Saturday, January 29, 2011 is National Puzzle Day and national brain training company LearningRx is challenging students to put their puzzle-building skills to the test … a brain skills test!
January 29 through February 4, LearningRx is offering anyone under 18 a discounted assessment of their cognitive skills – like processing speed, attention, logic and reasoning, visual and auditory processing and the three types of memory. The results can help students decide what steps to take in strengthening certain cognitive skills.
“Puzzles are great toys for kids not only because they’re usually very affordable, but also because they help strengthen important brain skills,” says Tanya Mitchell, VP of Research and Development for LearningRx. “These include things like attention, visual processing, planning and spatial reasoning. They’re especially important for younger children, because a foundation of strong cognitive skills makes learning easier later.”
Puzzle facts:
• Jigsaw puzzles originated in the 1760s when maps were pasted onto wood and dissected.
• In 2008, more than 15,000 people in Ravensburg, Germany assembled a nearly 6,500-square-foot puzzle in town square. The puzzle had 1,141,800 pieces.
• In the 1930s, puzzle manufacturer Einson Freeman convinced a toothbrush company to give away a puzzle with every toothbrush purchase. More than one million toothbrushes sold.
“Watching your child do a puzzle can give you some insight into which brain skills are already strong, and which need to be strengthened,” says Dr. Ken Gibson, author of “Unlock the Einstein Inside; Applying New Brain Science to Wake Up the Smart In Your Child” (free as an ebook at www.UnlockTheEinsteinInside.com). “And the cognitive skills needed to assemble an age-appropriate puzzle in a timely manner – like visual processing, logic and reasoning, attention and processing speed – need to be strong to avoid issues in science and math later.”
3 RESOURCES:
• Puzzle strategies: Here are 4 tips to help your child finish a puzzle:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Jigsaw-Puzzle-Strategy—4-Main-Routes-to-Finishing-That-Puzzle&id=3442806
• Free puzzles online: Lots of free jigsaw puzzles for all ages that kids can do online:
http://www.thekidzpage.com/onlinejigsawpuzzles/animals/index.html
• Free “Games for Skills” Chart: Find out which common, inexpensive games build certain cognitive skills at www.UnlockTheEinsteinInside.com.
To learn more about the assessments or treating the root cause of learning struggles associated with dyslexia, ADHD, Asperger’s, Autism or dyscalculia (“trouble with math”), contact your nearest LearningRx at www.LearningRx.com
About LearningRx
LearningRx (www.LearningRx.com) specializes in treating the cause – not the symptoms – of learning struggles. The programs’ game-like exercises and 1:1 trainer-to-student ratios provide guaranteed dramatic improvement in as little as 12 to 24 weeks. With 71 centers across the U.S., LearningRx brain training can help anyone – from 5 to 85 – increase the speed, power or function of their brain.
