The BIG Discovery!

Meredith was in fourth grade and starting to struggle academically.  She had always been a poor speller, although she would ace her spelling tests.  She received good grades up to this point.  But, fourth grade relied more on reading for learning.  I enrolled Meredith in Kumon--a private enrichment or remedial academic program, depending on your use of it.  Kumon relies heavily on building block teaching and uses lots of drill and repetition, a protocol I later learned is a terrible fit for a visual learner.  Visual learners do best getting the whole picture first and then filling in the details. They do not learn in a sequential manner.  And drill and repetition bore them to tears I have now learned. So, I asked the teacher on her initial visit to Kumon why she thought Meredith might have trouble with spelling. She responded by asking me whether Meredith was a visual learner.  I didn't know.  I said that she was always drawing pictures, so maybe?

Later the next day, after I had a chance to research what a visual learner looked like, I asked Meredith whether pictures worked well for her.  She said, "Yes...do you want to see my picture for 9+7?"  "You have a picture for 9+7?" I asked.  She took out some colored markers and this is what she drew:

She described number 9 as an alien who gives a gift to the little boy number 7 (see the helicopter hat?) who then gives the gift to his sister number 16 for her Sweet 16 birthday.  I asked Meredith if she had pictures for every number and she said she did.  "Every number?  12? 19? 51?"  "You're so funny, Mama," she said to me as if it was so funny to her that I didn't know that.

As I picked my jaw off the floor, we continued talking and I discovered that she has pictures for every number as well as every word.  Holy cow!  This was a lot to take in.  And if that wasn't enough, she then told me about her little "helper" friend in her mind named "Merebith."  Looking back, the dyslexia factor between "Meredith" and "Merebith" is fascinating.  Apparently, Merebith is a little tiny girl--sort of an alter ego (she describes her as basically herself, but a different person).  Meredith described to me in detail how Merebith wears a school girl outfit complete with a plaid skirt, a white shirt, a matching headband, Mary Jane shoes and black glasses.   This is the picture of Merebith that Meredith drew for me:

I really will never forget that day for as long as I live.