LEGO COMMERCIAL:

Sometimes kids arrive to their first class at Imagination Learning Center kicking and screaming because they’re kids who’ve struggled in school and who’ve had their parents take them to various tutoring services or programs that were unsuccessful and painful. Recently, a very bright boy started out with us a few weeks ago very upset and frustrated about having to try another program for writing. His mom expressed how much he hated to write but knew ILC would help. Well!

We are super happy to report today that he wrote a phenomenal paragraph and ended up turning his writing assignment into a monologue for a commercial for Legos 14 sentences long! He was so excited and talking on and on about his commercial. We made sure he was writing on a topic he was interested in but he took it to a whole new level! Do we have a director or screenwriter in our midst? Perhaps!! Whatever the case, he’s having a great time now and adding his own creative twists to already fun writing games!

ADAPTING READY-MADE GAMES FOR LEARNING:

For a student we work with who is within the Autism Spectrum, we’ve adapted some games from Highlights Magazine for him to continue to explore comprehension and fluency in reading (detective style, of course!):

Takes 3 weeks (one session per week) for each mystery to be solved and each mystery occurs in a foreign country. So students get to learn about countries as they read and solve the mystery! They basically read a story, work puzzles in their “puzzle book” to get clues, and they read maps of the country throughout. So they navigate different kinds of reading and problem solving throughout the process and are curious to get to the next clue! There are 6 suspects and the kids have to use the clues to solve down to one.

1st week –  Who did it?
2nd week – What was stolen?
3rd week – Where was it hidden?

This is also one of the game examples we show parents in our parent workshop that covers how to adapt store-bought or “found” games for learning. Keep an eye out on our events page for this workshop as we repeat it a few times a year!

BRAIN GYM:

What movements engage different parts of the brain for you and your kids? What movements help us relax? What movements help us focus? What movements help us focus on certain subjects?! For answers, Join us in April at our next Brain Gym Workshop!

RSVP via our contact form and look here for more information: http://www.imaginationlearningcenters.com/upcoming-events

All our best,

The Imagination Learning Center Team <3

Related Event

• Event Title and Host: Discovering The Brain Gym! By Pam Davis, Director of ILC
• Date: 04/10/12
• Time: 7:00pm
• Venue: Imagination Learning Center
• City: Portland
• Address: 15280 NW Central Drive #101
• Country: United States
• Admission: FREE
• Notes: Exercises that activate different parts of the brain to help kids focus. Especially great for active kids or kids who need to move to learn (who learn kinesthetically). The Brain Gym book will be available for purchase during this event. Childcare provided during event (ages 6-16): video and crafts to keep them entertained!