Spotting early signs of learning disorders- Lawrence School

All children face learning difficulties at some point or the other. The trouble is therefore in understanding whether it is a disorder or just a learning phase. Children with learning disorders are unfairly and unfortunately labeled as slow or dumb when in fact the opposite is true. They are equipped with a high IQ and are talented in many ways. With correct diagnosis and proper help, these children are also bound to excel and succeed.

Image: http://bit.ly/1gKGsai

 
Note that all children come with their own unique style of learning and capabilities. It is difficult to spot trouble based upon a general observation simply because each child masters a skill at a different time. Also, what can be a stumbling block today can phase out after a few months. Consistency in the problem is a sign of a red-flag and that is when you need to seek help.

Image: http://bit.ly/1hVsket


So, what are the warning signs are a parent or teacher need to look out for?

*Source credit: http://bit.ly/1bc0HcS

*Preschool signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Problems pronouncing words
• Trouble finding the right word
• Difficulty rhyming
• Trouble learning the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, days of the week
• Difficulty following directions or learning routines
• Difficulty controlling crayons, pencils, and scissors or coloring within the lines
• Trouble with buttons, zippers, snaps, learning to tie shoes

Ages 5-9 signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Trouble learning the connection between letters and sounds
• Unable to blend sounds to make words
• Confuses basic words when reading
• Consistently misspells words and makes frequent reading errors
• Trouble learning basic math concepts
• Difficulty telling time and remembering sequences
• Slow to learn new skills

Ages 10-13 signs and symptoms of learning disabilities

• Difficulty with reading comprehension or math skills
• Trouble with open-ended test questions and word problems
• Dislikes reading and writing; avoids reading aloud
• Spells the same word differently in a single document
• Poor organizational skills (bedroom, homework, desk is messy and disorganized)
• Trouble following classroom discussions and expressing thoughts aloud
• Poor handwriting

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

How to develop fine motor skills in toddlers-Lawrence School

Fine motor skills- the skills that aid a child to pick smaller objects, turn a knob, or use a scissor; basically the use of the finger, hand and wrist for finer movements along with eye coordination- are grossly neglected in the mad rush to churn out students that excel in academics. Fine motor skills need to be well-developed in a child as they are an important milestone and precursor to writing.

Instead of jumping head on into the bandwagon of writing, educational institutions must first focus on developing these skills. They can be developed by engaging toddlers (in the age group of 3-4) in activities that are fun and simple to carry out. One can even carry out these at home to strengthen the toddler’s hand and wrist muscles:

Play dough: Play dough is an interesting activity where the child carves out various shapes using child-friendly dough. You can even let your child help in kneading the dough at home to make rotis, rolling it out and making different shapes with the dough.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cooksandbakers/137453678/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Cutting and sticking paper: invest in a pair of kid-friendly scissors and encourage the child to cut out different coloured paper in different shapes and sizes. The child can then stick these pieces of paper on a card paper to make an interesting collage.

Drawing rangoli: The act of using the fingers to draw using rice flour helps to fine tune the coordination between the fingers and hand.

Craft work: any craft work that uses a lot of painting, colouring, cutting and pasting.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flossyflotsam/5483542373/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Fold paper or clothes: Small cloths like a handkerchief or towel or socks can be given to the child to be folded.

Self-help activities: encourage the child to do by self the act of buttoning or unbuttoning clothes, pulling up or down the zipper, eating with hands and spoon, wearing shoes, etc.

While, each child develops these skills at his/her pace, it is imperative to concentrate first on developing these skills and then proceed to teach them write on paper.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Does group study work?-Lawrence School

With the board exams looming large, class X and XII students are busy revising the lessons studied throughout the year. This brings us to the much debated question: ’should students be allowed to study along with their peers?’

At the outset, it might seem like a no-brainer that when children from the same age bracket come together it can only lead to whiling of time, discussions that are not related to studies and playing on gadgets; in a nut shell, a complete no-no from the adult clan.

Image:

http://bit.ly/1dO9S34

However, if you analyze such an arrangement objectively, you would be convinced of its benefits and effectiveness.  While there is a possibility of children losing focus and seriousness, thereby slowing down even the sincere and hard-working lot in the group, it can serve as a huge motivation factor and also a check-point for students to perform better.

A healthy competition can be generated within the group to ensure that everyone is using his/her time effectively to attain a specific goal. Exchange of ideas and better grasping of concepts can be possible when students share their knowledge within the group. 

Time can also effectively used when chapters get divided between the members of the group and later an amalgamation of ideas and concepts takes place. It can be a win-win situation provided some amount of self-discipline is maintained.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Learning a language naturally-Lawrence School

Image: http://bit.ly/1dStzYd

Speaking our mother tongue was never a challenge to any one of us for the simple reason that the language was not 'taught' to us formally by stressing on the sentence formation, the correct grammar and the vocabulary. We learned it automatically as children by listening to the adults in the house speak it. It just came to us naturally since we were exposed to it.

Shouldn't the same principle hold good for any other language? The best way to learn any other language be it a second or third Indian language in school or even a foreign language would be to listen to the native speakers as much as possible without stressing too much over the syntax and grammar.

Grammar is important to any language but when it is learned in a formal and narrow manner where one needs to learn the rules by rote, solve umpteen puzzles and questions, it just kills the joy of learning. Instead if we can concentrate on reading books in the said language, our minds would automatically grasp the nuances.

Reading and listening should thereby precede talking when learning any language. Thirdly, and most importantly, is the need to shed inhibitions. Fear of making a mistake will only hinder learning. Mistakes are opportunities to correct ourselves and hence should not be taken as a failure.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/ 

Why should children play?-Lawrence School

Children and play are spoken in the same breath since play is as natural to them as breathing. Unstructured play is as important as any structured activity in a child's life. Unstructured play is any activity that the child performs without adult guidance. Children learn a lot from activities that seem futile or wasteful in an adult's eyes. 

Have you observed how a child never tires of the same game. The game gives him an opportunity to unleash his imagination. When the kid struggles with a set of puzzles and gets it right after several attempts. It teaches him the lesson of perseverance. It is their first tryst with problem solving techniques. 

Image: http://dailym.ai/Jbhgi7

Give a toddler a pair of scissors and see the magic unfold. Let his imagination and creativity take over and allow him to gain confidence in his skills. Let him play and explore with colours and allow him the freedom to experiment. 

The power of unstructured activity cannot be measured quantitatively. A group of kids playing together might mean nothing to an adult but the kids are learning to play as a team, take lead when an opportunity arises, learn communication skills, understand the power of negotiation, etc. 

Unfortunately, play-time has become a scare commodity in the tech-age life of children. Busy parents hastily thrust gadgets into the child's hands and inadvertently diminish the spark out of the kid's natural being. Schools that stress more on academics than sports and games fail to nurture the child in a holistic way.

We need to take that extra step and effort to let our kids be. It is easy to engage them in classes of various kinds in a bid to productively use their time. However it is necessary to allow for the so-called unproductive activity for that's how they will learn skills that no curriculum or class can teach.

Lawrence High School, located at HSR layout, Bangalore, focuses on educating children with traditional values to adapt and excel in the world. To know more about Lawrence school, please visit the website http://lawrenceschool.in/ and join us at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lawrence-School/