Heguru: Right Brain Training for My Baby and Toddler
This article was first published in The New Age Parents Oct/Nov e-magazine.
I didn’t think Heguru was necessarily the best fit for my kids. It feels a little wrong to start a child as young as a baby in an enrichment class, let alone right brain training. Honestly, I was also a little lazy – having to bring them to classes every week.
But then I read a tiny bit more about it and came to my senses. A child’s brain grows rapidly in the 0-3 years old period, so it is in fact, the golden period for early childhood education. I admit there are some element of ‘kiasuness’ here, the fear of missing out on this window of time. But as a parent, don’t we all want the best for our children?
So, what is Heguru or HEGL method?
Heguru is an effective early childhood education method that was founded in Japan by Hirotada and Ruiko Henmi with over 30 years of extensive research and practicum. Its method focuses on enhancing children’s fundamental abilities to acquire education. It is believed that right brain training since infancy will help a child develop a natural learning ability. And when a child is able to learn faster, it increases their confidence and interest in learning.
Why the right brain, I hear you ask?
Well, I can’t actually hear you but I had the same question. Here is what I found out. So basically, our left and right brain function differently. Left being the ‘logic/rational’ brain, and the right being ‘creative/ideas’ brain. They are both equally important.
The problem is our formal education system or when the children go to school, most learning is done using the left-hand side of the brain. Think about it. Spelling, math equation and even science experiments require logical, step by step understanding which works the left brain.
As you see from the diagram above, the right brain enables a child to learn subconsciously and has the potential to process large amount of data at high speed. It also has great memory retention ability. So why aren’t we harnessing its ability more?
Heguru Education Centre
This is where Heguru Education or right brain training comes in. It focuses on developing the right brain exponentially. The center offer lessons for two groups – Infant and Toddler Course (6 months to 4 years old) and Preschool Course (5-6 years old). The classes are grouped according to their age.
Lauren and Georgia are in Genius Bee (born in 2012) and Genius Owl (born in 2014) class respectfully at Heguru Education Centre. The classes are par`ent accompanied and there are usually 4 to 6 other students and their parents in each class.
As I mentioned before, I had some initial reservation. 4 months in, I’m still surprised every time we attend a lesson. My easily distracted daughters are engaged and seem to enjoy the lessons very much. Conducted by 2 teachers, the class is fast paced with little down time in between activities. Parents are encouraged to participate; I must say I get some brain workouts during class too!
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| Some of activities that takes place during the hour long class. Photo credit: http://www.heguru.com/programme/infant_toddler.html |
This is the first part of The New Age Parents and Heguru Education series. In next part in the series, I’ll explore what happens during a Heguru class and how it has improved my kids’ learning ability. Stay tune, or in this case, keep reading!
For more information, visit Heguru Education Centre website.
HELLO! I’M MICHELLE.
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