Introduction
The younger a child, the easier it is to cultivate and develop their innate abilities. However, this requires continual intellectual stimulation. In The Shichida Method, these abilities are activated through fun, play-based activities.
Details
- The Shichida Method lessons happen over 12 months, with one 50 minutes lesson per week.
- Each child participates with a parent in class until the age of 3. After 3 years, the parent’s participation in the class is optional depending on the adaptability of the child.
- Registration is possible at any time during a year.
- The registration is made for one year and the lessons can be paid in packages of 12 lessons (3 months), 24 lessons (6 months) or 48 lessons (12 months).
- The cost of a lesson is 30 eur (equivalent in lei on the date of payment) for the centre of Oradea.
- For the Bucharest Center, the cost will be communicated once the centre is open for registration.
Progress
- The lessons are designed to encourage child independence from the parent and the formation of autonomy. The structure of the lessons prepares the child for integration into the educational system (nursery/kindergarten) by developing their reading, writing, numeracy, speech, memory, compassion, and an ability to regulate their emotions.
- During the lesson, children are guided by the instructor constantly. We make sure that each child is encouraged in their efforts and receive a lot of praise and acceptance.
- The activities we do with children take the form of playful games that incorporate music and movements. Therefore children easily understand and respond to the instructions given by the instructor.
Advice for parents
- At the beginning, your child may feel uncomfortable or insecure in the class due to the new environment and new people. That is why we recommend parents to give their children the emotional support they need by participating with them in class until the age of 3. Doing this allows children to gradually adjust to the new environment.
- At the start of the lesson, your child may be agitated, impulsive, or interested in playing with the objects around them. This is not a problem. You can prepare your child for the lessons in advance by telling them about the space in which the lesson will take place, what they will do there, and generally helping them to anticipate the environment. Please note that children are extremely sensitive to the environment around them, including the emotional environment. We, therefore, recommend that parents who participate in classes with their child ensure that they are calm, relaxed, and mentally present in the classroom.
- During the lesson, children may become restless and not pay attention to the teacher’s instructions. There is no need to get frustrated about this or compare your child to the other children in the class. Over time your child will become familiar with the routine of the lesson and improve their concentration. Parents can guide their child discreetly, without forcing them to participate. If the child does not want to do an activity, allow them to sit and listen until they are ready to engage again. By doing this you as a parent will gradually learn how to accept your child and love them as they are. This will benefit the child much more than being urged to do a certain activity, and it will avoid upsetting the child and disrupting more of the lesson.
Activities by age groups
Stimulating potential abilities
In this age range, children have unlimited potential and an excellent ability to absorb information. The more they are stimulated, the better their brain activity will be. Babies around the age of 20 months are already beginning to show their desire to learn spontaneously, and by encouraging their desire to learn, we will develop their sense of independence.
During our lessons, we use fun materials and songs to develop children’s abilities. To cultivate the foundation of affection and empathy, we place great value on the parent-child relationship. We encourage parents to express their affection and provide physical contact through hugs during our classes and at home. By doing so, parents and children can continue to develop the mind and body of their child.
Examples of activities:
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Embracing
The skin is the place where the heart and affection meet, so we recommend showing affection towards your child by hugging them. Shichida instructors smile at the children, encourage them and celebrate their accomplishments, and give children the choice to hug our instructors at the end of the lesson. We ask children for their permission so they experience being treated with respect and as an autonomous person. It is our goal that your child feels accepted by our instructors and is encouraged to go through the lessons with enthusiasm.
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Flashcards
The foundation of a child’s mental development starts with vocabulary. The richer vocabulary a child has, the more they can express, ask questions, understand and learn about the world. During lessons, we input a high quantity of picture and word cards (200-300) at high speed to develop their visual memory, language awareness, and vocabulary.
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Dexterity exercises
Presenting your child with a variety of activities is necessary to develop their intelligence. During dexterity training activities we challenge your child to use their fingers by playing games that require them to manipulate (pick-up, open, drop, squeeze, fold, rotate, flip) objects, as well as educating them about the diversity of colours and shapes.
Recommended activities for home:
- Exposing children to letters, numbers and words
- Baby massage to develop a sense of security
- Listening to classical music, which will calm and stimulate their brain
- Exposure to picture and dot cards
Fundamental abilities
Children develop at a rapid pace between the ages of 2-3 and they form the basis of their abilities in later life. For example, typically children begin to speak at this age. Their minds and bodies are developing quickly and they like to do everything by themselves. In class we encourage this desire for independence by encouraging them to complete various tasks through speaking and writing. Regardless of their success, we celebrate their attempts so that they are appreciated and have a desire to try again.
Examples of activities:
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Image-based training
The right hemisphere has the ability to visualise and absorb images like a movie. As such, we develop the memory, creativity and concentration of your child through photographic memory training games, and image training exercises. In the image training activities children imagine themselves in different situations and completing different tasks.
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Link memory training
These types of activities help children make associations between several objects or concepts by creating a story and memorizing it. Thus, we train the imagination, memory and intuition of your child.
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Worksheets
Worksheets help children to output the information received in each lesson, thus developing the ability to consolidate what they have learned and to use it practically.
Recommended activities for home:
- Craft-based activities and completing puzzles to develop motor skills
- Memory training activities
- Drawing activities to prepare for letters writing
Amplifying their abilities
Children at the ages of 4 and 5 are very curious and interested in a variety of things. We listen and allow them to express their ideas without interruptions or invalidation. We encourage their imagination and self-expression through activities that have them imagine an object or a scenario and then draw it, or say how it made them feel. It is important at this age to encourage a lot of output from children. The complexity of our worksheets grows at this age to keep up with their mental capacity, reasoning, and critical thinking.
Examples of activities:
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Memorizing PEG words
PEG words are pairs of numbers and words in the form of pictures. We work with children so that they are able to associate the number with the corresponding picture, and vice versa. This kind of activity enables children to retain a large quantity of numbers and images easily.
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100-Bead Abacus
The 100-Bead abacus is a great tool for stimulating the right hemisphere through rapid visual input. Between the ages of 4 and 6 we begin to teach mathematical equations on the abacus to help children understand the concepts of numbers, addition, subtraction, composition, and decomposition.
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The Da Vinci Map
The Da Vinci map involves writing words associated with a single theme in a spider diagram. After children think of words and write them down, they answer questions on a specific topic and then use the words they wrote down to form sentences. This activity develops their writing, observation, strategic thinking and creativity.
Recommended activities for home:
- Brainstorm with your child about questions that you do not know the answer to. After doing this use books, encyclopedias and the internet to find the answers to your questions so develop a sense of curiosity in your child.
- Disassembly and reassembly of toys into new forms
- Creative and handmade activities
- Writing and reading texts
- Reading stories that develop imagination and help them to learn the rules of society
Laying the foundations for school learning
Cognitive capacity increases considerably at the age of 6 years. Therefore, in the lessons for this age we focus on the development of memory and primary academic skills, such as vocabulary and mathematics.
Activities examples:
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Memorizing 1000 images
The children gradually memorize 20 sets of 50 words over several lessons (through game-based activities). They then try to recite the words from memory. This activity develops the child’s ability to use visual memory to retain considerable amounts of information.
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Crearea de origami
Activity to develop the motricity
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Scientific experiments
Logical thinking skills
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Mathematical exercises in the form of stories
Solving mathematical operations
Recommended activities for home:
- Writing and reading texts
- Reading stories that develop imagination and help in learning the rules of society.