Right Brain Kids

Sharing the Love

2011-07-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

In every TweedleWink classroom, there is a sign that says "Relationships Before Results."

That's because we believe that when you really nurture a child's heart, the bond that results draws them closer to you and excites them to absorb anything you would like to teach.

As a family of six, that is our motto at home as well.

Some of you may know that we homeschool our children. Juggling the roles of parents and teachers to each child has always been challenging, but we wouldn't trade it for the world. For me, watching a child read his first word is just as thrilling as watching him walk for the first time. These milestones are precious. I can't imagine a teacher experiencing the learning milestones while I'm away at work. I want to be there.

Yet the roles of parent and teacher do conflict at times.

"Did you brush your teeth?"
Yes, Mom.

"Did you finish page 25 in your Math workbook today?"
Yes, Mom.

"Did you make your bed?"
Yes, Mom.

That's my day. The same person that reminds them to clean their rooms and put away the dishes is the same person asking about schoolwork each day.

If you are homeschooling, you're familiar with this journey. May God bless us and keep us ever patient, kind and strong.

A Happy Birthday

Last week was my birthday. On that day, my 12-year-old son had a creative writing assignment due. He finished it the day before and stayed up until midnight so that he could e-mail it to me on my birthday. When I read it, I cried. I'm so grateful to be a homeschooling mom.

Here's his entry...

If I Could Build a Home

If I could build a home I would actually build a dome for my mother. It would feature painted sky blue on the outside with cloud designs all over. Inside it would have a Zen garden with a mini waterfall. You could meditate peacefully in it. In the bedroom I would have bright colors on the walls. The walls would be made out of panels so at a specific time the panels would flip and have a gray color, then in the morning would go back to their original colors. The kitchen would be the modern example of efficiency.At first glance it would be a regular kitchen with an island. But if you look closer you would see that there were no shelves nor a fridge. The island would have a stove and a couple buttons. Those buttons can open the cupboards, reveal shelves in the wall, reveal the fridge, and make coffee or tea. The living room would be a lush, chocolate, brown color. The couches would be so soft you would feel like you were floating on air. The movie shelves would be stocked full of Jane Austen and other movies she likes. There would be a store room dedicated to tea. The tea storage would have over a hundred different kinds of teas. In a small cupboard there would be a whole bunch of tea cups and mugs. There would be an office with steel walls and a bucket of magnets for my mom to pin up papers. The shelves would be color-coded so my mom can find things easily. The desk would be a circle with the middle and a section cut out of it. There would be a swivel chair in the middle so that she can have a 360 degree view. The desk would have a computer with many screens so that she has a better work space on her computer. The rest of her desk would have organizers for her papers. I would create a prayer room for my mom. Then I would put a spa room underground with candles scattered around the room. Either my mom would have a spa in it or she would help other people. The last room would be a essential oil room. It would have all the oils in alphabetical order. There would be oil burners that spread the oil to all parts of the room. This is the house that I would build for my mom.

May you feel this type of love from your children and students.

It's my birthday wish to you.

As I write, I close my eyes and send it to you.

Feel loved today, my friend.

Right Brain Success through the Heart

2010-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

Many parents ask:

What "100% success formula" should I follow when teaching my child Right Brain Education?

Answer 1: There is no formula.

It's true! There really isn't. Your child is a living, breathing, one-of-a-kind divine creation. There is no one like him or her in the whole wide world. You cannot stick him in a box. Every child should learn uniquely, with elements designed with his passions, desires and very specific needs in mind.

Learn the developmental patterns, learn different techniques to teach different academic areas, but then, step back and observe your child: Where is he now, developmentally? What does he need? What does he love?

Answer 2: YOU are the formula. YOU hold the key to your child's success in your hands—when you place relationships before results.

Please, please, please review your motives before you start any early learning program (TweedleWink) or Photographic Memory/Speed Reading program (Wink). Why do you want this for your child? If the answer is to enjoy learning right along with your child—to pull out his innate genius and maximize his potential through love and fun—then, proceed. But if you have an agenda to create a child genius, and that agenda does not include a close, loving bond—then, please stop and take a look at that. This precious being—your child—is in your life for a purpose. To bring joy, to experience joy, to learn, and to teach you.

Love accelerates genius.

This is a great truth and the basis for the success of all of our programs. But, why foster genius? What is the intention that makes this a beautiful, rather than self-serving, endeavor?

The purpose of heightening a child's IQ, which should always be done in tandem with EQ, is to foster a greater awareness and understanding of our world. The more we understand, we more we can see from others' points of view. The more we can see from others' points of view, the greater peace is possible in the world. Intelligence, with compassion and love, also brings inventiveness and ingenuity that can yield the technology needed to heal the world.

You can change the world, one heart at a time.

It's not just a slogan.

Learn the techniques. Learn the philosophy. And then, trust your own right-brain instincts, intuitive creativity, focus on your loving bond with your child and get started.

Answer 3: How you teach is just as important as what you teach, and that is not formulated: it is unique to your own right-brain creativity.

In order to know how, you sort of have to be like a "child-whisperer." You need to experience your child with more than just the five senses. Watch him. Listen to him. Really see how he relates to others and to new information. Feel him. Wonder about why he might be reacting the way he does—ponder that, and then, listen to the answers that come to you. Trust your instincts.

Teach according to the beat of the heart.

This is awkward to relate, but I'd like to share how you can do this when you've opened your own right-brain sensibilities. When I go into alpha wave state in class, I begin to feel a rhythm—an actual beat, or pulsing, in my body. When the class is with one student, I feel it very quickly. When it is with a group of children, it slowly begins to pulse after the team has started to settle in to a lesson and focus together. It's a gentle beat and I will teach according to this rhythm.

This pulsing feels like a heart-to-heart connection—a blending or matching of our heart beats. Sometimes, it is slow. Sometimes, it's incredibly fast and my body has to keep up with the presentation of material, with the quick pace of the child's thirst for knowledge.

This pulsing is something that most teachers just sense, or intuit, without, perhaps, the physical sensation. When people come together, our hearts will either match rhythms and resonate, or not—and that's when people tend to not relate to one another.

So, "feel" your child—through your own special style. Think: "eyes to eyes, heart to heart." And, trust your inner instincts. If your motive is love, then all the guidance you need will follow.

:-)

TweedleWink Teachers

2010-06-03T00:57:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue.

It is dedicated to our teachers with deep, deep gratitude, love and appreciation.

TweedleWink teachers give this program Light and Life through the love and devotion they have for the children in their classes.

It takes a lot to see each child's most positive state of being—and to hold that image for them consistently.

The teachers I've come to know and am honored to teach with in our classrooms are top notch and genuine. They know how to balance fun and play with the delivery of a quality educational program.

Becoming Childlike

Here is how you know if you are a right brain teacher.

Situation: The children in your class stop listening to your world cultures lesson. Instead, they pretend that they are cowboys and cowgirls, that they are on horses and begin to gallop around the classroom.

If you are a left-brain teacher
...you will be come frustrated because the children are not paying attention. You will demand that they sit down, sit still, be quiet and listen to the lesson.

If you are a right-brain teacher
...you will gallop, too—joining in the fun of creating a multi-sensorial right brain image—adding content from the day's lesson, whatever it might be.
Are you visiting France in the World Cultures segment? Then you'll gallop around the Eiffel tower, stopping off for a bite of cheese. Saying "Merci" to the French cheesemaker, with a fond "Au revoir!" and then counting from 1-10 in French before galloping off once again.

This level of joyful creativity we cannot train, it has to be there to begin with.

It all begins with Love.

It takes a lot to be a right brain teacher. It takes patience, unconditional love, focus, play, creativity and joy.

Our Wink and TweedleWink classes are weekly one-hour classes. Each class is information-rich.

Teachers take time each week to study the topics to be presented, practicing the languages, games and songs over and over before the new weekly lessons begin.

There's much to study beforehand!

In a TweedleWink class, we feature 8 segments:

vision enhancement (photographic intake)
vocabulary-builders
world cultures (including geography and language)
music (including classical music, rhythm, and perfect pitch training with tuning forks)
reading (phonics, whole words, love of literature)
math (dot recognition, equation play)
science
art (fine art, cultural arts and crafts)

...all using movement, play, songs and meaningful interaction with the children.

In a Wink class, we feature the 7 steps:

Alpha Relaxation
Eye Exercises
PhotoEyeplay
Mental Imaging (3-dimensional, multi-sensorial)
Observation Training
Memory Linking
Photographic Memory and Speed Reading

So, as you can see, it's a lot.

For the teacher, it's not an easy routine—it's a work-out because of everything we cover and all the constant movement! But, for the men and women who have joined our teaching team, it is truly a labor of love.

I really just want to say: God bless you, teachers. You are truly amazing.

Thank you!

Fred Rogers: A Tribute to Kindness

2009-11-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

A statue was unveiled today.

A friendly likeness of Fred Rogers now looks over the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is depicted smiling in kind greeting while tying his shoes.

When I saw the news about it, I felt compelled to write, to rejoice, to share, and to feel immense gratitude that he had the courage to offer himself so honestly to the development of children everywhere.

For those of us who grew up in the United States, his is a familiar face. More commonly known as "Mr. Rogers," Fred was a youth minister who left his vocation to become a children's television host.

It didn't matter what kind of day you might be having. Watching Mr. Rogers changed your outlook. His program was a safe, gentle oasis of love and learning. He taught many types of things—most notably how to honor yourself and others for unique differences. We were immersed in his gentleness and grandfatherly feeling.

Sadly, Mr. Rogers left this world in 2003, after having touched many, many hearts since his program debuted in 1968.

This is the remarkable part of his story...

Fred Rogers' gentle television personality was not a television personality. It was who he was. He was gentle and kind when he was off-camera, at work, and at home. He was a simple man. He believed in goodness. He believed in listening to people from the heart. And he believed that children deserved respect and love.

For those of you who may not know Mr. Rogers, here is a little video clip that was made to introduce his lifetime achievements at the Emmy Awards for daytime television in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBt8keQTPb0

When Fred stepped up to receive this award, he did so—so, so, so very humbly. He used that one moment in the spotlight to honor not himself, but others—all those who helped those in the audience and those viewing from their homes—achieve their highest potential.

Here is that clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Upm9LnuCBUM

As children, Mr. Rogers used to sing a song to us. Yes, admittedly, to all the millions—but I think that his intention was that the message be received by each one of us so that we would feel like the one special one he was speaking to...

I'm Proud of You

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud

And that you're
Learning how important you are,
How important each person you see can be.
Discovering each one's specialty
Is the most important learning.

I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you.
I hope that you're as proud as
I am proud of you.
I'm proud of you.
I hope that you are proud of you, too!

By Fred M. Rogers
© 1970

I just want to thank you, Mr. Rogers. For caring for all the millions, and for showing us how to be good parents and teachers when it came turn for us to pass on this message to the next generation.

It's our turn to look into a child's eyes and tell them how special and unique they are.

Next time, I'm in Pittsburgh, I'm going to come and give you a hug.

Gratefully,

Pamela

p.s. Mister Roger's Neighborhood is still available for children. Here is their web site:
http://pbskids.org/rogers/index.html

Photo credits: (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) People attending the dedication mingle around the statue of the late Fred Rogers of the PBS television program 'Mr. Rogers Neighborhood' in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009. The statue by renowned sculptor Robert Berks depicts the children's television pioneer changing his shoes as he had done in the beginning of his show.

LIVE TweedleWink and Wink Training in Kuala Lumpur—October, 2009

2009-10-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone!

It is autumn in Asia.

As I write, I look outside my office window and see lush Malaysian rainforest mountains. Several years ago, our office looked out on the snowy peaked Rocky Mountains of Montana. Quite a change!

I'm quietly reflecting about how this method has traveled over the whole world—East and West.

I am in awe and so grateful to see others feel the joy of right-brain learning. It is so incredible to see people shining with inner joy -- both children AND parents and teachers.

I'm so pleased to say that Level 2 LIVE training is now available!

We are open for registration.

RIGHT BRAIN KIDS
LIVE Parent-Teacher Training Event
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

TweedleWink: Level 2 • Wink: Level 2
October 9-11 (Fri-Sun) • October 12-14 (Mon-Wed)

REGISTRATION

Click here to learn more.

http://www.rightbrainkids.com/level2training/
(Prices, materials and how to register are included.)

Please join me for highly personalized training. I am hoping for a small, intimate group for both courses. A high level of nurturing can occur with small groups.

And if you cannot come, please be at ease: these courses will be videotaped and packaged for future students at a later date.

We will also have teams trained to teach it from our new training center! (Yes, one is being established here in Asia!)

If you would rather have live, one-on-one training with me, then sign up now.

I'm so honored to help anyone who comes.

Kindly,

Pamela

Please note: This live training is NOT advertised in our store or training center.

If you have NOT taken Level 1 yet and really, really, really want to attend, then just go for it!

Sign up for Level 1 now. Download the 10 hours of audio, put it in your MP3 player or iPod, listen to it on the plane! Where there is a will, there is a way.

I've made a prayer for all who come to this small gathering be here at the right time in their lives for significant positive personal change.

We can change the world, one heart at a time.

One Heart at a Time

2009-06-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

After all these years, I'm just so very proud and grateful to be able to present:

Right Brain Education
Changing the World One Heart at a Time

It's a wonderful introduction to what Right Brain Education is, how it can benefit you and your family, what TweedleWink and Wink are, important teaching and parenting tips and how you can get started very simply—no matter what age or learning style.

The book is being shipped to our distributors around the world, so please look for it. It's on the way to you!

I don't mean for this to sound like a commercial, though. I'd really like to just take a moment to say "thank you" to the many people who made this possible.

It doesn't seem fitting that only my name is on the cover—while they are my words, so much more than text is put into a book.

A dash of inspiration
The idea for this book was bubbling in the ethers for years. Parents and teachers who've read the manuals asked us to release them in book form. They wanted to share this method with family and friends. We created e-books and other digital products to meet the need. But, as many people say, there's nothing like a good book. It wasn't until just this year that our RBK president and resident visionary, WENNIE SUN, gave it a great big push! She's our literary "midwife!" You know how nice it is to have that someone who believes in you and makes it all happen? She is the one who does this for our company. She's just amazing. She inspires us to keep moving forward with a great vision of raising the level of education for children around the world.

Mindful collection
LINDA BRANSON (key founder of The Soul Learning Company) expertly fit together foundational information and stories from the classroom from our many e-books, training manuals and newsletters. She tabbed places where fresh material was needed. So, when I received the original outline of the book, not much work was needed on my end. Linda is an artist. She is connoisseur of fine art, classical music, good books, wholesome food, roasted coffee, and all aspects of nature. She sees life in a way that not many people do. It's so high. It's this level of "seeing" and patient diligence that brought the material together so nicely. I feel so blessed to have her energy in it. She is awesome.

Loving artistry
The characters drawn over the years were designed to make reading our materials more inviting... and more friendly! We had to include them! But when we went to insert the drawings into the book—we were shocked to see that they were all greatly pixilated (blocky). (The originals were created in MUCH earlier versions of Mac.)
"Da tada da..." HELEN HUANG to the rescue! Helen poured over each of the nearly 100 drawings with such care. She and her trusty assistant (my son FREDERICK, age 15) spent hours and hours and hours to smooth out the bumps to make them sparkle and shine! They did a fantastic clean-up job which required a childlike, playful quality of heart. The figures smile at you as you flip from page to page. They cheer you up! Thank you both.

Shining light
At the final push, we realized we needed a foreword. I couldn't think of anyone more appropriate to comment on this work than my beloved mentor, DR. CELESTE MILLER. Celeste is a dynamo in action. She is a mother of six, and a grandmother of 4 or 5 (I can't keep count!) and a lover of all things that raise human consciousness. Without any advance notice, she received the draft, and wrote an incredible foreword in record time. I know the academics will look at the book and see her praise as noteworthy, but truly, I look at it and feel the praise—okay, I'm trying not to cry as I write this—I'm so sappy sometimes—but I look at it as high praise from a mom who earned her Ph.D., has guided schools, written books, inspired teachers across the globe and raised six incredible talented, loving, well-balanced children... all as a single mother. When you get the thumbs up from a soul of this caliber, it's pretty amazing.

The finishing touch
JEFFREY (Wennie's husband) prepared the files for press. And I DO MEAN p-r-e-p-a-r-e-d! His eye for detail helped bring everything together—formatting, text, graphics—so that the final product is truly professional. It's breathtaking, and extremely respectful of the childlike qualities that would bother most professional editors. It is now able to stand on its own amongst other books on the bookshelf of a Borders or Barnes and Noble bookstore.

True love
Some of you may know that our family is in Asia for a time in order to support the schools and other projects that need to happen on this side of the globe. In order to make this commitment, our family has had to be separated for over a year. MARY (5), GEORGE (10) and FREDERICK (15) are here with me in Asia. WILL (18), who is about to enter college, is with my husband, BRENT, on the other side of the globe in the United States. It takes a lot of sacrifices to make a commitment like this as a family. When the earliest draft of the book was complete, I excitedly sent it to my husband and son in New York. I text them to ask how they liked it. They text back: "We're still reading..." :-) A half-day later, I had an e-mail with glowing praise and a list of typos to correct! (A truly "whole brain" response!) I want to thank my husband for being daring enough—and sharing enough—of me and my mission that he would be willing to let me follow my heart to serve others in this manner. After 22 years of marriage, this is really true, true love.

The power of a close family
I have to say that a program like this takes a lot of love and support to develop and maintain. And as you go through it yourselves, I hope that you are surrounded by authentic souls—people who simply love you because of who you are. It fuels you. It lifts you up. And if you feel surrounded by love yourself, it's easier to extend it to others. For their unconditional love and support over the years, I have to send the greatest love and gratitude to my amazing mother and step father, Jim and Susan Evans; my father, Dr. William Fielden Nelson; my brothers and their families: Major Scott, Sue, Jessica and Madison Nelson and Christopher Nelson and Maria Abraham; my beloved sister and her family: David, Sara and Jon O'Brien; and to the entire Hickein family led by Fred and Eleanor Hickein, whose lives are a constant inspiration. Thank you.

Back to the book...

You know, its amazing.

I think of all the endearing moments with the children, the inspired thoughts, the heartfelt instinctive direction and techniques that are encapsulated now in a bound book... it's a just little surreal for me. I mean, the classes are so simple, so delightful. Anyone can do it. So, why does the method seem so groundbreaking? My hope is that parents and teachers will soon figure out that it is not earthshaking material—it's easy. It is natural. It's in you already. As you feel that, and connect with it, I hope that the passion for teaching this way will be contagious and inspire others. The rush of joy that comes when a child learns something new or breaks through a learning barrier or fear or hesitancy to pull out their genius, can affect your whole day!

When we take the time to see and know our students, we connect our heart energy. We make a difference. Both teacher and student—parent and child—walk away with renewed spirits.

Does it sound corny or idealistic to think that we can change the world, one heart at a time?

Not anymore.

With so many people across the globe learning and teaching Right Brain Education, it feels possible.

It's happening.

And thank goodness for that.

Thanks for joining us! :-)

A blessing for your day.

2008-09-07T14:12:00.000-07:00

There's a beautiful Native American greeting, and I believe it is from the Apache tribe elders.

May the sun
~bring you new energy by day.
May the moon
~restore you by night.
May the rain
~wash away your worries.
May the breeze
~blow new strength into your being.
May you walk
~gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.

I thought that I would post this kind blessing to everyone who visits this blog.

It seems that the summer months were full of e-mails and calls from parents who are just trying to balance everything on their plate and needed someone to say: "Everything is going to be okay."

And, if you didn't hear that yet...

Everything is going to be okay.

As parents, our lives can be so busy. We think about what our children are eating. What they're wearing. What they're learning. How they are integrating with their environment, their teachers and their peers.

Are they loving and kind? Are they happy? Are they healthy? Are they clean? Are they safe?

We are on constant watch.

But that mindset can sometimes take us out of just being in the moment with our children. With ourselves.

So, if your intuition brought you to this page today, take a moment. Take a deep breath. Think of your children in their highest, happiest, most positive state--hugging you, laughing with you, playing with you.

Savor that.

And...

May your children
~remind you of the beauty and loveliness of your own being.

__________________________________________________________
Please note: The above picture of the Zinnia was taken from this site.

Did you know?
As a flower essence, Zinnia enhances one’s ability to rediscover the child-like qualities of playfulness, joy, delight, unconditional love, and a spirit of lighthearted innocence and adventure.

Healing the Right Brain

2008-07-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

I had it on my heart to share a story with you today.

Bradley, a 7-year-old boy, sat down for a right brain lesson. After Alpha Relaxation, we started to play a Wink Eye Exercise game. As his eyes ran across the eye exercise card, he began to grow angry. "I don't like this!" he cried.

"That's okay, Bradley." I said as I gently removed the card from his hands. "What do you want to play instead?"

"I want to play with these..." he murmured as he reached toward the policemen figurines. They were colored in blue, red and yellow for Observation Training play. But before we could get to the game, he began to fight with them—pretending that they were at war. He voiced anger from one man to another. I let him play it out for a little bit, and then I picked up one of the figurines.

"Hello, Bradley," the small policeman bellowed as he looked lifesize Bradley squarely in the eyes. "Tell me, why are you so sad?"

Bradley's eyes began to water as he told the policeman about a schoolyard bully who called him a girl at recess. The other children followed his lead, laughing and teasing him.

The little policeman patiently listened while Bradley's mother, who sat behind him, covered her mouth in a gasp.

Bradley continued to explain about how he felt when he was humiliated. Slowly, slowly, the anger began to subside.

"Bradley," the policeman finally spoke up. "I'd like to shake your hand." Bradley reached for his teeny-tiny hand and shook it.

"You were very brave," explained the policeman.

"Okay," sniffled Bradley.

"And I think that your mom wants to give you a hug," he continued.

Bradley turned to face his mother and they shared a tearful hug. The rest of the lesson was dedicated to their embrace because as soon as he was inside her arms, he just completely let go and cried.

The next lesson, Bradley was back to his cheerful self. The school yard issue had worked itself out and he was happy once again.

The right brain is all about memory and emotion. Everyday negative experiences greatly impact learning.

Love is so key.

So, what happens when a child, or a parent, has experienced trauma?

The right brain shuts down.

The limbic system—our natural defense system valiantly guarding our most vulnerable self—quickly limits access to our creative intuitive mind until things are safe and/or loving once again.

One very effective way to treat the little hurts that come our way is through talking each day. But another way is to release negative memories through a form of acupressure called EFT, or Emotional Freedom Technique. It is quick, easy to learn and easy to use in any situation—large or small.

As EFT founder, Gary Craig, shared in a recent article:

"The basic idea is simple. Every night, while children are being tucked into bed, parents should ask...

"Can you tell me about your good and bad thoughts as well as the good and bad things that happened to you today?"

Then, as the events are being told (both good and bad), the parents should lightly and lovingly either tap or gently rub the EFT points.

(You can read more of his article, entitled A "must" EFT procedure for children here.)

To download a free manual to learn EFT for yourself, your family or classroom, please go to: www.emofree.com/.)

Please Note: Right Brain Kids does not have an affiliate relationship with this site, or profit from referrals in any way. We just really, really, love this technique. We want to see all obstacles to right brain development cleared so that you and your child's potential can fully blossom and shine!

You, Me and the Honeybee...

2008-06-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

This article came across my desk today:

Memory in honeybees: What the right and left antenna tell the left and right brain from PhysOrg.com

It is widely known that the right and left hemispheres of the brain perform different tasks. Lesions to the left hemisphere typically bring impairments in language production and comprehension, while lesions to the right hemisphere give rise to deficits in the visual-spatial perception, such as the inability to recognize familiar faces.

[...]

I think this is so fascinating!

As our friends in the scientific community delve more into brain research, we may find out more about ourselves through the investigation of other life species.

Truly, we are One.

(Photo courtesy of Jon Sullivan at http://www.pdphoto.org)

If The Right Brain Could Talk...

2008-05-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

...it would sound a lot like Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

She has firsthand knowledge of the splendor, the peace, the bliss of the right brain state of mind.

You see, one terrible day, Dr. Taylor, a 37-year-old Harvard neuroscientist, had a debilitating stroke. Afterward, she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Over the next six years, because of her understanding of how the brain works, her respect for the cells composing her human form, and an amazingly strong, loving and patient mother, Jill completely recovered. (Hooray for Jill's mother and all mothers who never give up!)

And now she has something very special to share.

In Jill's book My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, she beautifully outlines the insight she gained into the unique functions of the right and left halves of her brain.

From her web site (http://www.drjilltaylor.com):

"Having lost the categorizing, organizing, describing, judging and critically analyzing skills of her left brain, along with its language centers and thus ego center, Jill’s consciousness shifted away from normal reality. In the absence of her left brain’s neural circuitry, her consciousness shifted into present moment thinking whereby she experienced herself 'at one with the universe.'"

This "oneness" is the innocent child-like state that the right brain calls home. It is precious. It thrives on love. And it can remain a reality for all children growing up into adulthood as long as we continue to pay attention to how we treat them, how we speak to them, how we care and tend to their needs.

That "right brain state of awareness" is where true wisdom exists.

If you know me, you know that right brain learning is not all about speed reading and photographic memory--it is almost an after-thought once the right brain is wide open and able to express itself. But through left-brain cultural habits, we measure it, we push for it, and then we lose the prize.

But if you place love and kindness as your first priority, then all else will follow. And it will do more than just helping your child ace his (her) math exams. He (she) could change the world through love.

Jill teaches us through her own example how we might more readily exercise our own right hemispheric circuitry with the intention of helping all human beings become more humane.

She shares:

“I believe the more time we spend running our deep inner peace circuitry, then the more peace we will project into the world, and ultimately the more peace we will have on the planet.”

Albert Einstein once said, "I must be willing to give up what I am in order to become what I will be."

Jill certainly did.

We are so inspired by her courage and the gift she has been able to give us through her personal journey of healing.

Your right brain is speaking...are you listening?

To learn more about Dr. Jill and her personal journey, please visit:

(1) Dr. Jill's website: http://www.drjilltaylor.com
(2) Oprah's web site (Jill's 4-part interview will be aired through May this month!)
(3) Dr. Jill's incredible presentation at TED http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/229

...

On a personal note, we would like to thank Dr. Jill for permission to use her photographs in this blog. Her encouraging words put wind in our sails!

Right Brain Education in America

2008-04-28T16:04:00.000-07:00

Many of our Right Brain students and customers hail from around the world, so I won't take too much of your time pulling you into American politics. But because education is a major issue in the election, Right Brain Education seems to be popping up as a possible solution to making education more effective for every type of learner.

The US "No Child Left Behind" government policy has, sadly, left many children (and frustrated teachers) down. Politicians meet everyday American families, teachers and children from state to state. They inevitably see and hear the effects of this policy and have to address it.

Enter, the right brain.

"Education is only a true education if we're developing both the left and right brain of the student," says Mike Huckabee (former Arkansas governor) when addressing education during a live teleconference. "The left brain is great for math and science and all the logical forms of education, but knowing what to do with what a student has learned is as important as what they've learned. Music and art, teaching the stimulation of the creative side, is absolutely critical to a total well-rounded education.

"Music students do 20 points better on SAT scores than nonmusic students. They learn foreign languages better," the former governor and presidential candidate said. "Take a room of 5-year-olds and give them a piece of paper and crayon and every one of them draws a picture. … When he's 15 that kid won't draw the picture or sing the song. Somehow the education system beat out of him or her the creativity that was innate in that student."

What Mr. Huckabee did not say is that when the right brain is FULLY utilized, children benefit from speed learning using their creative, photographic mind to scan information much faster and more joyfully than when it's continually repeated through left-brain drills.

An educational system infused with right brain techniques will truly leave no child left behind--and, as Reverend Jeremiah Wright rightly addressed in his NACCP address last night: it can close the gap on inequality in education as a whole.

Please read this excerpt from his speech.

"Dr. Hale showed us that in comparing African-American children and European-American children in the field of education, we were comparing apples and rocks.

"And in so doing, we kept coming up with meaningless labels like EMH, educable mentally handicapped, TMH, trainable mentally handicapped, ADD, attention deficit disorder.

"And we were coming up with more meaningless solutions like reading, writing and Ritalin. Dr. Hale's research led her to stop comparing African-American children with European-American children and she started comparing the pedagogical methodologies of African-American children to African children and European-American children to European children. And bingo, she discovered that the two different worlds have two different ways of learning. European and European-American children have a left brained cognitive object oriented learning style and the entire educational learning system in the United States of America. Back in the early '70s, when Dr. Hale did her research was based on left brained cognitive object oriented learning style. Let me help you with fifty cent words.

"Left brain is logical and analytical. Object oriented means the student learns from an object. From the solitude of the cradle with objects being hung over his or her head to help them determine colors and shape to the solitude in a carol in a PhD program stuffed off somewhere in a corner in absolute quietness to absorb from the object. From a block to a book, an object. That is one way of learning, but it is only one way of learning.

"African and African-American children have a different way of learning.

"They are right brained, subject oriented in their learning style. Right brain that means creative and intuitive. Subject oriented means they learn from a subject, not an object. They learn from a person. Some of you are old enough, I see your hair color, to remember when the NAACP won that tremendous desegregation case back in 1954 and when the schools were desegregated. They were never integrated. When they were desegregated in Philadelphia, several of the white teachers in my school freaked out. Why? Because black kids wouldn't stay in their place. Over there behind the desk, black kids climbed up all on them.

"Because they learn from a subject, not from an object. Tell me a story. They have a different way of learning. Those same children who have difficulty reading from an object and who are labeled EMH, DMH and ADD. Those children can say every word from every song on every hip hop radio station half of who's words the average adult here tonight cannot understand. Why? Because they come from a right-brained creative oral culture like the (greos) in Africa who can go for two or three days as oral repositories of a people's history and like the oral tradition which passed down the first five book in our Jewish bible, our Christian Bible, our Hebrew bible long before there was a written Hebrew script or alphabet. And repeat incredulously long passages like Psalm 119 using mnemonic devices using eight line stanzas. Each stanza starting with a different letter of the alphabet. That is a different way of learning. It's not deficient, it is just different. Somebody say different. I believe that a change is going to come because many of us are committed to changing how we see other people who are different."

Bravo, Reverend Wright. Bravo, Mike Huckabee.

Children desperately need a new way to learn.

Let's lead the way!

---

Secret Huckabee Turns Out To Be Clintonesque
By JOSH GERSTEIN
Staff Reporter of the Sun
January 3, 2008
http://www2.nysun.com/article/68832

Transcript of Jeremiah Wright's speech to NAACP
Given April 27, 2008
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/28/wright.transcript/

Einstein DID Use Flashcards

2008-04-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while I come across this book in a store or while browsing on-line.

Have you seen it?

It's called: "Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less." It was written by a team of fellow-female authors: Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, and Diane Eyer.

Now, you may think that because Right Brain Education for little ones includes the technique of flashcards, that I would begin bashing this book. But, (1) I try not to bash and (2) I actually agree with a lot of what they've written.

ABOUT FLASHCARDS

I agree that you need to play more and memorize less.

Traditional approaches to flashcards involve a lot of lessons throughout the day. If you've done this (I did!) then you soon discover how little time and energy you have left for other things... like enjoying your child and playfully just experiencing life together throughout the day.

I once worked at a Montessori school that used flashcards in their 0-3 program. After presenting educational cards regularly 2-3 times per day, with much updating from showing to showing, we stressed both children and the teachers alike. And the emotional climate in the nurseries was unhappy, to be polite. We soon learned that while we were seeing results with some children, there was such a thing as "over-stimulation" and we stepped back to re-evaluate what could be done.

The result was a gentler, kinder program where teachers checked out 15 sets of cards (or so) per week instead of updating and reorganizing that plan every day. So, no fancy schedule--just straight forward: 150 cards per week. We also presented the cards once a day, in the morning during "circle time."

To our surprise and great delight, instead of compromising results (as was feared according to what we had read), results were stronger and more consistent from child to child, classroom to classroom. Babies remembered using the joyful right side of the brain--not the repetitive, more conscious, left side of the brain.

IN SHORT: in less than 10 minutes a day, we could boost learning and increase time for free play and one-on-one bonding with the children. Memorization this way is unconscious fun, not conscious stress.

ABOUT EINSTEIN

But, I do not agree with the idea that: Einstein Never Used Flaschards. Because I believe that he did and it's what led to his brilliant discoveries later in life.

You see, when Albert Einstein was only one, in 1880, his family moved to Munich, where his father and his uncle founded a company, Elektrotechnische Fabrik J. Einstein & Cie. (This company manufactured electrical equipment, providing the first lighting for the Oktoberfest and cabling for the Munich suburb of Schwabing.) According to Einstein's mother, for as long as she could remember Albert would spend hours upon hours in his father's office looking through technical periodicals and magazines. He waited for the mail each day in order to be the first to devour the newest editions.

Each booklet, each leaflet, and every bit of information he heard bantered back and forth from uncle to father were recorded as pictoral or auditory images--much like flashcards.

THE REAL BABY EINSTEIN

At the same time, little Albert's speech was seriously delayed. Some reports say that he could not speak coherently until age 9. While some believe that he was "developmentally delayed" to this point, our theory is that the left hemisphere (responsible for speech) was not yet effectively connected.

According to our theories, that put him in an absorbent "right brain state" for nine long years. In this state he was absorbing thousands of information bytes per second without the filter of the logical left. We would use this pre-language state as an opportunity to input as much information as possible.

You see, we focus upon flashcards during the first years of life while the right brain is wide open for input. We give flashcards and other types of visual, auditory and tactile information to a child before the left brain--the more conscious side which filters information--begins to develop. When we do, the child's mind creates a mental library that is immense. The connections made within the brain at that point determine the future learning capacity of the child.

And it's not what is consciously remembered.

It's the number of CONNECTIONS that have been made within the brain using data received during that key time of life.

Imagine.

Einstein was in the key absorbent time of life for NINE YEARS.

...and during that time he was exposed to the very latest in technological thought.

So, why are we so surprised that his many contributions to physics include:
- special theory of relativity (mechanics and electromagnetism)
- general theory of relativity (extended the principle of relativity)
- relativistic cosmology
- capillary action
- critical opalescence
- classical problems of statistical mechanics and their application to quantum theory
- an explanation of the Brownian movement of molecules
- atomic transition probabilities
- the quantum theory of a monatomic gas
- thermal properties of light with low radiation density
- a theory of radiation including stimulated emission
- the conception of a unified field theory
- the geometrization of physics

If you were going to design a flashcard program for a future physics genius, what would YOU use?

It couldn't have been more perfectly designed.

NEW! Right Brain-Left Brain Research

2008-04-02T22:15:00.000-07:00

A team of scientists from UCL have just published additional information about how the right and left brains differ--at the cellular level.

As many of you know, Right Brain Education is based upon the belief that each hemisphere is responsible for a different type of mental processing--and that only the left-brain is used widely in the schools of today.

Left side of the brain = analytical thought (linear, logical, methodical)
Right side of the brain = creative thought (intuition, inspiration, photo-memory)

Right Brain Education teaches how to involve the dormant right brain into any academic program and setting. But in order to do so, solid scientific research must back what we've seen for years in the classroom.

Research released to the public on Monday, explains for the first time how neurons are hard wired DIFFERENTLY in each hemisphere.

It's very exciting!

Read more: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/bc-nhw032708.php
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SOURCE: Brain asymmetry is encoded at the level of axon terminal morphology
Isaac H Bianco, Matthias Carl, Claire Russell, Jonathan DW Clarke and Stephen W Wilson
Neural Development
http://www.neuraldevelopment.com/

Right Brain Kids...a right brain business.

2008-03-27T15:42:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. The word "business" oftentimes seems synonymous with cut-throat, impersonal sales techniques.

But Right Brain Kids is different.

Right Brain Kids began over ten years ago as a circle of parents and teachers. We're not businesspeople. We are a collection of people looking for a wholesome, loving, accelerated learning solution for children of every age.

Right Brain Education

You see, during the 80's and 90's, we discovered something very special. Years of blending different educational curricula in an eclectic Montessori school yielded an approach to learning called Right Brain Education (RBE).

early reading and writing
early, solid grasp of math
loving communication and social skills
three-dimensional visualization
photographic memory
perfect pitch
love of learning
accelerated creativity in art, music and science
self-esteem and confidence

Sadly, the school closed in 1997. However, we were determined as a group to make sure that this method continued to thrive. And it has. We created many businesses--Oatmeal Angels, The Soul Learning Company, and now Right Brain kids--to teach, train and develop as many materials as possible to meet the growing needs of other families and schools who want to implement RBE in classrooms and homes across the globe.

Right Brain Kids--a right brain business in a left-brain business world.

At Right Brain Kids, we strive to have a business/learning center that is creative, flexible, and fun! And because we are a small collection of family-based businesses, we can do what larger corporations cannot: we still have the ability to listen to and meet your individual needs. Students and customers are like family here.

Join the fun!