ILT Blog and News
By Dr. Shirley Kokot
Food and learning
A lot of attention is paid to the tragic fact that many children attend school on empty stomachs, don’t bring a packed lunch to school or buy ‘junk’ food from school tuck shops. Why the hype? The reasons are simple. First, children’s nutritional needs are very...
Movements for developing brains
Children need to be active not only for their physical growth but also to develop their brains. A beneficial way of spending a few minutes each day is to introduce them to some movement games. These are fun but more importantly will ensure that important brain areas...
Why can’t my child handle change?
When browsing through my library recently, I opened one of the older books on the shelf. Very soon, I was reading with delight some words of wisdom that are as relevant today as they were back in the middle of the last century! I’m talking about the book published...
Dyslexia and the inner ear
Dyslexia is a widespread diagnosis amongst learners who struggle with reading, spelling and/or or writing. It is not truly understood, not clearly defined and much uncertainty still exists about what therapeutic approaches are really effective. Teachers and parents...
More about vision and reading
In a previous post, I explained that there is a difference between sight and vision. Having good eyesight means that the eye is doing its job well and is able to clearly see the world both near and far. Good eyesight is referred to as 20/20 and this is what...
Our brave new world?
Parents these days seem to be faced with many more challenges than were offered in the past. It isn’t possible any more to bring your children up the way your parents raised you. There has simply been too much change too quickly, with technology literally...
Reading problems and vision
In our schools across the country, we find thousands of learners who just can’t manage reading. In the lower grades, children struggle to learn to read, and in the higher grades, they cannot read to learn. In all other respects, they seem to be normal and just as...
Heavy metals and the brain
Neurodevelopment starts in the early prenatal stage that begins with rapid growth of spreading brain cells, forming synapses especially during the last trimester. Further synaptic growth during the first 2 years of life is particularly critical to ongoing functioning...
What early school performance tells us
It seems that your child’s performance at the beginning and end of the Foundation Phase (that is, the end of Grades 0 and 3) of school can be a reliable predictor of future academic success. The reason for this is logical. Higher academic skills depend on...