Susie is still working on Level 3 sky scanning….progress is very slow, much as when we were working on level 2…but we keep pushing on. She's working on level 4 bear shuffle and tic tac toe. She has completed level 5 on about 6 other games.
As we work on her schoolwork, I do see some improvement in her spelling. On math, I'm really torn between approaches. The past few years, we'd been doing "workbook style" curriculum, where she wasn't required to copy her own problems, she would just work directly on a page. This year, I pulled out the Saxon 54 her sister had used. It starts out pretty "basic", so I know the work is mostly within her abilities, but the physical act of writing down her own problems does stress her system some. However, I'm learning from brainware that stress can bring about growth, so I have her write them, but occasionally give her a 'break' and write one or two for her. I am still a little concerned in how she will skip words when reading, especially if she is tired.
I am so excited! Barbara is getting closer and closer to beating that level 4 Sky scanning. Her biggest improvement seems to be the speed at which she is finding the numbers. She is still working on level 5 tic tac toe and bear shuffle, and has completed level 6 on 7 games. Her total levels completed to date is 124. When I can catch her in a positive mind-set, she does feel like she's a little "sharper" than she used to be.
There is an "extended family" member who had provided me with some materials when the girls were first diagnosed with these learning issues. She is an elementary school teacher at a small private school north of here, and she has seen a lot of these sorts of difficulties with her new students each year. I am looking forward to sharing with her about Brainware, and some of the advances that kids can make utilizing cognitive skills training.
We will likely continue working beyond week 12….I will continue to send through updates.
Week 12 Report….
Well, last week was the end of week 12, but we will be continuing to work with the program.
Barbara was again very limited by her work schedule, but she is steadily showing improvement. She is at about the same place with Bear Shuffle and Sky Scanning. The latest level of Tic Tac toe with the "disappearing marks" on the grid, is really quite challenging. I have found a new way to practice for Bear Shuffle with both girls on their respective levels. I'm using a deck of playing cards, removing the 10's and most of the face cards. Queens become "0's" and Aces are 1's. I then lay out the cards face down, the girls turn them over and back again, I do a couple of re-arranges, and then they try to do the sort. The "hands on" seems to really help them, and I know when Susie went back to the "computer version", she did much better with it.
While I don't necessarily advocate "medicating" kids (Barbara was on ADD meds for several years, and we are still experiencing negative repercussions from that), a small amount of caffeine does seem to have a huge impact on their speed, memory and processing abilities. As an "experiment" the other day, I allowed Susie to have about 1/2 can of cola that had been sitting in the fridge for several days (flat pop…ick). Within 10 minutes, I could tell a huge difference in her performance. She remembered numbers better on Sky scanning, and came very close to beating Bear Shuffle and Tree tic tac toe. There were not those huge "pauses" in her processing, and she did not get near as frustrated with herself. Interesting….
To date ~ Barbara has completed 125 levels, Susie 118. Both have done most of the Ancient Logic and reasoning. I would like to see both get to 150 levels, so I'm guessing we'll be at this a while longer.
This is a fascinating journey that we are on, and I pray for much success to others who are also on it.
Blessings to each of you!