Thursday, April 11, 2013

Rachel's first Shichida class

Babydoll had her first Shichida class last Sunday and it was great! She sat in her chair for more than half the class, then she sat with me on my lap, and then I carried her in my arms for the last 10-15 minutes. She paid attention throughout and was interested in all the activities. She got a little tired towards the end though, and she fell asleep after the class when Richard picked us up. The photos in this post were taken while we were waiting for Richard and Ryan.

So Rachel is starting with Shichida at 9 months, just as Ryan did. I originally intended to start Rachel off next term and I called the centre last Friday to inquire about classes. As Ryan is a Shichida student, Rachel has the privilege of being in the "priority queue" for a slot and so Rachel was offered an immediate slot in the April-June term, which kicked off last week. I checked with Richard if he thought Rachel was ready and he said she was more than ready. There was a slot in Teacher Noraini's class at a suitable time so we signed up for that one. Teacher Noraini was Ryan's first sensei at Shichida, so I knew that Rachel will be in good hands.

Both Teacher Noraini and Teacher Hirin (Ryan's current sensei) were very excited to see Rachel at Shichida and the three of us were squealing loudly when we came together just before the class started. We made so much noise that one of the students in the class started crying! Oops. Anyway, it's nice to know that our little family is loved.



Rachel is the youngest in her class. She joined an existing class which started in October last year, so her classmates have already been through two terms. That's great for me because it means that, at home, I can skip those activities which were done at the very beginning, like baby massage techniques and random linking memory using three objects (now the class is doing random linking memory with five picture cards). That's assuming that the programme is the same as it was when Ryan started on it back in 2009.

On that note, it's time to start preparing some Shichida stuff to do with Rachel at home huh?



Rachel is still doing Heguru classes, so we will be able to see which one is better suited to her. The Heguru team is in Japan for training at the moment so there were no classes last week and this week. I still think it's too early to tell which school is better for babydoll, because she is developing so quickly at this stage and what she likes today (or does not like) may be different tomorrow. We'll see how it goes.

Todate, I have resisted doing a comparison of Shichida and Heguru. Both schools are very good and well-established in what they do and there are differences in their programmes so it is not possible to compare which one is better. It would be all right to compare if they both do exactly the same thing and I simply rated which one does it better, but that's not how it is. I will set out the differences between the two, at least from my point of view, if that will help, but I'll reserve that for another day. If you can't wait or if you have a specific query, do send me an email or leave a comment and I'll see if I can help.

6 comments:

Sue said...

So cute! Your baby girl Rachel has a sunshine smile! Please do share the Shichida activities you will be doing with Rachel so I can learn. Thank you!
My daughter is 10 months too and I dont know much about it but heard it's good. Thank you in advance!!

Pinkie Pirate said...

Hi Sue! Yes, I will be happy to share! Thanks for dropping by!

========Ugly Loy======== said...

hi,

possible to email me the "difference" between this 2 school?
first kid in the family and completely lost!!!!
Fiona.loy@gmail.com

Pinkie Pirate said...

Hi Ugly Loy, I've replied to your query in today's post (Monday, 22 April). Hope it helps.

Annie Goh said...

Hi Mummy,

I recently signed up my child for shichida and came across your blog when i was looking for more info.
(Thank you for your posts... i understood a lot more about Shichida through you than the teachers at school! they couldn't really explain when i asked certain things)

My baby is 3.5 yrs old, average kid but language ability is that of a 2.5 years old. He is only able to string 3-4 words at the moment but otherwise he is doing well.

I would like to ask about flashcards. Do you do flashcards and how often?
My impression from Shichida school is that flashcards are very important. They kept saying i have to make them and i need to go through hundreds everyday. (and it sounded like if i have to keep changing topics, i would end up with tens of thousands of flashcards in a year!)

Can my child benefit from Shichida brain training without flashcards everyday? It seems like your son does not do flash cards but he does other Shichida activities and he has still benefitted from the right brain training.

Can i also ask which Shichida activities do you try to do at least everyday besides linking memory? e.g do you do ESP games and others?

And do you do them in a certain order? or in one sitting like in the classroom?

I know i have a lot of questions. I hope to hear your advise as I value your feedback. I went for the parent briefing at the school and still walked away a bit confused about what i must do at home and how i must do the practise at home.

Thank you so much in advance mummy!

Pinkie Pirate said...

Hi Annie Goh,

Thanks for your questions, I'm humbled to know that you value my opinion. :)
You are right that we don't devote a lot of time to flashcards at home, so I hope that gives you some reassurance. As for your question whether your child can benefit from Shichida without flashcards, well it depends on what results and benefits you are looking for. :) I see you have lots of questions about home practice - perhaps you would like to email me directly? I would be happy to answer your questions. My email is pinkiepirate@live.com

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