Little Musician review

I have been using Little Musician with my children for about a week now, and I wanted to give a full review since the product is on sale until September 2nd.  You can read my full review on my other site here:

http://www.teaching-children-music.com/2012/08/little-musician-review.html

Little Musician Review

Little Musician is available at www.brillkids.com 

Get 10% off with affiliate coupon code BKAFF13180

Little Musician is a new software-based curriculum designed to give babies through preschoolers a foundational understanding of music.

A little back story

A few years ago, I remember reading this excerpt from Glenn Doman’s “How to give your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge”

“Babies can learn absolutely anything that you can present to them in an honest and factual way and they don’t give a fig whether it is encyclopedic knowledge, reading words, math, or nonsense for that matter.

They’d prefer great things—reading, math, all the presidents of the United States, the nations of Europe, the great art of the world, the song birds of the eastern states, the snakes of the world, the kings and queens of England, the great music of the world, the international traffic signs, the dinosaurs, the state flowers, or any of the millions of fascinating things there are to know on this old earth.

But they’ll even take nonsense if that’s all they can get.”

Despite the humor in the last line, this quote stirred me deeply.  I immediately questioned to myself as to how I could teach my children the great things of the world.  “The great music of the world.”  What does that mean?  As a trained musician, I felt a duty to succeed in that aspect of my children’s training.

So far, it has been a haphazard approach.

I’ve checked out books at the library about composers.  I developed “Beginning Rhythm” with Doman’s philosophy in mind.  I’ve played classical music excerpts to my children.  I’ve even developed a solfege manipulative system that I will be releasing within a couple of weeks.  Music is one area that I really want to succeed in teaching my children well.  I have a lot of resources to do it, from instruments, books, and recordings, and I have the skills to do it well.  So far, our music program has been fairly good.  However, it feels like I'm taking a stab in the dark to get it done.

Backing up a little, I want to look at my reading program with the kids.  I worked very hard to make materials to teach my oldest how to read.  I read several books, I made flash cards, I tried different approaches, and materials.  It wasn’t until I purchased “Your Baby Can Read” that we got our foot in the door, and then, I still had a lot of work to help him get to the stage where he was independently reading books.  Now, in hindsight, I look back and I can see what worked and what didn’t, and I felt more prepared to teach my other children.  Everything that worked was in BrillKids reading system, “Little Reader”.  I bought it, I love it, and I’m amazed at the scope of the program.  I just have to push play for a few minutes every day, and my younger children will learn to read.  I’m a busy mom with 4 little kids, and I need that help if I’m going to be consistent with their reading progress.

Why little Musician is a good fit for our family

Consistency.  That is what my music program was lacking.  Not only that, but after reading some of the success stories of other parents in the BrillKids forum, I realized that I may be cutting my own children short as to the scope of our program.  I had to eat a little humble pie, and admit that while I do have the resources and training, I could use a little help.

Little Musician has daily lessons that are short, thorough, and taught through the right-brain education methods espoused by Glenn Doman.  The lesson presents musical bits of intelligence in a fast paced, engaging way.  My children love it!

Each lesson teaches bits in the following categories: 

Chord recognition (similar to the Eugichi’s perfect pitch program), Music Appreciation (an exceprt from famous musical literature), note sounds on the staff, solfege, instrument recognition (including an avatar playing the instrument, to show how it is played), ear training, and steady beat practice sessions.  Famous composers are also taught during the course.

There is one lesson for every day, but because of the nature of the software, I can show the same lesson to my children twice and it will be different every time.  For example, Lesson 4 teaches the concept of “Ludwig van Beethoven”.  A voice says his name, we see a picture, and hear a 5-10 second sample of one of his famous pieces.  However, what picture is shown, which voice says the name, and which sample we hear changes every time.  The concept of “Beethoven” repeats throughout the course, so there is plenty of opportunity for children to get the whole picture, but I like doing music twice a day for now, and I love the variety the software allows.

At the end of every lesson, the lesson takes you to a resource page with links to YouTube to supplement each lesson.  Where ever possible, the musicians demonstrating a concept are children.  We have really enjoyed this supplement, and I appreciate all of the moms in the beta testing team that volunteered their time to help find these videos.  (I should have but didn't.)

I love solfege and ear training.  I think they are important.  I didn’t learn these things until I took Aural Skills in college.  Many of my fellow students hated these classes, and I’ll admit that it was a lot of work for me as well.  But I never hated it, I loved it.  It offered a fresh perspective, a paradigm shift, if you will, for how I listened to music, for how I internalized it.  Then I had the opportunity to internship with a superb children’s choir, where I saw how young children could thrive on those basic aural skills.  I vowed that my future children would have that opportunity.  Little Musician is worth it for the ear training alone.

Solfege.  That brings me to another point about Little Musician.  I was a member of the beta testing group for Little Musician, and I remember that there was a lot of discussion on whether the program should teach “Movable Do”, or “Fixed Do.”  What each is, and the pros and cons of each, are beautifully explained in BrillKids’ free e-book, “Everything you need to know about Teaching your Young Child Music.”

I was disappointed when they decided to teach “Fixed Do” with this program.  I see the merits of both, and have been trained in both, but I prefer “Movable Do” for my children.  “Little Musician” is an international product.  Their audience spans six continents, and they come from many different cultures.  That were sitting in the hot spot, trying to please everybody in the forum, but ultimately they had to make a choice.

"Moveable Do” is more prevalent in the United States.  I had a lot of things going on in my life, preparing for a new baby and what have you, and I stopped being active in the forum when they chose “Fixed Do”, thinking the product would be incompatible for my children.  The product was released last June, and with school starting, I re-examined the product for my children.  

Little Musician has two semesters of content, with the first semester focusing on “C Major”.  In C Major, it doesn’t matter whether you teach “Fixed Do” or “Movable Do”, as it is the same.  Also, because you receive the software with the program, I can easily edit the content in the second semester to fit my needs.  I can record my own voice singing the scale, and tell the computer to use my singing instead of their voice recordings.  I can change the note heads used.  I can add my own sound clips.  All of this is optional, but for me, the ability to customize the software was a great bonus.  In the second semester, I will leave 95 percent of each lesson as it is, and I can tweak the rest of the lesson to reflect my personal preferences.  I really like that.

Why Little Musician may not be a good fit for you

If you have a preference for Moveable Do, you will either have to tweak the system like I will, or eliminate portions of each lesson in the second semester.  I say it’s better to learn “Fixed Do” than “No Do”.  It really doesn’t matter that much which system your child learns, there really are benefits to both.

Another point.  Little Musician has a broad spectrum of music appreciation skills that are beneficial to any age group.  I’m learning new things with my children, even with my college degree in music.  I’m a little rusty in my aural skills, I’ll admit it.  I’m making my husband listen to the lessons too.  It’s good for him.  However, it is important to note that Little Musician was created with the baby and toddler in mind.  The names of the composers are presented in a way to help young children read the words, with an arrow pointing left to right.  Syllables are also color coded to help young children divide the word, reinforcing phonics.  This is fantastic if your child is very young like mine, but you may want to tweak the programming for an older child if they perceive that aspect to be “baby-ish”.

But speaking of baby-ish, there is a greater offence.  In the clap-along session, the avatar is a toddler boy or girl, clearly depicted in a diaper.  You can turn the picture off, but you still see said avatar at the end of the lesson, acting as a conductor, wearing a tuxedo shirt with the diaper and bare legs showing underneath.  It’s cute if your student is a young child, or if they are older watching on as their younger sibling does the program.  But for the 8-12 crowd, it screams “baby product”, and they may not want to have anything to with the program.  It just wouldn’t be cool.  I’m going to give BrillKids that feedback, in hopes that they may add an older avator to the program.  That’s all it needs to be a great program for these older children.  For that matter, the material in little musician would be great for high-schoolers, or college students.  Even mommies with a musical background like me.  But taking it all in with a diapered avatar is a bit much for some to swallow.  My husband joked that if you replaced the baby avatar with a gothic teenager, and switched out the nursery rhymes for punk rock, you would have guitar hero.  The steady beat concept taught is the same.

The only other reason it may not be a good fit is the price.  It’s a premium product.  Yes, it’s only a computer software, but it took 4 years of development, and then 6 months of beta testing to get it where it is today.  A lot of parents volunteered to gather YouTube videos to supplement each lesson, as well as offer suggestions for music clips in the appreciation portions of the lesson.  It takes a lot of work to create digital products.  I should know, my husband does it for a living, and I’ve dabbled in it myself.  That work has a cost, and it is reflected in Little Musician’s $199 price tag.  I came up with the money by deciding not to enroll my preschooler in the local children’s choir.  I figure that it will give my children a solid foundation in music that will save money/time teaching these concepts to my children later on.  It’s a great deal really, but it’s still not cheap.  Unless you’re rich, it will take some budgeting to add Little Musician to your resources.  Only you can make that decision for your family.

In Summary

As a musician, and an Early Learning advocate, I whole-heartedly give Little Musician 5 stars.  It’s essentially my dream product for my kids.  They love it, and so do I.  There are a lot of music products and curriculums out there, many of them very good, but I really do think that this is one of the better ones.  Daily lessons, and you just need to push play.  Technology plays a big part in our emerging world culture, and I think that media is especially important for music as it is aural in nature.  Music can’t be fully experienced in a book.  It can be experienced in the head only after the learner has heard the music itself.  Little Musician gives young children that aural experience.  I highly recommend Little Musician.

Adventures in Dvorak

First of all, this is not a music post, and I'm not going to talk about the composer except for this disclaimer.  I'm going to talk about typing.

My husband is a computer software engineer.  He spends a lot of time on the computer.  About two years ago, he started to experience symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome.  His hands would cramp up while he was typing.  As he has always been fascinated by ergonomic products and procedures, he started researching what he could do to make typing more comfortable for him.  His research led him to Dvorak.

There is a lot on the web about what Dvorak is, how and why it was developed, studies comparing Dvorak to QWERTY.  We ultimately decided to go with Dvorak, and we haven't looked back.  Michael's cramps mostly stopped, although his pinkies get more tired as Dvorak puts them to work a little more.  I joined him, and after about a month of adapting through sight-typing (we put stickers on our keyboard), I was up to my old speed.  I make fewer typing errors now, and I love it.

So then comes the question, "What are we going to do for our children?"  Oh boy.  We have discussed this at great length.  The biggest advantage to QWERTY is that qwerty is standard.  Everywhere you go, if you use a public computer, it will be in qwerty.  There are myriads of typing programs for children designed for qwerty.  Shortcuts on the computer like copy and paste were designed for QWERTY.  After we became proficient in Dvorak, we discovered Colemak, which leaves common shortcuts where they are, as well as a few other keys.  They say that Colemak is easier to switch to from QWERTY than Dvorak is, but that Dvorak is easier to learn from scratch.

Think about this for a minute.  Look on your home-row and see how many words you can make with the letters on your home-row.

ASDFGHJKL;

Wow, one of them isn't even a letter.  How many vowels?  One.  On Wheel of Fortune, at the end they give you "RSTLNE" because those are the most commonly used letters.  How many on the home row?  Two, S and L.

With Dvorak, you have all of the vowels on the home row.

AOEUIDHTNS

There are a lot more words that you can make with the home-row keys.  All of the vowels are in the left hand, and "RSTLN" is all in the right hand, with three on the home-row.

Colemak may be more efficient, but that month of switching over was a pain, and neither Michael or I type enough to make it worth the effort.  Which is better?  It's a toss-up.  I have plugged in a few of my blog posts in a keyboard layout analyzer, and Dvorak wins over Colemak for my typing/language habits.  We are staying put.

*Edit:  For kicks and giggles, here are the results of this blog post:  (I use Simplified Dvorak).  It's tiny, but Dvorak and Colemak are close at 65%, and Qwerty falls far behind at 52%.  I don't know anything about Capewell.

Will we do our children a disservice by teaching them an unconventional way of typing?  Well, that's up for debate.  On our home computers, we use Dvorak, and where we homeschool, his exposure to other computers will be slim.  The local library has only mouse-driven programs for kids.  Starfall is the same way.  Michael and I still hunt and peck QWERTY on the iPad on a daily basis, but that kind of typing is different enough from Dvorak that we both can sub-consciously make the switch easily and well.

However, while we discussed the logistics, and pros and cons, there was a problem happening for our little boy that we only recently noticed.  I had Dvorak stickers on my keyboard, but the keyboard died.  Michael pulled out an old one for me and I have been using it.  Since I could already touch-type Dvorak well when this happened, we didn't worry about buying stickers again.

Big mistake.

Peter uses my computer.  He is a bright child and knows how to navigate well with a mouse.  He knows where the search engine is.  Over the last few months, I have come to my computer noticing several searches for "ttttttttttttttttttppppppppppfffffffff"   Or "tpfyr".  I didn't think much of it, thinking that the younger kids had been banging on the computer.  Then one day, I noticed Peter being very frustrated on the computer.  "What's wrong?" I asked.  "Your keyboard is broken, Mommy."  All of this time, he has been trying to type "Krypto" into the search engine so that he could watch "Krypto the Superdog" on YouTube.

Oh dear!  Here my husband and I are trying to be a techie family, teaching our children how to use technology, and a love for computers, and while we have been discussing all the benefits of Dvorak for our kids, we were unknowingly giving our oldest child a handicap.  How on earth could he have known about an alternate keyboard layout without us telling him?  Why would he even think that?

Big oops.  Well, the stickers are in the mail now, and hopefully we can remedy the situation.  When we explained what had happened to Peter, the look of relief on his face was very evident.  He had wondered if typing would be too hard for him, and when we told him that we had failed him, and that we were sorry, it really boosted his confidence.  He is excited to learn how to type his own blog posts.  (he started a private blog this year).

So, the moral of the story is, if you decide to switch to a different keyboard layout, there can be a lot of benefits.  If there are children in the home, let them in on your little secret.

Hmm, it may be time to look into a net-nanny program as well.  That's a debate/discussion for another day.

BrillKids Little Reader review

*edit*  The two week trial for Little Reader is a 14-day trial, AND the first two weeks worth of material.

Here's a little of our back-story: (Skip if you have already been following my blog)

It all goes back to Glenn Doman, and my discovery of his book, "How to teach your baby to read".  It changed my life!  I read it when my oldest was less than a year old, and I became very enthusiastic about the whole process.  I made lots of flash cards and got started.  But then a few discussions with others as I discussed the whole-word method, and with my own prejudices against it, I decided to try a phonetic method instead.  If you are curious, you can see what we tried and why I think it didn't work in this earlier post:  http://www.professional-mothering.com/2011/01/phonics-for-toddlers.html

A year and a half ago, we purchased Your Baby Can Read.  We love their program, and are so very sad that their company went under last month due to legal battles with a company that didn't like them.  I wrote a tribute to YBCR, with a home video of my children reading.

I maintain that you don't have to have a fancy program to teach your baby, toddler, or preschooler to read.  Doman's method has worked for thousands of parents.  Companies like YBCR, BrillKids, and MonkiSee were designed to help parents with his method, but you don't need their products to be successful.  You can buy index cards and write a bunch of words on the blank side, and show them to your child and joyfully tell them what the word says.  Start with words that have special meaning to your child, like the names of family members, or parts of the body.  Make labels and tape them around your house, so that the computer is labeled "computer", the couch is labeled "couch", and so on.  Read lots of books to your child and make a habit of running your finger under the words as you read.  Play games where you make labels for a group of toys and show your child the word.  Ask them to get the toy that goes with the card.  There are a myriad of games and activities like that that will make learning to read fun for you and your child.  I have outlined some of my favorite reading resources in my Reading Update.

Where we are now:

Recently my husband asked me "So what's next for Peter?"  What a profound question!  He still needs to learn some basic skills like how to write, but he is on a fourth-grade reading level, and is accomplished academically in many other areas.  Now, at age five, he is ready for desk work, and he is the trailblazer in our homeschooling journey.  I know that I need to spend a lot of time and effort to help him excel, and that's where I want to put my efforts this fall.  What an exciting time this is for our family!  Peter is not gifted, he has just had access to an early learning education.  It has been a joyful experience for our family.  His three-year-old sister wants to read books like him, and she is progressing rapidly.  Even our 23-month-old is well on his way to learning how to read.

All of this without Little Reader.

So why do I come to it now?  Well, I watched their recent promotional video and saw a few things about it that I really liked.




Why Little Reader is a good fit for our family

• I now have four kids ages 5 and under, and I simply don't have the time to devote to teaching my younger kids to read that I did with my older two.  This program is a ready-made curriculum and all you have to do is push "play" two times a day for five minutes as you sit with your little child.  I don't have to remember which flash cards we have seen and what's coming next.
• When the reading sessions are at the computer, the baby can't eat the flashcards.  :o)
• This program also incorporates Doman's philosophy of teaching Encyclopedic Knowledge.  These reading lessons will increase my children's vocabulary and their awareness of the world that surrounds them.  Now that I have the program and have previewed upcoming lessons, I know that my own vocabulary will increase as well.  Have you ever heard of a durian?  Maybe, but I hadn't.  Then again, vocabulary never was one of my strong-points.
• This program is comprehensive and finishes with your child reading simple books.  "Your Baby Can Read" was fantastic for teaching my oldest how to read more than 100 words.  But then what?  While there were a few phrases in YBCR, and Peter could read several individual words, I was on my own to make the transition to reading actual books.  We have a fantastic library here in Logan with books like Thomas the Train and Diego the Animal Rescuer.  Those books were highly motivating for Peter, but we had to make that transition ourselves.  Doman's book was instrumental in helping me accomplish that.  In little reader, Doman's recommendations are built in.  It goes from single words ("cup") to couplets (two words like "pink cup"), to short sentences ("I drink from a pink cup"), to actual books.  The 25 books that come with Little Reader are a new development, and my children will be reading them by the time we finish the course.  (The Little Reader books weren't available when I chose YBCR over LR).
• Doman has great ideas, but his books can be overwhelming.  Take what he says with a grain of salt!  He tells you to make a chart with all of your word cards, rotate words in and out which requires tracking, and to make several homemade materials, which takes a lot of time.  Parents have succesfully taught their children to read doing a small fraction of what he suggests in his books, so you don't have to do everything.  However, Little Reader does all of that work for you (ALL OF IT), and you only have to push play.  That's not part of their sales pitch, in fact I don't think they even mention Glenn Doman, but I have read most of his books, and I can plainly see that Doman was the inspiration behind it.

To purchase through my affiliate link, go here:  http://www.brillkids.com/ra.php?BKAFF13180 
To go to BrillKids without an affiliate link, go here:  www.brillkids.com

Why did I decide to become an affiliate?

 I'll be honest, I'm not a very good salesperson like my father.  We have dabbled with the idea of a few multi-level marketing companies in our family, and I told my husband that I just couldn't do it.  I may recommend my new blender, or green cleaning supplies to you if I love them while our kids play at the park, but I just can't see myself trying to get you to buy them.  I'm very uncomfortable with that.

But!  Early learning is a passion for me.  (The name of this blog comes from Glenn Doman's admonition to become a Professional Mother).  I would love to spread the idea that babies can read, they do read, and that they love to.  That's a reality for my family, even if there is a lot of hype in the promotion videos.  If you come to one of my "house parties", my goal will be to show you how you can accomplish that for your child.  I'll show you our bracciation ladder and crawling track.  I'll show you our home-made cards and manipulatives.  I'll show you our "Your Baby Can Read" materials, and how they work.  I am only wishing to sell you on the idea of early learning itself.  I have had several moms come to see our materials already and it was really fun for both of us.  I didn't have anything to sell.

Simply put, I would love to help others experience the same joy that I have had with my children.  Truly, that is what is motivating me.  I'll show you how to do it for a few dollars if you're willing to put in the time to make the materials yourself.  The Logan library has Doman's "How to teach your baby to read", and I have two personal copies that I would love to lend to you.  If "Little Reader" is a good fit for your family, great.  I get a commission, and you get a 10% off coupon code (BKAFF13180).  It's a win-win.  If I'm going to recommend this product anyway, and the only way I know to help you save money on it is by being an affiliate, then this route just makes sense to me.

But I'm not going to try to sell you a premium product ($250) if it's not a good fit for you, especially when I know from my personal experience that you can teach your child for much less.  If you are curious, you can come to my home and see how Little Reader works, or better yet, download their 2-week free trial and see for yourself.

In Summary

I love BrillKids.  I have been an active member of their forum of 93,000+ members for a few years, and the other parents there are so inspiring to me.  I love Little Math and Little Musician too!  I'm just another mom on the crazy parenting journey.  I've found an amazing tool to give my children early literacy, and it has brought a lot of joy to my family.  I would love to answer any questions you may have, and if this is something you want for your children, I'll help in any way I can.  Let me know if you want to do a playdate with me!

Here's my review of the Deluxe materials.

Reading Update

It has only been a year and a half since we started using YBCR.  You can see where he was then in this earlier post.  He has come a long way since then.  After he finished the YBCR program, the “Your Child Can Read” videos helped further his progress, but at that point we had our foot in the door.  I made a few home-made books, like the “Krypto” book in the film, to help with the transition from single words to sentences.  This gave him confidence in his ability to read “real” books.  He also loves Starfall.com, so we bought a set of their beginning readers.  Most of our reading program since has consisted of reading a lot of books from the library.

Helen has had access to the “Your Baby Can Read” videos since toddler-hood, and usually watched the videos with Peter.   However, I was focusing my attention on helping Peter first, and have only recently started working with her.  My program with her has been more of a mix between YBCR, Monkisee, and “Meet the Sight Words” from Preschool Prep.  The latter is a new addition to our library, and while I was skeptical at first, it has proven to be a valuable asset.  Peter learned sight words on his own quite easily just from context.  I never “taught” them to him specifically, in other words.  There’s no real need for it.  However, in Helen’s case, knowing the sight words has been her road to reading.  Almost every sentence has at least one word that she knows, and usually more.  This has given her early confidence.  I suppose her reasoning is, “I know half the sentence already, just tell me the other half and I’m good to go!”  When our family does scriptures every night, she reads a verse.  We point to every word, and she reads the ones that she knows.  When she doesn’t know a word, we simply say the word and she repeats it.  We read a lot of story books this way as well.  Helen doesn’t like the flash-cards as much as Peter did (he loved them).  Her program is to watch the videos, and read a lot.

Patrick is 22 months and is also becoming a young reader.  He knows quite a few words from YBCR, but is more excited about sight words.  He likes to point them out when we read.  If there is a book with a dog, he will point to the picture of the dog and say “dog”.  He can read “dog”, but he won’t point to the word.  Instead, after pointing to the picture, he’ll point to the word “like” and say, with as much enthusiasm, “like!”  It’s really cute.  He knows more than 50 words.

In closing, I wish to again express my regret that “Your Baby Can Read” has closed its doors this month.  I feel like we are losing a lot of our freedoms in this country, and this event is a testament to that.  Many of their products are still available on Amazon.com and Ebay, so if you are at all interested I would think that now would be the time to buy before they sell out.  I hope that the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood doesn’t go after the other early learning companies out there.  Some of the alternatives to YBCR are as follows:

Monkisee
I have only purchased the first DVD, so I don’t have a lot of experience with this program, but my children love it.  There are cute rhymes and puppet shows, which I really like.  The only thing I don’t like about Monkisee is that there isn’t very much repetition in the video.  You see the word once, and then have a cute mini-lesson to understand the vocabulary.  There is a flashcard track that helps, but the repetition isn’t built into the main video.  However, if you had her reading program, you would have the flashcards with the pictures, and using these cards would more than compensate.  One thing I really like about Monkisee is that it uses large red words, as recommended by Glenn Doman.  Red is an attractive color for very young babies.  The volume 1 DVD also uses the words Doman recommended starting out with.  I also bought her "Teaching Babies to Read Guide", which was helpful, especially if you haven't read Doman's book.

Starfall.com
We have a family membership, and my children LOVE it!  About 8 months ago, I asked Peter what helped him learn to read the most.  His answer was “The man in dext.”  Huh?  It turns out he meant the main index on Starfall.  We also bought their beginning reader books, and the kids really like them.

Reading Bear

It’s completely free, and was created by Larry Sanger.  Sanger co-founded Wikipedia, but left when it started hosting pornographic content.  His son Henry was an early reader and has been an inspiration to our family.  Much of the content on Reading Bear was in part created by other parents, and I even helped a little.  It has more of a phonetic approach, which is helpful if you are starting with a 3+ year old child.

BrillKids

I have been a member of the online community for a couple of years now.  There are a lot of parents, as well as early learning experts that frequent the forums.  It’s a great place to go for advice for teaching many subjects to young children, not just reading.  Things like foreign language, music, art, math, and music are discussed regularly, and if you don’t see what you like, you can start your own topic.  The forum is free, and it’s a great place to start.  I have also been eyeing their Early Reader, especially after watching their recent promotion video.  It comes with 25 books!  I also love the idea of working with customizable software.  I’ve done a lot of that on my own, but it’s a lot of work.  If you have a nice budget to work with, I think Early Reader would be the way to go.  I'm a sucker for this kind of thing though.  In spite of all the other products we already have, I want this for Christmas...

Leap Frog

I have no experience with the Leap Frog videos, but we have a neighbor who learned to read while very young with the help of Leap Frog videos, specifically the word factory one.

Preschool Prep Company

I vouched for the “Meet the Sight Words” videos in my post, but they have other products as well, including books.  Apparently there are a lot of libraries that have these videos.

Glenn Doman

I’ll put a plug in for him whenever I can.  His “How to Teach Your Baby to Read” book is what started it all for me.  My philosophy for early learning changed when I read that book, and the very name of this blog (Professional Mothering) came from his charge to become a professional mother.  His books tell you how to make your own reading materials for cheap, as well as giving tips for creating homemade books and flashcards.

Then of course you don’t NEED a program at all to teach your child to read.  Library books have ultimately been the bulk of our whole reading program.  Spending lots of time reading to your children teaches them the “why” for reading in the first place.  We want them to love books!  When something clicks in their heads that they can read to themselves, nothing can hold them back.  I love watching my 5-year-old read to his younger siblings.  He loves it, and they love it too.  Peter is not limited to looking at pictures when he is interested in a book.  He can also learn what the text around it has to say. He can learn about the things that he is interested in.  He LOVES to read.

Loving to read.  Isn't that what it's all about?

Tribute to Your Baby Can Read

On July 16th, 2012, Your Baby Can, creators of the “Your Baby Can Read” and the “Your Child Can” series, was forced to close its doors due to legal battles with the organization “Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood”.

CCFC argued that babies can’t read, and accused YBCR of false advertising.  Although they have no proof of this, reading experts who witnessed babies reading from this program gave their opinion that the children in the YouTube videos were not really reading, but were only memorizing the words.  Furthermore, CCFC pointed out that the American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend television or movies for children under 2.  Such was the foundation for their case.  “Your Baby Can” still strongly believes in their products, but could no longer fight the legal battles.

As a parent, I think I’m smart enough to decide for myself what products I will buy for my children, and judge whether or not my child really learned to read from Your Baby Can Read.

I attest that they can read, and I was very happy with my purchase.  If I was unhappy, they would have given me a full refund.  In a free market, parents(the consumer), not reading experts, would decide whether or not the product worked for their family.  If the product was not good, consumers would stop buying it and the company would have folded on its own.  However, YBCR was immensely popular, and the company grew. 

It grew a lot. 

It is only because of the legal battles that it was forced to fold.  I was very sad about that when I heard about it.

This video is a tribute to “Your Baby Can Read”:

Circumcision Apologetics

Author's Note. 2018:  We did not circumcise our fourth son.  We had complications our 3rd son's circumcision, both with a non-stellar job to begin with, and skin adhesions.  Nothing too extreme.  I still think that circumcision is not as barbaric as many in the natural parenting circles make it out to be.  I must confess that my #1 reason for wanting to want to circumcise was that I knew it was a big deal in the Old Testament.  As a post-Christian, that is no longer a deciding factor.  I respect parent's rights to make this choice for their child.

*****

Until now, I have left this delicate, controversial subject to other bloggers because I know what I have to say is against what most “natural parenting” blogs will tell you about circumcision, and frankly, it’s not an issue that I feel that passionate about, one way or the other.   My husband and I did our research, discussed it at reasonable length, and chose to have the procedure done on our two boys.  It’s a decision that I don’t regret.  I have friends who identify with the “intactivist” movement, and so I have been fairly low key about that decision up to this point.  However, I recently have decided that because my decision IS so different from most crunchy parents, I want to speak out and say what I feel needs to be said.

We decided to circumcise for a number of reasons.  None of them would be reason enough alone for our choice, but collectively they made a good enough case for us.  They include medical, hygiene, cultural (our family culture), aesthetic, and even to a small degree, religious reasons.  I really don’t want to hash those reasons out here, it was a personal choice and it’s not up for debate what we do in our family.  For that matter, it’s none of my business what you do in your family, and I respect your choice either way.

And that is really what this post is about, parental choice.

You see, I’m not passionate about circumcision, but I am passionate about a parent’s right to choose how to parent their child, and I don’t think it’s the government’s job to tell parents how to do it.  The recent attempt of San Francisco to ban circumcision is wrong, just as it was wrong of them to attempt to ban fast food restaurants from including small toys in their happy meals to make them more appealing to children.  The comparison of circumcision to unhealthy kid’s meals is not at all comparable as to the magnitude of that parental decision, but the bottom line is, what kind of society do we want to live in?  Our freedoms are being challenged on so many fronts and the principles of freedom are little understood by much of our population.

Parents make many choices for their children that will have a permanent effect on what kind of adults they grow up to be, and short of child abuse, parents need to be given the freedom to make those choices.  While their children are under their jurisdiction, parents need the freedom to decide between public, private, and homeschool.  They should be able to choose whether or not to vaccinate their kids.  They should be able to choose the diet their children will have, including breastmilk or formula.  They will choose the child’s religious behaviors and patterns.  They will decide what they will wear, where they will live, and who their friends will be.  They will make medical choices for their children.  Discipline, hygiene, etiquette, and family routine are all choices made by parents.  Parents love their children, know their children best, and MUST be trusted by society to make those choices for their children’s welfare.  Even if we decide not to circumcise our future boys, I will never support a ban on the practice because that’s not the kind of society I want to live in.  I’m glad that we no longer routinely circumcise our infants, and the 56% rate of the USA at this time is a testament to the fact that we really are free to choose for our children.

That’s the main point I wanted to make.

However, I have been a little obsessed with researching circumcision in preparation for this post, and there are a few items I want to address before closing.  The anti-circ crowd has some excellent reasons not to circumcise and they have been duly noted.  There is a part of me that wonders if we did the right thing.  The pro-circ crowd also makes many good points that have been reassuring to me.  On a scale of one to ten, ten being on the pro-circ side, my husband and I are about a 6.  I have read so much material from both sides, and have especially looked for testimonials from men who have had it both ways, as well as the attitudes of men who have never known the other way of things. 

First I want to clarify the difference between male circumcision and female genital mutilation (FGM), also often referred to as female circumcision.  Male circumcision refers to cutting off the foreskin.  FGM refers to cutting off the clitoris, and often, more.  Circumcised men have happy, healthy sex lives, and the Victorian idea that introducing its practice would stop masturbation was a complete flop.  Premarital sex didn’t change when circumcision was introduced.  FGM on the other hand DOES stop young women from masturbating.  In fact, it usually shatters any hope that the young woman will ever have an orgasm, ever.  Depending on what stage of FGM is performed, the young woman may have a difficult time ever becoming a mother as a result of FGM as well.  FGM on a boy would be like cutting off the whole head of the penis,  or even more!  In history, the best example of male genital mutilation that comes to my mind is the castrati singers (boys that were castrated so they would keep their boyish soprano voices).  I shudder when I recall that part of my music history education.  However, there is a medical equivalent of male circumcision in a girl, and it’s called hoodectomy, which is the removal of the clitoral hood, or female foreskin.  This procedure is becoming more popular here in the USA to successfully treat women with anorgasmia.  Hoodectomy is also sometimes performed for hygienic and aesthetic purposes.  This is the true equivalent to male circumcision; FGM truly is not.

Next, I address the “his body, his choice” argument.  As a parent, you have jurisdiction over that body while your son is under your care, and you will make many choices regarding that body during your years as his parent.  Circumcising your infant is a permanent decision, but you know what?  NOT circumcising your infant is a permanent decision too, as it is the only time in a boy’s life where the procedure can be done without stitches, and with the boy having no cognate memory of the procedure.  I have read testimonials of young men who resent that their parents circumcised them as a baby and are now undergoing foreskin restoration.  BUT!  I have also read many testimonials from men who were not circumcised as an infant and had a medical need later in life and they bemoan the fact that their parents didn’t circumcise them as an infant.  It’s terribly embarrassing to be circumcised while you are in Jr. High.  Men choose to be circumcised for all the other reasons as well, and love the results.  Furthermore, I have read testimonials from circumcised and intact men from birth who are very happy with their body.  The American Academy of Pediatrics neither recommends nor condemns infant circumcision, rightfully making it the parent’s choice. 

In closing I have what I hope will be comforting words for you as a parent, regardless of your choice.

If you choose NOT to circumcise, or, to use more friendly language, if you choose to leave your son intact, you have a growing number of supporters.   Your son will probably not have any issues in the locker room.  It isn’t medically necessary, and the chances of him getting a UTI, or any other diseases as a result of being left intact are very slim.  The foreskin does serve a purpose in protecting the penis head, and if your son decides he wants to be circumcised later in life, he can always make that choice later.      One word of advice, which you probably already know, is to clean only what is seen.  Don’t force the foreskin to retract before it is ready, and don’t let anyone else do it either!  Only the owner of the foreskin should make it retract.  Many of the “problems” people experience due to the foreskin are a result of prematurely pulling the foreskin back.  Other problems come from not keeping it clean, so teach your child to clean properly down there.  Be matter-of-fact about it and don’t obsess, and your son will have a healthy attitude about his foreskin.  There are many healthy, uncircumcised men out there and there is no reason to think that your son won’t grow up to become one of them.  Here is a good website that will give you information to validate your choice:  http://www.circumcision.org/

If you DO choose to circumcise, there are still a lot of supporters.  Regardless of what the other camp may say, there ARE medical benefits to being circumcised.  Having established that, the debate is whether or not those benefits warrant infant circumcision.  There are other factors that come into play as well, such as hygiene, religious, aesthetic, and cultural reasons, all of which individually can warrant your choice.  You are your son’s parent, and it is nobody’s business what you choose for your baby, or why.  There is a plethora of reasons to satisfy society that circumcision is okay.  For what it’s worth, all of the men in my family were circumcised as infants, and all of them are happy with it.  There are also males in my sphere of acquaintances who were circumcised past infancy and wish it was done when they were a baby.  I know this because they told me when I researched for our own sons.  My recommendation is to use anesthesia for your little boy though.  If they get a shot to numb the pain, PLEASE know that it takes five minutes for the litocaine to be affective, and that there are many doctors who get in a hurry and don’t wait.  That happened to my second son.  Now we know better.  Also, sugar water is an effective pain relief for infants.  My first son benefitted by having a sucker.  In the Jewish Bris ceremony, the infant is often given a kind of sweet wine that apparently is very soothing for the infant.    I will also add that one of the main complications from circumcision is skin adhesions, or skin bridges.  This is easy to prevent.  While your son is healing, gently pull the skin away from the penis head during every diaper change to make sure that the skin doesn’t stick to the wound.  In closing, circumcision is not just a failed experiment of the Victorian era, or a political error of modern America.  It has been practiced for thousands of years in cultures around the world.  Here is a good website that will give you information to validate your choice:  http://www.circlist.com/

Ultimately, while the debate rages on over the internet, the choice of what to do with your son’s foreskin is only one parenting choice.  I recommend that you do your research and make the choice and be done with it.  Don’t beat yourself up for a previous choice if you have changed your mind on the issue for your future sons.  There are pros and cons to both, and you have a lot of other things to consider in your parenting journey.  Good luck!

For now, I’m going to leave this debate and turn my thoughts to some of my other concerns as a mother.  For example, what’s for dinner tonight?