Pamela Gates is a Certified Learning Specialist in Dianne Craft’s Learning System. She has 18 years of experience working with bright, hard-working, but struggling students. She is a popular speaker at homeschool conferences, bringing hope to families with children who struggle with learning. Pam’s workshops are filled with practical teaching strategies that parents find easy to implement the next day. Kids will love them and begin to feel as smart as they really are! Parents find Pam’s workshops to be lighthearted and life-changing. She is also an educational consultant, conducting personal
consultations and tutoring services with families in Denver, Colorado. As a homeschooling mother of six, Pam had an 8-year-old daughter with dyslexia who could not remember letter sounds or spell her name. Using unique, alternative teaching methods, her daughter overcame her dyslexia. She now has her Master’s degree in early childhood education and development.
Identifying and Correcting Blocked Learning Gates
Learn how to diagnose and correct learning disabilities—or just mild processing glitches. This is for your “puzzling child.” Is it just a maturity issue, or is something else going on? If you have a bright, hardworking child who has to work too hard to learn, he is telling you that one or more of his four learning gates are blocked. You can easily pinpoint which of your child’s gates are blocked. Learn how to be your own diagnostician using a checklist of symptoms, and then learn the necessary interventions. This can be done by the parents at home. It doesn’t have to be so hard for your child!
Find out specifically how the brain processes information, and where that processing can break down. You will learn things you have never heard of before in a homeschool workshop. A homeschooling mom with a Ph.D. in special education said that she learned more in this workshop about how kids learn and how to make learning easier, than she had in all her university courses!
Auditory Processing and Memory
Do you have a child whom you suspect has an auditory processing problem? Become your child’s own diagnostician as you identify, bypass, and correct auditory processing problems with your child at home. There are ten auditory channels. Some channels affect academics (reading, phonics and sight words, spelling, and math), while others affect everyday life (is easily confused, misunderstands verbal information or sequencing, is hearing own silent thinking voice, can’t think with background noise, has poor working memory, demonstrates speech delay or articulation issues). Learn to identify the exact auditory channels that are affected. Learn to bypass the auditory learning glitch by using your child’s natural photographic memory, and how to correct the auditory glitch by using the proven methods of brain integration therapy at home. Find out what common food can be contributing to your child’s articulation issues by causing him to hear sounds “like underwater.” MIT research shows that targeted nutritional interventions (such as using the correct amounts of essential fatty acids and a special supplement called lecithin) often greatly improve memory in children and adults.
Is your child a right-brain learner? Half of the population is right-brain dominant, and half is left-brain dominant. You may have a right-brain learner in your midst! These wonderful children learn in a different manner than their left-brain siblings. If you have a child who doesn’t “like” schoolwork no matter what you do, you will learn much in this workshop. You will learn how to identify the right-brain child and learn many simple teaching techniques, such as right-brain spelling (making the words “stick instead of slip”) and right-brain reading. (As a bonus, you will also understand your spouse better, since we tend to marry the opposite hemisphere—God’s sense of humor!) By using a totally different strategy, we consistently see a two-year gain in reading and spelling in one year! Parents say, “I can’t believe it, but my child asks to do spelling now.”
Smart Kids Who Hate to Write
Do you have a child who seems to be “allergic” to a pencil? If you have a child who groans and fusses about writing, or still writes reversals, or spells a word orally correctly but leaves out letters when he writes, this workshop is for you! This child’s math papers are often hard to read because the numbers are lined up so poorly! These children are often thought of as sloppy, lazy, or unmotivated when they really have a writing glitch. They are using way too much energy for the writing process, so they are reluctant to put pencil to paper for anything. This often is a true dysgraphia. The writing learning gate is the most common gate that is blocked with gifted kids. They know so much, but just can’t get their thoughts down in writing because of this blocked learning gate.
Training the Photographic Memory
Many people think that some are just born with a “photographic memory.” But we now know that this amazing ability can be easily taught. Teach your children the lifelong skill of studying for tests by taking a picture of the contents of a chapter. These memory techniques are commonly used by Cambridge University students to reduce studying time. For some children, math is a monster! They hate it and always feel dumb when doing it. These children have difficulty learning math facts. They tend to do poorly on tests, because they “forget” how to do the math processes (division, fractions, algebra, etc.) In this workshop, you will learn how to help your child: (1) finally store math facts in his long-term memory, and (2) finally store math processes in his long-term memory. Your child will finally be able to pass the math tests and go on to the higher math courses using right-brain math. No curriculum to purchase… just fast, effective, right-brain strategies to use at home to reduce math frustration and tears! So many moms report that their child now likes math. These powerful visual memory techniques work with all types of learners and can be a godsend for a child who has an auditory processing glitch. Have a happier child this year. Even works with adults!
The Biology of Behavior
Johnny is a constant motion machine. Tom cries in frustration over minor matters. Susie forgets what she has just learned. According to Dr. Sydney Walker, children tend to “act how they feel.” This fascinating workshop provides you with clues to your child’s brain/body chemistry. William Crook, MD, has found that over 85% of children who suffer with sensory processing disorders or attention or mood disorders when older, have experienced multiple ear infections as a young child. Untreated, these children often go on to have many hidden food allergies and asthma. It is easy to correct these imbalances at home and dramatically affect your child’s learning day. The testimonies that we receive from parents across the United States who are using these simple remedies with their children are amazing!
