Learn To Read Using Learning Styles

Even preschoolers have a well-defined Learning Style. Some may prefer to learn alone, others with friends. Some may prefer to play games which require a lot of full-body movements, others will be drawn towards pastimes that require working with their hands.

When it comes to learning to read the letters of the alphabet, here is a list of games to play that will engage the senses and appeal to many learning styles. To begin, cut out letters of the alphabet out of fine sandpaper. Use different colours for vowels, consonants and digraphs (qu ai ee ie oa ue ar er or ch sh th oy ou oo).

• Let the child feel the letters in the direction you draw them.
• Ask the child to touch “m”, find “o”, move “d”, hold “a”.
• Spread the letters around the room. Ask the child to hop to “m”, run to “d”, tiptoe to “ee”.
• Point to the letter and ask whether the child remembers what it is.
• Let the child cut favourite pictures from a magazine. Sort them according to what letter they start with. 
• Take one letter. Cut out everything from a magazine that starts with that letter. Paste it onto a page or put into an envelope.
• Every day, put out a basket of different goodies, each beginning with the same letter.
• Play “I spy”. Say, “I’m looking for something that begins with the sound bbbb." 
• Play “I spy” again, but with objects that end in the sound “k”: milk, book.
• Play a rhyming version of “I spy”: “I spy with my little eye something that sounds like book” (hook, nook).

What are your child's learning preferences? Find out.

Asperger Syndrome and Learning Styles

The wikipedia definition of Asperger Syndrome reads: "an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development."

The severity of the disorder varies, but most people affected by it can lead a normal life, often as very successful academics. However, experts warn that diagnosis may be difficult: "The cost and difficulty of screening and assessment can delay diagnosis. Conversely, the increasing popularity of drug treatment options and the expansion of benefits has motivated providers to over diagnose ASD."

Learning Style Analysis is not a tool for diagnosing ASD, however, it can provide guidance to determine whether further assistance from a specialist may be required. Some learning style trends displayed by ASD sufferers include:

• highly analytic with a non-preference for global information processing
• a preference to study alone
• a preference for a formal study area
• a non-preference for change
• high persistence
• internal motivation.

Check your child's Learning Style today.

Introverts and Working Styles

What does the Working Style of an introvert look like? They are usually the ones who prefer working alone in a quiet room. They don't usually communicate very effectively in a situation where they have to address a large audience. Sometimes their contribution to the workload will go unnoticed, because they won't brag about it.

In today's world, we value talkers (extroverts) and often choose them as our leaders. And yet this phenomenon is relatively recent and can be linked to the advent of TV. Prior to that, many leaders were introverts, although the term wasn't widely used back then. Check out this video about the power of introverts.

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Your Working Style will hold the clues. Have a look.

Learning Styles and Stress Management

Think “childhood” and words such as “carefree”, “long summer days”, “doing nothing” or “fun” will instantly spring to mind. However, nothing can be further from the truth for the current generation of school-goers. In certain parts of the world, even preschoolers feel the pressure to achieve, and thus to secure a place in a reputable private education institution.

Some schools cite education and achievement as their top values. Others prefer to concentrate on learning through fun, treating every child as an individual with a unique learning style, and offering an all-rounded learning option that includes as much dancing as it does arithmetic.

The world out there is tough and competitive. Do you shelter your children and let them enjoy life as long as they can, or do you start grooming them for the rat race in kindergarten? That’s the choice that every parent has to make individually.

Meanwhile, if you think that your child is feeling stressed, their own learning style can give you a clue as to how to help them. Highly analytic children will want to retreat and solve the problem by themselves, while highly holistic children will want to discuss the issue with you. To find out how to deal with your child’s stress, please analyse their learning style.

Some ideas that might also appeal to your child include:

1. Listening to music with a beat that is slower than their heart rate.
2. Taking a walk together - a forest or a beach will particularly well.
3. Essential oils such as lavender, chamomile, mandarin or rose have a calming effect - you can burn them in the room if you have a burner or dab them directly onto the wrist.
4. A comforting healthy snack, like low-fat low-sugar apple pie or cocoa.
5. Distraction: ask your child what the best thing was that she saw or did today.

Just as prevention is better than cure in the area of physical health, so it is with stress. If your child does not thrive on achievement, it’s best not to push them. To check, do their Learning Style Analysis.