Our post today is from invited guest, Dr. Stephen C. Miller of Seeing Smarter. As a developmental optometrist, his information will help your child see smarter and even be smarter!

Did you know that we see with our brains, not just our eyes? As you get better strategies for raising smarter children, eye training can very well be one your child needs for success in school, sports and life.

When we look at something, its image is focused on the back of our eyes, like on the film in a camera. But it’s our brain that “develops” it into the picture we see. Seeing better can mean being smarter.

As children grow, many never develop the vision skills needed to succeed in school. As a result, they have difficulty with reading, learning, and even sports due to problems getting their eyes and brain to work together.

It’s not always easy to pinpoint an exact reason why a child isn’t doing well in school either.

Frequently, learning difficulties are due to a combination of problems. But when a child struggles in school or performs below their potential, a hidden vision problem may actually be the cause.

You don’t want to confuse vision and eyesight though, because they are very different. Eyesight is simply the ability to see clearly, and vision is the ability to make meaning out of what you see. This is why some kids can “see” with 20/20 on a distance eyesight chart, but still be poor readers. Their vision, or ability to make meaning at nearpoint is often not even tested in school.

Good Vision is Fundamental to Learning

A vision problem can make it harder for children to learn. The extra effort they use to compensate for poor vision makes it difficult to remember and understand what they see.

The harder they try, the greater the chance they will develop symptoms of discomfort and fatigue. Behavior problems can also occur because kids are frustrated and want to do well, but don’t understand why they can’t.

Training the Eyes and Brain “To See”

A program of eye exercises called vision therapy can train the eyes and brain to work together more effectively. Vision therapy, also called visual training, is used to change and improve how a child sees.

Eliminating vision problems can make it easier for a child to read and learn. Many athletes take eye training or vision therapy programs and credit it as part of the reason they win gold medals.

Vision therapy, or eye training, helps a child gain vital vision skills. It uses many different visual activities, practiced under controlled learning conditions. The training activities provide feedback, allowing a child to monitor his or her own performance and respond appropriately.

Some activities may seem more like games than therapy. They can involve tasks like following a swinging ball with the eyes while balancing on a walking rail, or tracing pictures while wearing special red-green glasses that allow each eye to see only parts of the total picture.

Other training activities use more complex equipment like electronic display boards with randomly flashing lights, stereoscopic viewers that present different images to each eye, and computer based programs that involve 3-D tasks. These eye exercises helps kids unlearn inefficient or poorly developed vision skills and gain improved ones.

Seeing Smarter – Developing Vision for Learning

Any child who is having difficulty in school needs to be evaluated for vision problems. A comprehensive vision examination can either rule them out as a contributing factor or identify vision problems that may affect the child’s ability to learn.

If a vision problem is diagnosed and treated, the child will be able to perform more effectively in the classroom.

Parents interested in learning how they can help their child “see smarter” should check out the resources available at http://www.seeingsmarter.com

Sections on this site are dedicated to infants, toddlers and school-age kids.

Seeing Smarter provides the tools every parent needs to recognize, understand, and respond to a variety of vision concerns that affect how children see and learn.

Note from Pat Wyman: Thank you for this wealth of information about seeing better and being smarter, Dr. Miller. We hope you’ll send us more articles to put on http://www.raisingsmarterchildren.com  and we know that our readers will definitely seek out proper vision and eyesight screenings through sites like http://www.covd.org and http://www.oepf.org

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Studer, M.D.

Remember, check out the back to school information on how to get A’s at http://www.howtolearn.com/coachingstudents2.html

In a new study by the University of Sydney, persistent ear infections can influence language and literacy later in life.

As you look for new ways to raise smarter children, it’s important to take preventative measures when it comes to ear health. Language is formed in the early years of your child’s life, and frequent ear infections often cause language and literacy delays, as any reading specialist will tell you.

Read more on the ear infection and literacy study…

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Pat Wyman

Founder, HowToLearn.com

O.K. I admit it.  My home and office get cluttered too.  It makes life interesting, but I notice far less productive.

Especially when it comes to finding what I need, and then I make excuses. And so do my kids – even though they’re “all grown up”…

Are you frustrated too, and can’t seem to get the clutter cleaned up?  Do you wonder if your kids will clean up their rooms?

I did too, so here are some of the best tips ever - from a self-confessed
clutter collector.

They are  none too soon for anyone who wants to finally figure out a permanent way to get a clearer head and a cleaner home or workspace, while raising smarter children (who are neat and organized) at the same time!

And you just might want to hit that forward button if you have any
friends who are struggling with the same problem in their family…

Warmly,

Pat Wyman

Be sure and visit our http:.//www.HowToLearn.com site for 52 free Instant Learning Tips and a free Personal Learning Styles Inventory to find out how you or your child learn best.

There are so many great ways you can teach your child the alphabet, and I especially love this one – they get to eat the letters when you’re finished with this smarter child activity…

Get some gelatin in your child’s favorite flavor (if it’s unsweetened, you can add some apple or grape juice to make it taste better and be healthier), then chill it a long pan.

Find some cookie cutter letters and share the fun of cutting out the letters.

Once your child has named a letter, he or she can eat the letter.

This is such a simple game, but includes all the senses and learning styles.

Enjoy!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way!

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Remember to visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for more resources and tips on raising smarter children.

If you have comments on teaching your child to learn the alphabet, and some fun ways you’ve used, submit your comment below and we’ll publish it!

Want to teach your child different parts of speech the easy way?  Have your child write a poem about a special pet…

Get a large piece of construction paper and some markers and you’re set —

Have your child draw a very large star with one color and name the animal at the top of the star.

In the left point of the star, write adjectives which describe the pet’s size.

On the right point of the star, have your child write verbs that end in ‘ing’ telling what the pet does.

On the bottom part of the star, write nouns about what the pet likes to eat and in the middle of the star, have your child write adjectives describing the pet’s personality, or, words to describe how the pet looks to your child.

Voila, you’ve just shown your child several parts of speech, and you can put their poem and drawing on the refrigerator -Wow!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis, M.D.

Got another ’smarter child’ activity to share – we’d love to have you post it in the comments section and we’ll put in on our blog.

Also, hit the ’share this button’ and send these smarter child activities around to other friends in the social media network.

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for more information and resources on raising a smarter child.

In the nature vs. nurture debate, we think doing activities with your child will help you raise a smarter child in every way.

The next few posts are devoted to things you can easily do with your child…

If you want to teach your child about how to ask great quality questions, here’s one way:

Get a tape recorder, paper and pencil and ask your child to interview you, or another adult about their favorite year.

Make sure the questions include  who, what, where, when, and why, just as you see in every good newspaper article.

Once the interview is over, help your child create a book of his or her favorite memories by having you ask the same type of questions.

That way, your child gets a lifelong keepsake, and learns about quality questions during a fun process!

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Have an activity to share?  Hit the share this button below, or make a comment and we’ll post it.

Also, visit our sister site, http://www.HowToLearn.com for free learning tips, and inventories in reading, phonics, learning styles and more…

  Do you have a child between 9 and 22, who you wish would be more motivated to learn? 

Last year when we asked parents and teachers to tell us their single biggest problem raising a smarter child and helping their child learn, the answer was overwhelmingly – motivation and concentration… 

If you notice that your child is tough to motivate and has trouble with concentration, these are just 2 of the 10 reasons why Motivation Software For Students was created. 

In our quest to help children and adults learn and be motivated to learn, this software gets our highest rating. 

If your child is a chronic under-achiever, we think you will find that this Motivation Software is something you are going to want to consider having, in order to help your child.

Please take 30 seconds and read this testimonial that just came in from Marc and Lori of Wales, Wisconsin:  

” We are seeing really great results with both our children.
 
Our daughter is a senior in high school and has been struggling with senior-itis and the software has really helped re regain her focus.  We feel it is going to be the reason for her having such a successful senior year. 

Thanks so much. The struggles and stresses are being taken away now. 

Our son is in the 8th grade and has some learning  disabilities.  We are seeing  great improvement in his reading skills as a result of the software.  
He has gained a lot of confidence all of a sudden when it comes to writing assignments as wells as his reading. 

Needless to say, we are very grateful for the opportunity to try the software.  We are recommending it to everyone.  Thank you again for this opportunity.” 

Remember, every child is smart in their own way,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis M.D.

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for 52 free instant learning tips and more information on how to help your child be motivated and successful in school.

One way to help raise a smarter child on the sports field is to listen and encourage whenever possible.

A new study, in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, shows that social support improves sports scores.

Read on for more…

The full story on the link between better sports performance and social support is here:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501110212.htm

Remember, every child is smart!

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis, M.D.

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for more tips and resources to help raise a smarter child in school, home and life. If you’re looking to help raise grades and test scores in under 30 days, you may want to read about the new learning styles discovery at http://www.howtolearn.com/amazinggrades.html

Thank you for sending us your comments and sharing the posts with others in the social media community!

Hello Dear Readers,

Yesterday, the topic was exercise and how it can actually help make smarter kids.  The recent University of Illinois study showed that kids who exercise have higher grades and reading comprehension scores.

The bad news is that many schools are reducing or eliminating recess time.  So here’s a few exercises you can teach your kids at home, and they can do them inside the classroom.

It’s always a great idea to talk with your child’s teacher first, and show the study results so it’s easy to make the learning – exercise connection.  That way, your child’s teacher is more likely to allow the kids to do these exercises in class.

1.  As we mentioned yesterday, make sure the whole brain is engaged by doing things to cross the midline of the body.  If your child is seated, simply have him or her cross the midline of the body – first with one hand, then the other.  Kids can use their feet too – moving one foot to the left, then one to the right.

2. Our favorite P.E. teachers say to do jumping jacks or march in place to get the circulation moving and expend those calories.  You get brain benefits too, because those great feel good neurotransmitters are released.

3. Have your child ask to pass out papers or books so they are up and moving more often.

4. Ask your child’s teacher if kids can stand up and sit down several times during each class. This only takes a minute or so, but the time really adds up if done all day long.

5. Shoulder shrugs help kids and adults release neck tension – try them yourself.  I just did them now, while writing this post and feel great!

We’d love to hear from you and have you add some more indoor exercise ideas!

Visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com for 52 free Instant Learning tips and more to help your child succeed in learning everything.

Remember, every child is smart!

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis, M.D.

Share this post by hitting the ’share this’ button below.

When I speak to parents and school administrators, one of the many proven success strategies that comes up for raising smarter children is exercise.  In the book, there’s a whole section devoted to showing kids how to be brain and body smart, which quickly raises grades, test scores, and improves memory.

Yesterday, researchers at the University of Illinois, confirmed what other studies have shown for years,   “There is a positive link between physical activity, attention and achievement in children.”

The study showed that kids performed a full grade level better in reading comprehension after exercise!

It only makes sense.  How do you feel after exercise?  Those great feel good neurotransmitters are released in your brain, and your whole outlook on life improves.  Imagine what it does for kids, many of whom sit in rows of desks in a classroom for hours at a time.

There are so many benefits to exercise, just one of which is improved memory, attention and better grades.  How about the affect on those rising obesity levels?  Kids are healthier with more exercise.

So, it’s no wonder that the National PTA and other parent organizations are outraged over the fact that nearly 40% of elementary schools are reducing or have already eliminated recess, in favor of academics.

While science tells us otherwise, we’re actuallly dumbing down our kids simply by taking away one of the very things that can actually improve their grades and make them ’smarter’.

We all want smarter kids, but is taking away their exercise time the way to do it?  What do you think?

Tomorrow:  Exercises your kids can do in the house and even in school…right before a test, to engage their whole brain.

Remember, all kids are smart.

Warmly,

Pat Wyman and Erin Mavredakis, M.D.

Send a comment on this post, and we’ll let others how you feel.  Hit the ’share this’ button to send this message along to others in the social media community. 

If you’d like 52 free learning tips, including some exercise strategies you can even use indoors, visit our sister site at http://www.HowToLearn.com and click on the free learning tips at the top of the page.