Parent Advocate in 5 Easy Steps
Improved grades, fewer classroom struggles and a happier kid is what every parent can hope for at the start of a new school year. There are 5 secrets to a successful school year and you can master them all.
Learning Styles
Albert Einstein – Visual Thinker
Albert Einstein was a genius. Did you know he was also a right brain and VISUAL thinker?
Art Fuels the Brain
Art has special significance to children because it is a visual, tactile medium that meets children in their learning need. Young Rembrandts uses art to develop learning skills that are essential to all young children.
Kids Need Art!
I started Young Rembrandts in 1988, it has now become a recognized leader in art education. Drawing with Young Rembrandts develops the whole brain and the whole child. Children are visual, physical and auditory beings.
Charlotte’s Web – Audiobooks for Summer
This week I found an absolute treasure I didn’t know existed. It is so revolutionary – so remarkable – has such profound possibilities – I can hardly stand it. It is so perfect for visual learners and open up whole new realms of possibility for them. 
I was at the library cruising the shelves for new books to keep our grandson reading this summer and grew overwhelmed by the volume of titles. So I found the librarian and asked for help finding the right “early readers”. Along with early readers I found a few books my daughter wanted to read with him and I really wanted to find a few audio books so he could do his own reading – by listening. Listening to books can make reading fun, especially for kids that may struggle with language or have trouble sitting still. They allow kids to ‘read’ books beyond their current level, which helps them want to keep reading. Audio books also let kids kick back, enjoy the story and let their imaginations run free.
Insights from Children’s Art Expert Bette Fetter
May is almost here! Check out the top blog posts of April from Bette, including the release of an all NEW collection of drawing videos! 
Reading Help
A few weeks ago my sister Diane called to talk about her granddaughter Lanie. 
It seems her first grade teacher had some concerns about her reading and wanted to meet with Lanie’s mom and dad. They talked as a family about what the stumbling block might be and remembered our conversations about visual learners. Lanie is a visual learner and she loves to draw. She loves to draw anywhere, anytime, all the time. She takes weekly Young Rembrandts classes at her elementary school. Lanie is a visual learner – but not because she loves art. She’s a visual learner because that is how her brain is wired.
8 Great iPad Apps for Kids: Reading Apps for Children
Here are 8 AWESOME apps to help your child learn and enjoy reading! 
- Reading Rainbow: Offers a library of books to users, themed according to a child’s interests (action adventures, magical tales, etc.). Kids can choose to have a book read aloud to them or to read the book themselves. To access more than one book, however, you’ll have to subscribe to the app — a $10 recurring monthly fee or $30 for six months.
- Starfall Learn to Read: an app version of the stellar learn-to-read website, Starfall. The app has the same content as the “Learn to Read” section of the site. There are 15 mini-books, each focusing on a specific vowel, along with videos and activities to enhance literacy learning. As with other Starfall apps, the thorough and careful design keeps kids focused on learning.
- Martha Speaks Dog Party: A US Dept. of Education-funded study found target vocabulary improved up to 31 percent for children ages 3-7 who played this Parents’ Choice Recommended app over a two-week period. Includes FOUR fun-filled games starring Martha, the talking dog from the popular PBS KIDS TV series MARTHA SPEAKS(TM).
Chocolate Math and Visual Learners
Last night our grandson Brayden had some subtraction homework to do. He had already finished his writing and sight words and his enthusiasm was beginning to fade. To reinvigorate homework time and make the math fun, his mom brought out the math manipulatives, but these were extra special manipulatives. Emily filled a small paper cup about half full of M+Ms. And as much as kids are attracted to small colorful objects, small colorful chocolate objects are really engaging. She explained that he could use the candy to count out and subtract the numbers, and when the homework was successfully completed, they were his to eat.
World Autism Awareness Month
The month of April has the wonderful distinction of being Autism Awareness Month, and today, April 2nd, is World Autism Day. Autism is a neurological disorder that disrupts a person’s learning and socialization. While it affects over 1.5 million people in the U.S., it’s considered a ‘spectrum’ disorder because the characteristics vary from person to person.
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