Why did I started following the Doman method in teaching my child?
Glenn Doman
Summary:
- My goals as a Doman mum.
- Reasons behind my following the Doman method
- Why exactly this method and not the others
Lots of fun and developing child’s intelligence are my goals
As you all know I started my Doman adventure when my daughter was 5/6 months old. It is what I call following a child in accordance with Glenn Doman’s philosophy. I have to admit I will be really happy if my experiment is successful. However, I know that every child is different and I respect this. Most of all, I never push my child. I just try to stir up her curiosity and have fun with my baby daughter.
If the Doman method really works and Maja will be able to read and do math (maybe she already can but she doesn’t show off) before going to school – awesome. If it makes it easier for her to learn multiplication tables and other things – great. She will have more time to play and to develop her real passions. She will never think of a learning process as something unpleasant because apparently, we never remember the first three years of our lives and learning is fun now. It doesn’t take much time either (the timing depends on Maja’s attention span and interest at a given moment).
If we don’t have any results, I will write about it, too. Parents who follow my blog know that I am doing my best in sticking to all Doman’s main principles and I even go beyond them with some creative ideas. If it doesn’t work they will be advised against the Doman method and they won’t waste their time trying to teach a baby.
Now…ready…steady…let’s invite Doman’s views into our lives. Let’s experiment with his theory. Let’s test it in practice. We will soon see the results of global teaching with the Doman method.
Update from 28.05.2019: I am 100% sure it works but some kids will show the results earlier, others later. I happen to have a child who didn’t show off for a long time. My daughter started reading whole sentences aloud at the age of 3,5 which seems quite late when compared to some other Doman children. I would like to put an emphasis on the fact that reading is just one exemplary result as I am aware now that the Doman method goes far beyond the reading program.
“(…)it works but some kids will show the results earlier, others later.“
Why did I start my Doman adventure?
After some thinking I came to the conclusion that the main reason I started my Doman adventure is that I couldn’t pursue one of my hobbies after giving birth to Maja – working out in a gym. I needed to find something to occupy myself with not to dwell on the fact that I couldn’t do weightlifting for some time. What is the best hobby during a maternity leave? Of course, it is a hobby connected with a baby because you always have time for it. Doman seems to fit here ideally: fun and teaching a baby at the same time.
As you can read on About me page (you will find it in the links below) I am a teacher of English. I love my work and I think I subconsciously missed it at some point. After all, I will have been more than 18 months out of work soon. For that reason I have transferred teaching English to my house, on my baby.
While I am writing this post, it has come to my mind that all my experience with Maja may come handy in my work as a teacher. I have always been confident with primary school students or older ones. However, some time ago I also started teaching English in a nursery school and a kindergarten. This is a completely different story.
Update from 28.05.2019: I was right. My experience with Maja helps a lot. I have already got back to work and it is much easier to teach little ones. I can do something which I couldn’t before: my lessons are now 100% in English.
I need to be really creative to catch Maja’s attention with the Doman cards. Not all my ideas can be put into practice in the nursery school or kindergarten but I find many very useful.
As a result of our successful program of reading and math as well non-native bilingualism I started implementing global reading method when teaching English to my little pupils in a nursery school, kindergarten and in grades 1-3 of primary school. I think the cards I have completed with Maja will be useful.
Why have I chosen the Doman method?
It was a pure coincidence that resulted in my choosing of the Doman method for my baby’s development. While writing my BA thesis on the Helen Doron method of teaching English to kids, I came across Glenn Doman’s book “How to Multiply Your Baby’s Intelligence.” It is to be found in the bibliography. The reason for that is that Helen Doron was inspired by Glenn Doman.
I remembered about this book on my shelf when Maja was born. After re-reading it the Doman method fascinated me. I started following it a long time before I got to know the details of his educational programs. There is general information on each of them in this book.
Update from 28.05.2020: After a few years of experience when asked why this method and not the others, I confidently answer that the Doman method is the most comprehensive method I know. Besides, it is available for everyone interested.
“(…)the Doman method is the most comprehensive method I know.”
Have you found my experience useful? If yes, share with others.
You are welcome to read the rest of my blog.
Related articles:
Theoretical basis – a list of books recommended for parents
List of articles on the Doman reading program
List of articles on the Doman math program
List of articles on non-native bilingualism
There is lots more in the Polish part but I haven’t managed to translate it yet.
You are more than welcome to leave a comment, share your experience or thoughts.
I would also like to invite you to join my Facebook fanpage: Wszechstronne wspieranie rozwoju dziecka/ How to teach your baby, to follow us on Instagram @teachyourbaby.pl, where I share our everyday experiences (there is always an English translation here).
You can find more support in my Facebook group for parents doing Doman. This is just the beginning but I hope there will be more and more of us soon and that we will share our experience with one another.
