Encyclopedic knowledge cards for babies. Glenn Doman’s method
With three kids in a tow finding time to update the educational materials that we use became quite a challenge. Yet I was asked a question recently about Encyclopedic Knowledge cards for babies, as as I was answering it, it grew into its own little post, rather then a few comment-words.
Showing Encyclopedic Knowledge cards was always our favorites: interesting pictures to look at, interesting bits of information, fun for me and the baby. By far, this part of the program was always the most successful for us. That’s why I wanted to share a quick update on it.
How do you do it? Doman’s site sells sets 10 encyclopedic knowledge cards in each, but in his book he recommends making at least 15 cards for every category that you pick. Make your cards, find 10 facts for each, start showing them as everything else that Doman recommends: 5 cards 3 times a day, 5 days in a row, then start retiring and adding a card daily. Once the baby is ready for the facts, you don’t just flash the picture, but every time you flash a card, quickly read a simple fact about it. You read one fact at a time and flash quickly – babies lose patience fast. Show a set three times a day (so they’ll hear the fact three times that day). The next day you’ll say a different fact. Since you are showing each card for ~10 days, it means you’ll rotate through all the facts and then retire the card and get a new one. Doman recommends 2 sets a day. I have a lot more details about in “Encyclopedic Knowledge” section, and in FAQ for reading.
Now, my own observations. I noticed, that when the babies are little, it doesn’t really matter what category you’ll chose: birds, cars, planets, type of trains, paintings, even Disney Princess, though I would stick to the useful information. After we’ve seen the set, I tend to punch holes in those cards, insert some rings – making “books” out of them, and then occasionally flip through them with kids. Until they grow up enough to just read encyclopedias and kid-science books on their own. Do my older ones remember any of the bits that I showed them? Or any of the facts? Not in the slightest. Who knows, may be learning those things later will be easier – I wouldn’t know.
Yet, I think it is still very beneficial in every aspect: you hug your baby, your baby is concentrated, listening, exposed to a new vocabulary, uses his visual skills, his thinking skills, trains his memory… and getting used to enjoying learning. We did revisit a lot how rodents are different from fish, or what are dinosaurs, or what are those planets after all, and then my older one still came from school claiming that he learned certain things there for the first time… yet I think it was easier for him to learn – he’s heard those word so many times! I keep hearing parents around us complaining how schoolwork, homework, all of those things are hard even for the smartest of their kids, and for us – it is a breeze. My son LOVES school, LOVES doing his work at home. Some things he enjoys more (English reading; science topics; recently – he became mad about doing more and more math), some things – less (reading in Russian is still a torture – damn that difficult writing system, that inflected reading-hell!!!). Same goes for my second one. He doesn’t recall a single bit that I ever showed him, yet learning new things are a given for him – every day he heads for his card, his writing exercises, other things we are working on and proudly shows me how much progress he made that day.
So, even though neither of them remembers any facts, are we showing cards to our recent addition to the young baby-learners? Absolutely! 2 reading sets, 2 math, 2 encyclopedic knowledge sets, 3 times a day and Encyclopedic Knowledge cards are his absolute favorites!