I recently discovered a fascinating educational method by Makoto Shichida, that focuses on the development of the child’s right brain. I’ve been overwhelmed with interesting information and started to apply it to our activities with my toddler right away. It’s not easy to find detailed information about his method online, and his books in English are only available from Japan. So I ordered his book – if anybody is interested it’s here or you can read my summary below. Besides reading the book, I gathered information from parents whose kids went to Shichida schools in Asia, so here is a recap of what I learned and how we implement it with our 19-month-old.
As you know, left brain controls things like logic, written and spoken languages, scientific ability and number skills. The Shichida method targets the development of the right brain which is responsible for the photographic memory ability, computer-like calculation ability, intuition and creative imagination. All these skills can be acquired by doing exercises that stimulate the right brain. The idea of my child having these skills sounds very exciting to me, considering that I have a very bad memory. If I can help my child develop even some of these skills, I would consider myself an accomplished parent. Continue reading “Shichida method overview. Plan of activities for all ages. Our adaptation for 18-24 month olds.”
, and 1 table spoon of vinegar. Then I zipped the bag and squished until the color was dispersed equally. You can add more coloring if rice is too pale, or more vinegar if it’s hard to spread the coloring. The general rule of thumb is to use 1 table spoon of vinegar for 1 cup of rice. At this point you can also add essential oil to make rice smell beautifully, for example, add some lavender or tangerine essential oil. Then I spread the rice on trays lined with aluminum foil and put them in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees. This helps it dry faster but I still left it out to dry fully overnight.
. Even though eating raw rice is definitely not recommended, rice is still digestible in case a tiny bit is swallowed. Using organic food coloring is definitely better in that case since it’s made from vegetables. I do have both food colorings at home. I use the organic one for activities where stuff can get in Scarlett’s mouth – for example, I color water blue to do ocean theme water station since Scarlett likes to drink that water with a cup, and I use it for actual food, like cupcake frosting. I use the non organic one for things like colored rice (Scarlett doesn’t try to eat it), for adding color to sensory bottle, etc.
