Seeing Stars - training?

I went throught the training earlier this year. As an experienced special education teacher, I found that 95% of the techniques they covered in the 2 days of training were things that I already did, and had learned about through personal research. (It sure would have been nice to learn it in grad school, don’t you think?) For me, buying the book would have been sufficient.

However, parents who took the training with me found the course very valuable….so I guess it pretty much depends on your background.

Kary

I also took the training. I took the LIPS, Seeing Stars, and V/V all in the same week. Seeing Stars and V/V are easy to learn working straight from the book. It’s very straight-forward and there’s lots of sample lessons in the book.

Are you also considering the LIPS program?

Right now we are trying Phonographix.

I was interested in the Seeing Stars program because my son has always had difficulty with sight words.

What does the Seeing Stars program help with?

Have you had success with your students in this program?

Responding to your question about Lindamood-Bell training. I just got back from a workshop in Seattle, WA. It was the most incredible, intense, and thorough worshop I have attended-ever! I went to the LIPS workshop-auditory processing (identifying each phoneme in a word.) I have materials for Seeing Stars and Visualizing and Verbalizing at my school. I plan on using them immediately. I would highly suggest that you get training in this area. There is a lot of modeling and practice. You NEED the 3 days for LIPS, and it still isn’t enough time. I am very excited about this program! :-)

I have used the manual with my son (without the training) and it is very comprehensive. We ran into problems with him not remembering symobl sound relationships and had to backtrack but he was learning to visualize the letters with the program.

I am sure the training is helpful but if you are the sort that likes to read and study something, Seeing STars manual is well designed and easy to follow. It is also written in such a way that you can use it with LIPS or any other good program, eg., PG.

Beth

The basic philosophy behind the “Seeing Stars” program is that there’s a group of people who, although they have good visualization skills for ideas (pictures), they don’t have equally good skills for visualizing symbols. So this method practices symbol recognition and retention.

Much of the work is done by air-writing because it’s been proven that the “ghost” left in the air after you’ve written there, is retained as a visual image by the brain. Seeing Stars is full of little game-like exercises to practice retention of the symbols.

I’ve never used it exclusively because the children referred to me have always also needed LIPS. I automatically weave the Seeing Stars into the LIPS program so they’re done simultaneously. I’ve also worked with classroom teachers on simple exercises they can employ in their regular spelling lessons that apply these same principles.

Joan,

Would you say that the manual is enough or is it better to have the whole kit?

Janis

Beth,

Did you buy the manual or the whole kit? I am going to get V/V, too, but that kit is only $100. Seeing Stars is higher.

Janis

I think the manual alone for Seeing Stars is just fine if you’re budget-conscious. You can make up the various chains yourself using index cards. That’s what I did. Just about any of the materials that are needed can be handmade.

Joan,

I wouldn’t be so budget conscious except that I want ALL the LB programs!!! Do you by any chance know anyone who has the training vidoes for LiPS or V/V?

Janis

I’ve seen both sets of videos in their entirety. Also when you take the training, they show excerpts from their videos. The videos don’t really show anything that isn’t already written in the book as sample lessons. I think their manuals are excellent in that regard - what they have in the book is EXACTLY how you’d teach in a real session. so I wouldn’t spend the money on the videos if you don’t have to!

Joan,

The reason I asked is that I have dual purposes in mind. I do want to use the LB programs myself. But I also want people at my child’s school to learn it as well since she has an auditory processsing disorder and I’d like the people there to be using effective strategies! She has a long school day and is too tired to do a lot in the evening, so I do want some of the remediation to be done at school (novel idea?!). I guess I don’t have a lot of confidence in them just ordering the materials and using them correctly! I feel this way because as a teacher, I am on a quest to find something BETTER than what we have been using!!! I see far too many resource teachers content with doing things the same ineffective way they’ve been doing them for years. I wish I could find the videos to borrow or rent. But if necessary, I guess I’ll have to buy them. It would be cheaper than going to the training and would train more teachers than just me.

Janis

Janies,

I only bought the book. I actually really liked reading the book. It is written like a novel in that it explains how the idea of Seeing Stars came to be. You can easily make the cards. There are even some lists in the back of the book. I can’t remember what else came with the kit. Oh, I also bought the workbooks—which were pretty cheap.

Now I never went all the way through the program with him because it became clear that he had not mastered sound-symbol relationship adequately so it may be that I would have wanted other materials. I went about a 1/4 through it before I stopped. I would like to return to it but haven’t. (Currently, going back through all the advanced code with PG after doing PACE summer and into the fall. I think (I hope) it will stick this time!!).

Beth

Beth,

If you give me a good deal, I might be interested in buying Seeing Stars from you. ;-) Email me if interested!

Janis

I don’t think we are beyond maybe needing it so I will have to pass. I’d GIVE it to you, if he was!!!

Thanks, Beth! Keep me in mind as he masters these materials! I just got my PG materials and I am getting ready to cut up all those manipulatives and organize them! I am hoping to go for training at their conference in April in New Orleans but will go ahead and work on her weak areas in basic code asap.

Janis

Beth,

In case you think I lost my mind :-), I misread your earlier post! I thought you said you wish you could return the SS book…but you actually said return TO it! LOL! I guess I need to slow down and read more carefully!

Janis

Janis,

That’s funny!! But seriously, I would be glad to pass it on to you once we don’t need it, if you haven’t acquired it by then. Just don’t hold your breath. Everything takes twice as long as I anticipate (and anyone else anticipates) with my son.

Beth

BTW, we are getting nice improvements in fine motor skills with The Listening Program. I don’t know if this is an issue with your daughter but thought you might be interested. I think it is really queer but the therapist seems to have expected it. She showed me a map of the brain to explain it all. Knew I shouldn’t have skipped all those neurology type classes in college!!!

Thanks, Beth. Actually, I do hope to get SS and V/V by summer. I don’t want to get too many things at once, because I need to really learn one thing well before going on to the next. And since I am just starting with PG, that will probably be my project for the near future!

Speaking of the brain, the PBS special was really facinating. They even showed a LB clinic briefly. They also showed an MRI on a dyslexic child. Anna actually has great fine motor and gross motor skills. That is one reason I had hesitated to consider NeuroNet. Anna seems to be more of a pure APD kid (as far as I know). I feel like if we can get her reading where it needs to be, and also work on short-term memory and comprehension, we’ll have a lot of her problems under control. (I hope!). Oh, and I need to go through the FFWD training as well to determine if I want to use that this summer. I am just very fortunate that I can use all this to benefit my students as well as my own child!

Janis

My son needs both seeing stars and V&v could one buy the manuals and just do the program yourself as a parent or I have a friend who is going for her masters in special ed (will be done in a few months ) but has no experience
could either of us of both work with my son or am I better taking him to a lmb center or get a lmb tutor Joan V wrote:
>
> I think the manual alone for Seeing Stars is just fine if
> you’re budget-conscious. You can make up the various chains
> yourself using index cards. That’s what I did. Just about any
> of the materials that are needed can be handmade.

Beth can you tell me more about the listening program

Freyda,

Hi! I know others will come answer you, but my opinion is yes, if your friend will tutor, spend the $350 for the Seeing Stars kit and $100 plus $300 for VV and training tapes (total $750) rather than $17,000 for a LB clinic. Plenty of people here have pulled kids out of school to homeschool to do special therapy. But at this time of year, considering it would take your friend awhile to study the manuals and view the tapes, maybe she could work with him all summer. I’d have somebody go ahead and do Phono-Graphix with him right now, though, just to give him a head start. It would certainly beenfit your friend, too. these techniques ususlly aren’t taught in a Master’s program and she will be awfully glad if she learns it!

Janis