The philosophy of “Learning Skills 4 Kids” is based on the belief

 

that it is essential for a child to have a strong foundation upon which to build further skills. Our goal is to work toward building up the foundation to ensure that it is solid and strong. If a child has a weakness in one or more of the foundation skills*, we believe that these areas must be attended to before one can expect the child to become an effective learner at school.

*If you would like to read more check out our article The Foundation Blocks for Learning.

At “Learning Skills 4 Kids” we do not assume the child has the basic foundation skills for learning. Rather our programs aim to address these basic skills before moving onto higher levels of learning. Our programs are aimed at specifically targeting these areas of need. The programs have been designed by qualified therapists who use these same or very similar activities during their daily therapy sessions with clients. As authors of the programs, we are therapists who work in two different but complimentary fields i.e. occupational therapy and speech language therapy. As such, we feel that the combination of these skills allows us to design programs which are sensitive to children with a wide range of needs.

We endeavour to create programs which encourage home learning at an affordable price. Parents and care givers can assist their child in an environment where the child feels safe and secure. Our programs can be used over and over again, are not culture specific and can be administered by a literate adult. (Caregiver, nanny, grandparent, school, etc.)

We have found that our programs have been used by many caregivers and parents who do not have access to regular therapy. Over and above this, these programs can also boost the skills of children who are in fact attending regular therapy sessions. This is done at home by using the programs on a regular basis during periods in between therapy sessions.

 

Staff Biographies

Fiona Lilley - Occupational Therapist

Dip. O.T. (Derby U.K.) NZROT MNZAOT


Then in 1986 she started her own private practice in South Africa working with children with developmental delays and/or learning difficulties.

After immigrating to New Zealand in 1991 with her family she worked in a physically disabled unit with children with developmental delays and/or learning difficulties plus physical disabilities.

In 1993 Fiona started the first of her businesses catering for children with developmental delays and/or learning difficulties.
Fiona is a New Zealand Registered Occupational Therapist and a Member of the New Zealand Occupational Therapy Association.

Sally Barrable - Speech-language Therapist

B.A. Speech and Hearing Therapy (Wits) MNZSTA 
After immigrating to New Zealand in 2000 with her family she has worked alongside other therapists in a multi-disciplinarian team conducting assessments and devising and implementing therapy programs. She now works as a self employed therapist primarily with speech, language and learning difficulties.

Sally is a New Zealand Registered Speech-Language Therapist and a Member of the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapy Association.

Other Authors

BARBARA BRANN
M.ED., B.A., B.ED., Dip Ed., Grad. Diploma Special Education, TTC APS


Barbara Brann is best known for "The Magic Caterpillar Handwriting Process" and the "Brann Analysis Grid for Spelling". She is also an accomplished public speaker and the writer of many other educational publications.

Barbara has been involved in education for over thirty years. Her initial undergraduate studies were at Queensland University and she started her teaching career at a High School in Brisbane Queensland Australia. Barbara moved to the Northern Territory in the early 1970’s. Over the following years she taught at all levels of education from the first year of school to Adult Matriculation and also spent several years as a Language Adviser to both urban schools and Indigenous Community schools.

Family commitments took her to Perth for a year where she taught Adult Literacy and then to New Zealand for ten years where she taught in schools, tertiary institutions and teacher education. In 1996, Barbara set up BMB Educational Consultancy in Auckland New Zealand offering professional development to teachers throughout New Zealand. She also trained teachers to provide individual tuition through SmartMoves™ Tuition Services. In 1998 Barbara returned to Australia where she established BMB Educational Consultancy (Aust).

Barbara’s Master’s Degree specialized in the area of spelling, but her interest in handwriting led to the creation of "The Magic Caterpillar Handwriting Process". This method to teach handwriting is now used in hundreds of schools throughout the world. Throughout her career Barbara has had particular interests in metacognition and learning to learn, information processing and memory and the influence of motor co-ordination on learning. These interests are at the heart of much of her writing and her professional development seminars.

Barbara now provides professional development through seminars, workshops and consultancy to Educational Institutions and Businesses throughout Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the world.
Her resources are being used widely throughout Australia and New Zealand and are also in the UK, Thailand, Singapore and the USA.