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How to Get 5 – 12 Year Olds Behave and Do As Theyre Told provides a practical down-to-earth strategy Growing Up Children

Harness your children’s inbuilt desire to love and do good and their boundless energy, to benefit the abandoned children and Aids orphans of southern Africa. Your children will learn from, and be rewarded by, the privilege of giving. Teach your children the value of giving by learning to knit.

Money is not taught in school and parents are concerned and eager to teach their kids about how to handle their money. “The Insiders Secrets to Teaching Children About Money” ebook, with information, tools and resources for parents, teachers and kids. Teaching Children About Money – Raising Kid Entrepreneurs

Radiation Worries for Children in Dentists Chairs Children are vulnerable to radiation, but dentists and orthodontists use technology that emits high levels of it. Read more on The Tuscaloosa News

As Published:
Ld-Online.org
Washington Parent Magazine

Imagery The Sensory-Cognitive Connection for Math
Nanci Bell and Kimberly TuleY
http://www.lindamoodbell.com/

Why can’t everyone think with numbers?  Why do some children learn math readily, handle money and time concepts with ease, retain information from year to year, and think with numbers effortlessly?  What cognitive processes do some have that others do not?

Mathematics is cognitive process-thinking-that requires the dual coding of imagery and language.  Imagery is fundamental to the process of thinking with numbers.  Albert Einstein, whose theories of relativity helped explain our universe, used imagery as the base for his mental processing and problem solving.  Perhaps he summarized the importance of imagery best when he said, “If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.”

For the people who “get” math, the language of numbers turns into imagery.  They use internal language and imagery that lets them calculate and verify mathematics; they “see” its logic. 

Imaging is the basis for thinking with numbers and conceptualizing their functions and their logic.  The Greek philosopher Plato said, “And do you not know also that although they [mathematicians] make use of the visible forms and reason about them, they are thinking not of these, but of the ideals which they resemble…they are really seeking to behold the things themselves, which can be seen only with the eye of the mind?”

The relationship of imagery to the ability to think is one of the preeminent theories of human cognition. Allan Paivio, author of the Dual Coding Theory (DCT) and a cognitive psychologist, stated, “Cognition is proportional to the extent that mental representations (imagery) and language are integrated.”  Research from the 1970s and into the 1990s has validated Dr. Paivio’s work as a viable model of human cognition and its practical, as well as theoretical, application to the comprehension of language (Bell, 1991). Dr. Paivio believes that in order to think and understand, humans must be able to simultaneously generate imagery and corresponding language to describe that imagery.

Mathematics is the essence of cognition. It is thinking (dual coding) with numbers, imagery and language; reading/spelling is thinking with letters, imagery and language.  Both processes, often mirror images of each other, require the integration of language and imagery to understand the fundamentals and then apply them.  Dual coding in math, just as in reading, requires two aspects of imagery: symbol/numeral imagery (parts/details) and concept imagery (whole/gestalt). 

Numeral  Imagery

Visualizing numerals is one of the basic cognitive processes necessary for understanding math.  For example, we image the numeral “2” for the concept of two.  When we see the numeral “3,” we know that it represents the concept of three of something: three pennies, three apples, three horses, three dots.  If someone gives us two pennies for the numeral three, we have a discrepancy between our numeral-image for three and the reality (concept) of three.  The first imagery needed for math is the symbolic (or numeral) imagery that represents the reality of a number concept.

What does numeral imagery look like?  Here’s one example.  Cecil was very good in math. He could think with numbers, arrive at answers in his head, and mentally check for mathematical discrepancies in finance or life situations easily.  He explained this ability,  “I just visualize numbers and their relationships. Certain numbers are in certain colors, and the number-line in my head goes specific directions.”  Not only could Cecil visualize numerals and concepts, both types of imagery, but he also had an unusual talent for color imagery. He assigned colors to specific numbers! 

“What color is the number 14?” he was asked.
His eyes went up, and in all seriousness, he said, “Light blue.”  Similarly, number 3 was reddish pink and the number 88 “kind of a purple.”  Quizzed again months later, Cecil assigned the same colors to the same numbers. Chronological relationships appear in our minds on a number line, the days of the week, the months in the year.  Imagery is our sensory systems’ way of making the abstract real.  It is a means to experience math.

Concept Imagery

While imaging numerals is important to mathematical computation, another aspect of imagery is equally important:  concept imagery.  Understanding, problem solving and computing in mathematics require another form of imagery–the ability to process the gestalt (the whole).  Sometimes children or adults can visualize the numerals, the parts, but cannot bring those parts to a whole, just as they can sometimes visualize individual words but cannot bring those words to a whole to form concepts.  Mathematical skill requires the ability to get the gestalt, see the big picture, in order to understand the process underlying mathematical logic. 

“Concept imagery is the ability to image the gestalt (whole),” Bell (1991).  Concept imagery is basic to the process involved in oral and written language comprehension, language expression, critical reasoning and math.  It is the sensory information that connects us to language and thought. 

The ability to create mental representations for mathematical concepts is directly related to success in mathematical reasoning and computation.   However, because some children do not have this imaging ability, they are often mislabeled as not trying, unable to retain information, or having dyscalculia (the inability to perform arithmetic operations).

Manipulatives May Not Be Enough

Joanie’s second grade class covered a review of recognizing numbers, addition, subtraction, and even some multiplication. They worked a lot with concrete manipulatives and  Joanie was doing well at the end of the year. But her third grade teacher complained that Joanie didn’t know anything about numbers.
Concrete experiences-manipulatives-have been used for many years in teaching math (Stern, 1971).  However, like Joanie, many children and adults have often experienced success with manipulatives, but failure in the world of computation (NCTM, 1989; Moore, 1990; Papert, 1993).  They have what has often been described as “application problems.”

Joanie’s  second grade class had spent a lot of time with manipulatives.  Some of the children moving on to third grade continued to “think with numbers.”  Their experience with manipulatives became part of their mental deposit of imagery.  Like a bank deposit, these images could be drawn upon at will.  However, not all children create mental imagery as they work with concrete manipulative.  For these children, the process of turning the concrete experience into imagery must be consciously stimulated.

On Cloud Nine® Math
Concrete to Imagery to Computation

Arnheim (1966) wrote, “Thinking is concerned with the objects and events of the world we know…When the objects are not physically present, they are represented indirectly by what we remember and know about them…Experiences deposit images.”

Numbers can be experienced and the relationships between them can be made concrete by using manipulatives.  What appears abstract can be experienced and imaged to concreteness.  Math’s roots are in the realm of the concrete, and imagery is the link to mathematical processing, retention, and application.

To develop concept and numeral imagery, the On Cloud Nine® math program (developed by the authors) integrates and consciously applies imagery to the cognitive process of computing and conceptualizing math and mathematical principles.  As individuals become familiar with the concrete manipulatives, they are questioned and directed to consciously transfer the experienced to the imaged.   They image the concrete and attach language to their imagery.  The integration of imagery and language is then applied to computation. Individuals develop the sensory-cognitive processing to understand and use the logic of mathematics.

The program moves through three basic steps to develop mathematical reasoning and computation using: 1) manipulatives to experience the reality of math, 2) imagery and language to concretize that reality in the sensory system, and 3) computation to apply math to problem solving. On Cloud Nine® manipulatives serve two purposes:  1) to concretize numbers and mathematical concepts, and 2) to serve as a base for establishing imagery.

When asked to add the numbers 3 + 2, children who are drawing on their vault of images may see 3 apples and 2 more oranges to show 5 pieces of fruit.  Others may draw on an image of a number line and place their mental finger on the 3 as a starting point. The “+” tells them to move forward and the “2” indicates how many places.  They know the answer because they can “see it” in their mind’s eye.  These children may look up as they access their images (defocusing). 
Children who don’t seem to have a vault of images may say things like “I don’t remember that one.”  They need explicit instruction in imaging the concrete and applying that imagery to the computation.

How does imaging as a conscious process work?  The On Cloud Nine® math program begins with numbers in isolation—numeral imagery.  A student is asked to view the written numeral, and then it is taken away.  The student must demonstrate the “number” underlying the numeral by showing how many cubes represent that number.  The student sees, says, and writes the number in the air.  The goal is for the student, when she sees the numeral, to immediately create an image of the formation of that number and the value behind it. 

The process continues with experiencing the number line, first as a concrete manipulative, then as a flexible mental image.  “Show me where you see the number 15?”  “What’s the number one step up from that?”  “Is the 3 close to the 15 or quite far away?”  “What number is closer to the 15 – the 10 or the 5?”  Students develop a number line they carry with them in their vault of images.  These students can access their vault of images at will.  Conscious imagery and the ability to simultaneously create images and verbalize these imaging—dual coding—are continued as children are taught addition, subtraction, word problems, multiplication, division and more advanced math.

On Cloud Nine® math integrates and consciously applies imagery to the cognitive process of computing and conceptualizing math and mathematical principles.  Children image the concrete and attach language to their imagery.  The integration of imagery and language is then applied to every aspect of mathematical computation.

All children can develop the sensory-cognitive processing to understand and use the logic of mathematics.  In every aspect of math, children can have access to what becomes an innate bank vault of imagery for memory and computation.

Nanci Bell, owner and director of Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, is the author of two books on imagery as the base for language processing. Kimberly Tuley, the director of operations for Lindamood-Bell is a trainer and consultant in the application and refinement of Lindamood-Bell® programs.

Bibliography
Aristotle. (1972). Aristotle on Memory.  Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University Press.
Arnheim, R. (1966). Image and thought.  In G. Kepes (Ed.). Sign, Image, Symbol.  New York: George Braziller, Inc.
Bell, Nanci. (1991). Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking. Paso Robles: NBI Publications.
Moore, David S. (1990). On the Shoulders of Giants: New Approaches to Numeracy. Steen, L. (Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Papert, Seymour. (1993). The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. New York: Basic Books.
Paivio, Allan. (1981). Mental Representations: A Dual Coding Approach. New York: Oxford University Press.

Stern, Catherine and Stern, Margaret B. (1971). Children Discover Arithmetic. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

More Information:
http://www.lindamoodbell.com/
http://inforequest.lblp.com/

Written by an award winning Police Officer and Student Safety Expert, these age appropriate, interactive, modern day tips provides children with everything they need to stay safe online, in their communities as well as traveling to and from school Children Safety Books (1st Grade – High School

As Published:
Ld-Online.org
Washington Parent Magazine

Imagery The Sensory-Cognitive Connection for Math
Nanci Bell and Kimberly TuleY
http://www.lindamoodbell.com/

Why can’t everyone think with numbers?  Why do some children learn math readily, handle money and time concepts with ease, retain information from year to year, and think with numbers effortlessly?  What cognitive processes do some have that others do not?

Mathematics is cognitive process-thinking-that requires the dual coding of imagery and language.  Imagery is fundamental to the process of thinking with numbers.  Albert Einstein, whose theories of relativity helped explain our universe, used imagery as the base for his mental processing and problem solving.  Perhaps he summarized the importance of imagery best when he said, “If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.”

For the people who “get” math, the language of numbers turns into imagery.  They use internal language and imagery that lets them calculate and verify mathematics; they “see” its logic. 

Imaging is the basis for thinking with numbers and conceptualizing their functions and their logic.  The Greek philosopher Plato said, “And do you not know also that although they [mathematicians] make use of the visible forms and reason about them, they are thinking not of these, but of the ideals which they resemble…they are really seeking to behold the things themselves, which can be seen only with the eye of the mind?”

The relationship of imagery to the ability to think is one of the preeminent theories of human cognition. Allan Paivio, author of the Dual Coding Theory (DCT) and a cognitive psychologist, stated, “Cognition is proportional to the extent that mental representations (imagery) and language are integrated.”  Research from the 1970s and into the 1990s has validated Dr. Paivio’s work as a viable model of human cognition and its practical, as well as theoretical, application to the comprehension of language (Bell, 1991). Dr. Paivio believes that in order to think and understand, humans must be able to simultaneously generate imagery and corresponding language to describe that imagery.

Mathematics is the essence of cognition. It is thinking (dual coding) with numbers, imagery and language; reading/spelling is thinking with letters, imagery and language.  Both processes, often mirror images of each other, require the integration of language and imagery to understand the fundamentals and then apply them.  Dual coding in math, just as in reading, requires two aspects of imagery: symbol/numeral imagery (parts/details) and concept imagery (whole/gestalt). 

Numeral  Imagery

Visualizing numerals is one of the basic cognitive processes necessary for understanding math.  For example, we image the numeral “2” for the concept of two.  When we see the numeral “3,” we know that it represents the concept of three of something: three pennies, three apples, three horses, three dots.  If someone gives us two pennies for the numeral three, we have a discrepancy between our numeral-image for three and the reality (concept) of three.  The first imagery needed for math is the symbolic (or numeral) imagery that represents the reality of a number concept.

What does numeral imagery look like?  Here’s one example.  Cecil was very good in math. He could think with numbers, arrive at answers in his head, and mentally check for mathematical discrepancies in finance or life situations easily.  He explained this ability,  “I just visualize numbers and their relationships. Certain numbers are in certain colors, and the number-line in my head goes specific directions.”  Not only could Cecil visualize numerals and concepts, both types of imagery, but he also had an unusual talent for color imagery. He assigned colors to specific numbers! 

“What color is the number 14?” he was asked.
His eyes went up, and in all seriousness, he said, “Light blue.”  Similarly, number 3 was reddish pink and the number 88 “kind of a purple.”  Quizzed again months later, Cecil assigned the same colors to the same numbers. Chronological relationships appear in our minds on a number line, the days of the week, the months in the year.  Imagery is our sensory systems’ way of making the abstract real.  It is a means to experience math.

Concept Imagery

While imaging numerals is important to mathematical computation, another aspect of imagery is equally important:  concept imagery.  Understanding, problem solving and computing in mathematics require another form of imagery–the ability to process the gestalt (the whole).  Sometimes children or adults can visualize the numerals, the parts, but cannot bring those parts to a whole, just as they can sometimes visualize individual words but cannot bring those words to a whole to form concepts.  Mathematical skill requires the ability to get the gestalt, see the big picture, in order to understand the process underlying mathematical logic. 

“Concept imagery is the ability to image the gestalt (whole),” Bell (1991).  Concept imagery is basic to the process involved in oral and written language comprehension, language expression, critical reasoning and math.  It is the sensory information that connects us to language and thought. 

The ability to create mental representations for mathematical concepts is directly related to success in mathematical reasoning and computation.   However, because some children do not have this imaging ability, they are often mislabeled as not trying, unable to retain information, or having dyscalculia (the inability to perform arithmetic operations).

Manipulatives May Not Be Enough

Joanie’s second grade class covered a review of recognizing numbers, addition, subtraction, and even some multiplication. They worked a lot with concrete manipulatives and  Joanie was doing well at the end of the year. But her third grade teacher complained that Joanie didn’t know anything about numbers.
Concrete experiences-manipulatives-have been used for many years in teaching math (Stern, 1971).  However, like Joanie, many children and adults have often experienced success with manipulatives, but failure in the world of computation (NCTM, 1989; Moore, 1990; Papert, 1993).  They have what has often been described as “application problems.”

Joanie’s  second grade class had spent a lot of time with manipulatives.  Some of the children moving on to third grade continued to “think with numbers.”  Their experience with manipulatives became part of their mental deposit of imagery.  Like a bank deposit, these images could be drawn upon at will.  However, not all children create mental imagery as they work with concrete manipulative.  For these children, the process of turning the concrete experience into imagery must be consciously stimulated.

On Cloud Nine® Math
Concrete to Imagery to Computation

Arnheim (1966) wrote, “Thinking is concerned with the objects and events of the world we know…When the objects are not physically present, they are represented indirectly by what we remember and know about them…Experiences deposit images.”

Numbers can be experienced and the relationships between them can be made concrete by using manipulatives.  What appears abstract can be experienced and imaged to concreteness.  Math’s roots are in the realm of the concrete, and imagery is the link to mathematical processing, retention, and application.

To develop concept and numeral imagery, the On Cloud Nine® math program (developed by the authors) integrates and consciously applies imagery to the cognitive process of computing and conceptualizing math and mathematical principles.  As individuals become familiar with the concrete manipulatives, they are questioned and directed to consciously transfer the experienced to the imaged.   They image the concrete and attach language to their imagery.  The integration of imagery and language is then applied to computation. Individuals develop the sensory-cognitive processing to understand and use the logic of mathematics.

The program moves through three basic steps to develop mathematical reasoning and computation using: 1) manipulatives to experience the reality of math, 2) imagery and language to concretize that reality in the sensory system, and 3) computation to apply math to problem solving. On Cloud Nine® manipulatives serve two purposes:  1) to concretize numbers and mathematical concepts, and 2) to serve as a base for establishing imagery.

When asked to add the numbers 3 + 2, children who are drawing on their vault of images may see 3 apples and 2 more oranges to show 5 pieces of fruit.  Others may draw on an image of a number line and place their mental finger on the 3 as a starting point. The “+” tells them to move forward and the “2” indicates how many places.  They know the answer because they can “see it” in their mind’s eye.  These children may look up as they access their images (defocusing). 
Children who don’t seem to have a vault of images may say things like “I don’t remember that one.”  They need explicit instruction in imaging the concrete and applying that imagery to the computation.

How does imaging as a conscious process work?  The On Cloud Nine® math program begins with numbers in isolation—numeral imagery.  A student is asked to view the written numeral, and then it is taken away.  The student must demonstrate the “number” underlying the numeral by showing how many cubes represent that number.  The student sees, says, and writes the number in the air.  The goal is for the student, when she sees the numeral, to immediately create an image of the formation of that number and the value behind it. 

The process continues with experiencing the number line, first as a concrete manipulative, then as a flexible mental image.  “Show me where you see the number 15?”  “What’s the number one step up from that?”  “Is the 3 close to the 15 or quite far away?”  “What number is closer to the 15 – the 10 or the 5?”  Students develop a number line they carry with them in their vault of images.  These students can access their vault of images at will.  Conscious imagery and the ability to simultaneously create images and verbalize these imaging—dual coding—are continued as children are taught addition, subtraction, word problems, multiplication, division and more advanced math.

On Cloud Nine® math integrates and consciously applies imagery to the cognitive process of computing and conceptualizing math and mathematical principles.  Children image the concrete and attach language to their imagery.  The integration of imagery and language is then applied to every aspect of mathematical computation.

All children can develop the sensory-cognitive processing to understand and use the logic of mathematics.  In every aspect of math, children can have access to what becomes an innate bank vault of imagery for memory and computation.

Nanci Bell, owner and director of Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, is the author of two books on imagery as the base for language processing. Kimberly Tuley, the director of operations for Lindamood-Bell is a trainer and consultant in the application and refinement of Lindamood-Bell® programs.

Bibliography
Aristotle. (1972). Aristotle on Memory.  Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University Press.
Arnheim, R. (1966). Image and thought.  In G. Kepes (Ed.). Sign, Image, Symbol.  New York: George Braziller, Inc.
Bell, Nanci. (1991). Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking. Paso Robles: NBI Publications.
Moore, David S. (1990). On the Shoulders of Giants: New Approaches to Numeracy. Steen, L. (Ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Papert, Seymour. (1993). The Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer. New York: Basic Books.
Paivio, Allan. (1981). Mental Representations: A Dual Coding Approach. New York: Oxford University Press.

Stern, Catherine and Stern, Margaret B. (1971). Children Discover Arithmetic. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc.

More Information:
http://www.lindamoodbell.com/
http://inforequest.lblp.com/

With solo parenting on the rise and divorce rates at a high New Zealand’s children are becoming more isolated from key adult relationships. Over 25% of our children live in solo parent households (a majority of these with their mum) in which many of these children lack quality relationships with their fathers and other important role models. Busy work schedules and a lack of quality time with mum or dad can result in your child feeling lonely and isolated. In particular is the isolation of many young kiwi boys from important male role models. Although women make for wonderful mums, they can not mimic the male energy and manly traits that young boys need in order to grow into healthy men. For all of these reasons it’s important that your special little person gets the attention and companionship they desire.

Finding a suitable mentor and building key relationships with mature adults gives your child the building blocks to develop healthy friendships and a sense of security through trust and compassion. Matthew Button, Manager of the Big Brother and Big Sister organisation in Christchurch says that when aligned with mentors “the kids do better at school, their confidence increases and they seem to get into less trouble. The greatest benefit really is having someone who regularly comes and hangs out with, plays games and looks out for you”.

As one solo parent has said “Canes dad passed away before he was one and all we have left is his my sister and mother, I feel sorry for him living in a house full of girls, I want him to have positive male energy in his life so that he can grow to be a healthy boy. It makes me sad to think he’s missing out”.

Big Brothers and Big Sisters New Zealand (BBBSNZ) is an organisation dedicated to offering a free mentoring service to young children in need of a little extra attention and care. With 11 organisations across New Zealand, the Big Brother Service hopes to continue growing so as to reach the high demand of kids in need. “We are inundated with requests for young people to have a mentor” says Mr Button, “Seeing the smile on a young person’s face when they hang out with their mentor is magic! Its great being involved in a project where lives are improved and where everyday people make a difference in a kid’s life”.

As Big Brother Big Sister conclude “Mentoring isn’t necessarily about making progress, getting results or reforming behaviour; it’s about being a stable, supportive influence in the lives of children who, for one reason or another, are struggling with the world”.

There are a few free mentoring programs and organizations around New Zealand that offer a free voluntary service. Some are offered through your local schools and others through the local community, to find out more information about what’s available near you contact your local youthline, they are always happy to help and are very responsive, www.youthline.co.nz.

For a comprehensive listing of mentoring services and programs available in New Zealand visit www.youthmentoring.org.nz and click on the ‘mentoring programs’ link.

There have long been many questions on why children are more efficient in learning a second or even a third language when compared to adults. Scientists might finally have a concrete explanation on why children are best at learning new languages.

With the aid of animation technology and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), brains of several children have been studied by researchers from UCLA. Their discovery pointed to the children’s ability to process language information on a region of their brain that is different from the region that adults use.

The Brain and Its Role in Language Learning

There are various areas in the brain which control different functions. For instance, actions like driving a car or riding a bike no longer requires people to consciously think of moving their hands and feet in coordination.

These actions are done because of people’s automatic brain functions. To connect this to learning a new language, children actually use this automatic area of the brain in learning; thus, a second language to them is much like second nature. Adults who want to learn of a new language use a different area of their brain.
This is why it is best to become bilingual or even multilingual during childhood since the brain operates a little differently as compared to normal adult brain functions.

There are still chances for people who are under 18 to catch up and learn new languages. This is because the opportunity to inculcate skills and information into the deep motor region of the brain is open until the age of 18; but with each year that passes, the window to this brain closes slowly each time. This would explain why adults have to think in their native tongue and translate words into a second language unlike children who would think automatically in another language.

Studies of the neurology of acquiring a new language have been proven to be useful. Learning the different geographic locations in the brain where information and skills are stored for both adults and children would give language educators the chance to improve their lesson presentations and instructions. For instance, children who learn accents and sounds at an earlier age would be far better off than people who consciously study these sounds at a latter part of their lives.

Other Benefits of Learning a Different Language Early On

Learning a foreign language is much easier for children than most adults and in addition to this great advantage, children have also been proven to do better in school, have better problem-solving skills, are more open to diversity, and score much higher on standardized tests. This is according to Francois Thibaut who is in charge of The Language Workshop for Children. There are nine schools around the East Coast who have participated on the said workshop. Thibaut is known as an expert in foreign languages for babies and children.

Through the efforts of people like Thibaut, more and more parents are becoming aware of the importance of teaching a different language to their children. And since globalization now includes being able to communicate more clearly even to foreigners, immersing the future citizens (or today’s children) to different languages would help equip them with the necessary language comprehension skills.

Future ambassadors are better able to handle situations if they learned different languages early on. Therefore, the future of the world depends on how much children of today learn from the most important aspect of most cultures-language.