Natsuno Shimoyama (person in the left of the photo)
Attended Shichida lessons from ages 2 to 6.

 

Natsuno's Mother says:
My daughter attended a Shichida Center from age 2 through primary school grade 1.
She started learning English with the dream of “becoming a ballerina abroad” and used Shichida CD learning materials, worksheets and flashcard activities in addition to studying English.

It’s Compatible with Lessons! Create an Environment within Life Where Your Child Can Naturally Enjoy Learning!
Natsuno always took initiative to complete Critical Thinking worksheets on her own. When she was in a good mood, she would enthusiastically want to complete ten to twenty of Critical Thinking worksheets per day. I would copy the worksheets and she would complete them over and over.

 

Even when we were busy with piano and ballet lessons, I kept a small desk in the car where she could do worksheets. I continued to find small windows of time for her to steadily complete activities until she graduated high school.

 

The Shichida Method songs were incredibly useful in helping her and her classmates memorize for their tests on the names of the prefectures and districts of Japan.
Her “Sing to Memorize” and “Listen at High-Speed” Abilities Continue to Help Her
Around the time Natsuno was in her third year of primary school, the Shichida Method songs were incredibly useful in helping her and her classmates memorize for their tests on the names of the prefectures and districts of Japan. This process of “singing, memorizing and never making a mistake” was effective in other subjects as well.
When she took her entrance exam for junior high school and the Center Exam for university entrance, singing to memorize was also helpful in relieving some of her nervousness.

 

When she had to give speeches for events in school, she could write a speech in English or Japanese the day before and, by the next day, she was able to completely memorize it.
She would say, “If I read it aloud quickly many times, the content smoothly enters my mind.” Here too I sensed how useful listening to high-speed tracks and memorizing them was to her.

 

My Slogans Were “One step at a time!” and “It’s okay!”
There were times when we had to take breaks from doing activities. But I came to realize that maybe it was okay to match the pace of our nursery and primary school activities and to place priority on the things that Natsuno enjoyed.

 

When she started entering contests and competitions, she started to feel stress because she had no days off from lessons or school.
However, working through these times became great memories for us and we could later reflect, “We learned from everything we tried. We’re glad we tried! It was fun!”

 

For eighteen years, my slogans were, “One step at a time. It will turn out just fine. It’s okay!”
Natsuno represented Japan in the 2018 Intel “International Science and Engineering Fair”* in the United States and was awarded fourth place in the Life Science, Bacteriology Division.
The fruits of the steady activities we did are starting to emerge and my daughter has found one place to let herself bloom. I hope to keep watching for afar as she continues to blossom.

 

*The 2018 Intel “International Science and Engineering Fair” is a scientific research contest where 7,500 high school students, chosen from 75 countries and territories around the world, present their research findings. It is known as the “Science Olympics” and in 2018, it was held in Pittsburg in the United States of America.

 

*Photos are provided by Nippon Science Service (NSS)