Update on the math

A year ago I did an update on Lotte (See here)
Reading through it again I noticed this part:

"Math is a little problematic.. The tables 1-10 go in slowly, and probably by photographic memory.. But she's not the only one in her class... There are many other children that have the same problem... Guess she doesn't have the brain for math... yet... It will come..." (Great to have this blog and go back in history.)

Nowadays she aces the multiplication tables.. A test at school with 2 pages (200 problems) of this stuff and she had 100%.. Practice makes perfect.

What's more important than 100% is the fact that she has a feeling of mastering something. Even though the practice sessions were sometimes long and tedious (mostly it was fun.), she understands the importance of it now, since she sees how much easier things have become.

They now started with division, and she has no problems with it. After all, with the multiplication tables firmly embedded in her memory, she just sees the answers.. Just like we do.

What we did for practice?

• We made cards with the question on one side, answer on the other and went through them. Wrong answer, card back in the pile..


• I also made a spreadsheet that would randomly come up with one column with addition-problems, one with substraction and one with multiplication. Sometimes we let her do this before she would be allowed to use the computer. 


• Downloaded some iPad apps that made it fun. (And needed to be done before she started listning to music or watching videos on the iPad.)


• We also bought a wooden version of the cards. Little blocks with question on one side, answer on the other. Those we used a lot after the summer and I also used them reverse: Showing the answer and Lotte giving me the question... 

Lotte in English, Dutch and Norwegian...

During the evening meal, Lotte showed us her English skills....
Couldn't let that moment pass and taped it.. (btw.. how do you tape it with a mobile phone..)
As a proud dad.. wanting to show off her skills, I asked her to do it in Dutch & Norwegian as well..

It's great to see how she mentally has to switch to another language. Her English is new of course. Also the way the melody changes between Dutch and Norwegian is great.... She's got an ear for languages... just like her mother....

Lotte presenting her classmates....

Lotte was allowed to present / introduce her classmates....

Waiting to start

This video quite long, shaky and nothing happens. It's while waiting fo all the kids to enter the stage and sit down. Lotte is comfortably waiting to start..

 First introduction 
Clipped away a bit of waiting at the beginning... 

 Second introduction  

 Third Introduction

Where to start..

Lotte has made a jump again... indicated by erratic behaviour, being tired like other times she grew mentally again.
Suddenly she is taking more control of her life. It's wonderful to see.
Her vocabulary is still improving. It's noticeable that with her growing mental capacities she get's jokes quicker. She is anticipating in the conversation.. making small, to the point remarks and replying in ways that were not there 3 months ago..Smart comebacks etc... Wonderful..

Socially she's busy with friends that she invites and/or visits. With any other child that would like to go to a friend and asks to call her friend, we would reply that she can just go there...
With Lotte we are happy for her to use the phone. She loves to use it, and has no problems with it.
Appointments are made to meet at different places, invitations are sent, and when she's out, she has her mobile phone with her to call us to ask when she needs to be home... She uses it well..

At school she is keeping up, despite the time she spends playing outside. It's a small dilemma... Homework or social activities... The social part often wins...
But she likes to do homework... probably because of the respect she has for the teacher... The teachers will is law..!.
She seems to have the brain for languages. Like her mother...
A week ago we had a long conversation in English. She now has enough vocabulary to make short sentences and loves to show her capabilities.
Math is a little problematic.. The tables 1-10 go in slowly, and probably by photographic memory.. But she's not the only one in her class... There are many other children that have the same problem... Guess she doesn't have the brain for math... yet... It will come...(Update here..)

Otherwise.. Lotte uses different languages for different activities as we discovered lately..
A good example is when she comes from school. When asked about her day (in Dutch) she will be brief. To the point. When our (Norwegian) neighbour asks, she starts chatting away and keeps on talking... Many stories..Obviously, school experiences need to be discussed in Norwegian...
Stories about the vacation in Holland will be in Dutch... Exciting to watch these kind of developments...

Time for X-mas with her grandmother from Holland staying with us.
Seeing her chat away with her is looking at the everyday wonder that CI provides.. Magic.

For the teachers out there... :-)

http://www.medicine.iu.edu/documents/Otolaryngology/Medel.pdf