Archive for the ‘Dyslexia’ Category

In Paris Last Month/Dropped French edition at schools and libraries

Wednesday, November 30th, 2016

I had the good fortune of traveling to Paris with my sister last month. We stayed in the charming Hotel d’Angleterre on the Left Bank, very near Notre Dame. The hotel had been the British embassy and notables like Benjamin Franklin, Washington Irving and Hemingway stayed there.

The weather was perfect — in the 70s with sunset was around 8:00 pm. Lovely long days with walks through sun-dappled Tuileries Gardens. My sister Betty abhors the metro so got around Paris on the double-decker bus. When in Paris why not see Paris? Not only can you ride till 10:00 pm up the Champs Elysees and over to the Eiffel Tower and see these sights day and night but there are two other routes. We took one to Montmartre. I’d spent my Junior Year in France and knew the city well. What was so amazing was being atop the double-decker bus, sometimes listening to the audio tours, and seeing parts of Paris I’d never seen that year or on subsequent trips to Paris. If you’re a history buff like me, you’ll enjoy Paris, the Novel by Rutherford. The history of Paris from the 12th century on is woven through the lives of five families.

We decided September would be ideal. What with the internet, it’s easy to plan a trip. Through Expedia, I booked a Vivaldi concert in the magnificent Sainte Chapelle. To see the jewel-like Sainte Chapelle with seating like a chapel (on a normal visit it’s an empty space surrounded by beautiful stained-glass windows) was an extraordinary experience. Not only did we enjoy the concert but also the spectacle of light slowly dimming in the windows, turning them cobalt-blue as night fell.

Other highlights included a night walking tour of Paris, a trip to Vaux le Vicomte and a trip to the Champagne region. Of course, fabulous meals along the way and a de rigeur stop for divinely decadent desserts at Laudere just down the street from our hotel. Tables in cafes are so close together (you’re elbow to elbow) that we chatted with countless fellow diners. Paris was a party and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

An elementary school was by our hotel and we dropped copies of Enseignez a votre enfant les tables de multiplication. We also went by bookstores including Shakespeare and Company. I left copies of the English edition with WH Smith, an English bookstore by the Place de la Concorde. As a Junior Year in France student, my friends and I would have tea and scones there.

I long for the next trip to Paris. My mission to introduce both the English and French editions to Paris was successful. I am now getting orders from France. Every order that comes in for my French edition makes me tres contente. I envision enfants sitting with their mamans learning les tables with my little book.

Tricks to the Multiplication Tables

Tuesday, April 20th, 2010

You may have learned the Trick to the 9’s on your fingers when you were a child.   For example for 2 x 9, hold out both hands in front of you and bend the ring finger of your left hand.  This bent finger represents 2.  Look at the remaining fingers and you’ll see 1 for the finger to the left of the bent joint and 8  for the eight fingers remaining for 18.  For 3 times 9, you’ll bend the middle finger on your left hand and have 2 fingers on the left and 7 remaining for 27.  It’s easy and fun!

Another way of learning table 9 is to number 9 to 0 in a column and 0 to 9 to the left of the column.  You’ll end up with: 09, 18, 27, 36, 45, 54, 63, 72, 81 and 90.  Now how easy is that!

This “trick” is really a fun easy pattern.  So the trick in this case is a mnemonic device to help us remember.  Sometimes these mnemonic devices have fun rhymes such as “Thirty days has September . . .”

In my workbook, Teach Your Child the Multiplication Tables, Fast, Fun & Easy, I present easy number patterns for all the tables.  Patterns like the Trick of the 9’s aid memory.  Special needs children such as those with dyslexia, autism of ADD/HD benefit from patterns.  All children do.  Patterns provide structure. 

Our brains are wired to find patterns.  If someone were to tell you their phone number was 214-314-4114, you might not even have to write it down.  Why?  You’d recognize the pattern.  Our brain instinctively sorts and organizes.  So why not have your child use this brain function when learning the times tables?  Rote memorization is tedious and boring.  My son hated rote memorization!  So I developed an innovative way of teaching him. 

If all children could be engaged by numbers in the third grade, really fascinated by math, we’d have students who love math.  Students who love math are more likely to have positive self-esteem.  They are more likely to do well in other disciplines and succeed in school.  Wouldn’t that be something!

Benefits of Workbook for Children with Dyslexia

Friday, March 5th, 2010

I received an email  from a mom whose 3rd grade daughter has dyslexia.  She found my book on Amazon and decided to give it a try.  She mentions the following benefits:

  1. My workbook is entertaining to her daughter.
  2. Her daughter is amazed at the patterns she unlocks.
  3. Her daughter loves the repetition.
  4. Repetition is good for dyslexic children.
  5. The multiplication problems are in large font.
  6. The spacing of problems is good.
  7. Spacing has to be ample so the numbers don’t blur into one another.
  8. Her daughter likes that the first or last number is given.  This jogs her memory.
  9. The shading in the problems needing to be completed is a huge help to her.

This mom ends with:  “Thank you for all the help this workbook has given to us and the confidence it has brought to my daughter.”

The features also help children with ADD/ADHD.  If you have a story about your child and his/her response to my method, I would love to hear from you on my blog or on the CONTACT button on my website.  If your child has AUTISM, I would like to know how your child did with my method.  I know autistic children love patterns.