creativity? Is it child-centered? Are they engaged in pretend and social play? Is there a happy feeling, and are children free to make a mess? Structure in activities is a good thing, but too much control is not. Also ask yourself what the purpose of the activity is. It should primarily be for fun and only secondarily for learning. The more we question our own motives and our own choices, the more we can close the gap between what we know is good for children and what we are actually doing with their time.

Recent studies, heavily hyped in the media, have warned parents that their children's development has a deadline and they may have already missed it. The Mozart Effect, for example, theorized that listening to classical music or absorbing other highbrow information at a young age boosted intelligence, and told parents it was never too early to start college prep. The conventional wisdom has also touted the idea that early childhood stimulation fosters neuron growth, which in turn leads to more intelligence. In short, the more flash cards, the more Einsteins.

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Worth all of us who over-scheduled our kids with all kinds of structured learning activities to re-think ourselves.

I always think "learn in fun" is the best way for kids to learn. Though I did feel like "am I wrong if I don't use flash cards approach / DWE / etc to teach my kids?" But  I think I should trust myself - I know my kid the best & I should know what are good for her. I think reading books is good & let her to have chances to interact with other kids is also important in her social development. So I arrange activities like reading together with her & let her join a really good playgroup when I go to work.     

I think parents should rethink what the real purpose of how they teach their kids or how they schedule activites for these little ones. Don't just follow what the professional said or just what other people said. You know your kids the best & should be able to teach them in the best way.

Just to share. Will try to buy this book from online bookstore.

Can anyone share your views if you have read this before? Thanks.   

Lastly, no offence to those who used the expert's approch like GD"s approach, esp. flash cards to teach their kids. Indeed, I think you are all wonderful parents who have such patience & will to teach your kids. I think I just want some parents who feel stressed in finding the "expert" way to teach their kids should RELAX! There are still research supporting that kids can learn most via play as it is the more interactive, non-passive way they can learn & really enjoy.

Cheers to those who feel guilty for not teaching your kid with those recommended teaching materials / approaches! Relax! Trust your own way. Just take the professional / expert views as reference.      

FloliMom

jychan,

Thank you for taking the time in the middle of the night to share this piece of information and your views about "learning through structured activities" with us.

My girl has just turned into one in early March.  I have started to use flash cards not long ago.  The presenting of flash cards is meant to be a kind of interesting activity, if it cannot be regarded as a game, to the baby, because Glenn Doma also emphasizes the pyshchological situation of the baby when presenting the cards.  It is in no way a forced education to the babies if they are not interested.

Indeed I have been really frustrated in recent days as my girl is just not interested.  I can never keep her to sit still and be concentrated.  There is always something which draws her attention away although I have tried hard to eliminate all possible disturbances already.  I know it is useless to force her if she just doesn't bother to give a glance on the cards.

However, I have come to realise that she has become so clever and a fast-learner at this time of her age.  She can actually recongise a lot many household itmes that I have ever taught her.  I realise that this is the golden time for her to learn and I want to make the best use of it and not to waste it.

So I have become rather stressful indeed.  Reading your message above does in fact make me feel more relaxed but it doesn't mean that I should give up finding the best way for my baby to learn.  

I am so regretful that I am working and cannot take care of my daughter and give the best guidance to her during the day.  I just hope that I can still do something when I am off from work or on holidays.

You mentioned that you let your daughter join a really good playgroup when you go to work.  So which playgroup is your girl joining and why you chose it?  What are the criteria when you choose the playgroup/nursery/kindergarten for your kid?  

I agree that "learn in fun" is the best way for kids to learn.  The learning process should be interesting.  At least, I am ascertained that the kids enjoy the process of "learn in fun".  The question is "how"- how to do it & how much.  Maybe other parents can share and enlighten me more?

enidchiu

Dear jychan,

Thank you for your sharing. I've got relatives and friends who are really tense about their children's intellectual development and always talk about how smart their children are. I am sometimes tempted to compare my son with them. I have to admit that my son is not specially smart.

I am a working mother and I can't afford those expensive playgroups. I just put him in a not-so-famous nursery since he's two. Though it's a "nameless" school, my son is very happy there. I can hear his joyful laughter when approaching his school. Teachers are really patient with his temper. When I asked him who love and don't love you in school, he thought for a long time and said "everyone loves me, no one dislike me".

A few month ago, I've found another kinder, a branded bilingual kinder, hoping that he has a breakthrough in his intellectual/ language development.

These few months i was thinking and thinking. I feel a bit guilty about my motive. Is it selfish to snatch my son from a joyful environment which he feels secured? Indeed, he's quite an active child who is always motivated to learning and listening to stories with books. Does it worth the risk if I put him in a strange environment which he might lose his confidence?

Can you give me some advice? I really need help and support.

lawlinhy

I am a working mom.  And this is my first baby.  Just to share my viewpoints.

I've read a few books relating to baby: On becoming Baby Wise, Carl Weter's educational law, GD's how to teach your baby to read / math.  

I believe the brain of baby is like a sponge, with infinite potential to absorb knowledge.  And baby is passive.  Only his parent can help them to learn - that in later stage will be his resources for survival.  Knowledge can be obtained from everyday life, everything you tell him and show him.  Flash Card is only a media  to expose words and maths to a Baby.  There is nothing wrong if you choose not to show him  flash card but by bringing him here and there to show him the real thiing (like Carl).  But undeniably flash card is quite a comprehensive method to show baby different kinds of knowledge.  Aboveall, we should not waste his time by putting baby just in the playpen which limited his exposure in the most precious period of his life.

My bb is approaching 8 mths and I am preparing to give him flash card as one of the game he plays during a day (just finished reading GD's books).  I'm not sure about its outcome.  But I will do my best to give him opportunities to expose to knowledge, with a balance time on playing as well.  

sheenaho

It is such an interesting topic. I think every child is unique and there is no 時髦 method in raising our children.

I've read the GD books when my child was a baby. I tried to implement this method but due to my own laziness, I just tried it for 3 to 4 days.

However, my child still managed to count from 1 - 10 when he was just 16 months old and started to read very thick books when he was just 3.5 yrs old. Yet till today, I still think the GD method offers a good alternative for some of us.

I think it mainly depends on how much time and patience the parents can devote to their children. And of course one should also observe closely the learning style and character of her child before deciding whicon the method to be used.

Cheers,

Lamblamb

What a coincidence!

I'm right in the middle of this book.  Well, ithe book is good in a way that it gives reassurance and examples as to why "free play" is much more important and valuable than flash cards or scheduled programmes.  As any other parenting book, I think I'd take the good bits out and try to digest it rather than fully accepting the message.

I myself isn't particularly pro- or anti-flash cards, but I use them to let Lulube to (hopefully!) develop a familiarity with English words/Chinese characters so as to provoke his interest in reading as time goes by rather than aiming at him to memorize all the difficult words.  I don't really comply to the Doman teaching method, coz' there's lack of time to do so.  However I do flash cards to him when his mood is okay and he'd respond by smiling to me.  Nobody will ever be sure whether that's useful or not, but I guess there shouldn't be any harm done since he looks quite happy with the cards.  He especially enjoys the dot cards.  

Not sure whether I'm being subjective or not, but if given the choice between a fancy toy or a simple board book, he'll always go for the book and pay a lot of attention in flipping over the pages and concentrating on the words sometimes.  Is that to do with the flash cards?  Dunno, but it's nice to know that he doesn't hate books, at least.

I'm sure we need to collaborate different methods in teaching our kids, and since time is so precious, (yes, they are so busy each day, aren't they?), I won't spend too many hours on flashing cards but I'd like to keep it as some kind of "game" as Doman suggested.

jychan

Wow, thanks all for the responses to my posting.

As I can remember, when my kid was about 1 year old, I also felt guilty that  I can be a full-time mum to teach her as that was really a golden time for kids to learn like a sponge.

THE OBJECTIVE OF MY POSTING HERE IS THAT DON'T BE TOO ONE-SIDED. LEARN IN FUN IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR KIDS. GLENN DOMAN'S METHOD SEEMS MAGICAL BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S THE ONLY WAY FOR KID TO LEARN. BESIDES, THERE ARE "OPPORTUNITY COSTS" IF YOU JUST FOCUS ON USING ONE METHOD TO TEACH YOUR KIDS. LASTLY, DON'T BE FORCEFUL TO LET THEM LEARN ANYTHING. THE 'ADULT WAY' OF LEARNING MAY NOT WELCOME BY EVERY KID. TRSUT YOURSELF AS  YOU KNOW THE BEST OF YOUR KIDS. BE RELAXED. JUST TAKE OTHERS OPINIONS & PROFESSIONAL ADVICE AS REFERENCE.

I am also not pro or against using flashcards. Indeed, I also bought a whole set of flashcards (but secondhand one)  as a supplement for my kid. But I have twisted the method of GD a bit as my kid only start flashcards learning in 2  yr olds. I stick them in a wall & read to her when she comes to that wall. After a few times, she can remember the words & will actively point to the words herself & read them out.

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Lamblamb,
Where did you buy this book? I jsut found that it can be ordered via Paddyfield but it takes more than 4 weeks for delivery. yes, what a coincidence. Hope u can be more relaxed now.

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There is no "trendy" ways of teaching kids, just the right ways. Parents should "tailor-made" the right ones for their own kids.      

nn

Me 2, I am not pro- or anti- the flash card method, I have also read some G.D. books about how to use the flash cards on different subjects when my baby was young, and I believe that the method does work if the parent's objective is to improve the children's reading skill.  But as I am a working mum and I am lazy, I just practised that for a few days and I gave up.  For me, it's just too much commitment that I couldn't afford.

Instead, I play with my baby after work and read books with her.  Now, she is 20 months old, she reads over 50 books each day ("50" is just a guess as I didn't really count, she keeps on reading and reading, book after book....), if I do not stop her, she will continue to read and read till after mid-night.  My current problem (dunno whether this is a problem or not) is that she only reads books with me and nobody else...  On one side, I feel happy as this means she likes my style, but on the other hand, I also feel upset as I could not do anything else at home (e.g. I need to have business conference calls at night), she just keeps on asking me to read books with her.  For the past week, I choose to "escape" from this situation by taking her out every night, so that I didn't need to read books with her; but now, I feel guilty as I don't know whether I am right - should I not let her do what she likes?  I heard that babies at her age learns fast, it is just her mother, me, who could not keep up the pace and face the situation...  any suggestion?

jychan

Hi nn,
Everyone has ups & downs in mood. Again, just relax & don't feel guilty. As a working mum, when my girl was around the age of yours, I also feel the pressure given by myself to do the best of myself in every aspect for her. Perhaps because our girls are the one & only kid of us, we are very sensitive to every move, need, reaction & anything about them. That is why we are here to discuss in this parents' website, right?

I don't mean you don't need to do your best for her. But just also give some rooms for yourself - some private time. Other than work & your daughter, give some time for yourself & your hubby. For example, you may go shopping or a dinner with your friends once a week after work.

I know you don't want to miss the golden time of learning of your kid. I am sure she can learn from other activities not with you as well. Besides, baby needs some really "relaxing time" with no sructured activities.

Don't push yourself to the limit. I am sure you have already given very sufficient stimulation & learning opportunities so far. Give a break to both you & your daughter some time in a week to re-charge the energy to conitnue the home-schooling.
   

nn

jychan,
Thanks for your comments.  Yeap, you are right, there is pressure as I always feel like I am chasing after her, but not leading her.  Her pace is just too fast for me to follow, and things just happen too fast for me to respond.  E.g. in Jan, she hit a box while playing with me and left a scar on her face.  I didn't really know how to take care of her at that time and the scar is still there.  I was so stupid that I even looked for alcohol in order to clean her wound...  I still feel very guilty about this...  huh...

Lamblamb

jychan 寫道:
Lamblamb,
Where did you buy this book? I jsut found that it can be ordered via Paddyfield but it takes more than 4 weeks for delivery. yes, what a coincidence. Hope u can be more relaxed now.

Hello jy,
Thanks very much for your pm!  (Sorry that I didn't spot it until yesterday.)  Your comments are really helpful and reassuring.  Yes.  Parenting should be taken as an enjoyable experience rather than another kind of tension in life.  Frankly speaking, the way you wrote seemed like you've read the book already.  So maybe you don't need to buy it?!

The book was given to me by a friend when Lulube was around 6 months old.  I just went to www.shopinhk.com to check for you, but it's already out of stock coz' the book is on sale.  Maybe you can call Swindon and try?

jychan

Lamblamb,
Actually I know this book from shopinhk.com when I did shopping for my kid but it has been out of stock for a long time. Thanks for the info anyway.

nn,
don't say that you are stupid. It's really painful as a parent to see your baby got hurt or sick. I think I have gone through such extremely stressful stage as well as a first-time mummy. Of course, I still feel bad if anything not so good happens to my kid but I think i can be more rational & calm now to fix the problems. The major reason is that I've learnt to relax a bit & don't zoom in to see the problem. It may just a very trivial one & do no harm to your kid's development. I am sure you are a good mum & just need a bit of relaxation in the way you treat your kid.   Cheer up!  :