Can playing with colorful blocks help your child's learning difficulties?

Yes, according to the people at Audiblox, an intriguing system of cognitive exercises to develop foundational learning skills. Students work on patterning with blocks, which helps develop a myriad of foundational skills, such as concentration, perception, visual and auditory discrimination, and memory. Other techniques, such as paper crumpling and beanbag tossing, round out this interesting program.

Our guest is Barb Little, United States and Canadian representative for Audiblox.

TOS: Tell us how Audiblox was invented.

Barb: The Audiblox program was actually developed as a reading readiness program. Dr. Jan Strydom of South Africa designed a series of cognitive training exercises to help his preschool children prepare for school. Later when working with kids with learning disabilities, he discovered that these same exercises were excellent in helping students overcome their difficulties.

While J.D. Salinger is best known for his 1951 classic The Catcher in the Rye, his own favorite works center on a family of brilliant, reclusive, unorthodox former child prodigies known as the Glasses. (Think Royal Tenenbaums, only with vaudeville performers for parents.) Through these short stories, Salinger not only fleshes out his most cherished creations, but also elaborates on his relationship with Zen Buddhism, which he studied for decades. Following these stories through the years demonstrates a gradual refinement in Salinger’s approach to spirituality, which transitions from being highly physical to highly abstract.

In "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," which was first published in 1948, Salinger introduces Seymour Glass, the oldest and most likeable of the Glass siblings. While relaxing on a Florida beach for his honeymoon, Seymour befriends a young girl named Sybil, whom he entertains with jokes, conversation, and good ol’ fashioned frolicking. On their last day together, Seymour tells her a story about a fantastical, greedy creature called a "bananafish" that lives (in a pineapple?) under the sea. As the story goes, these fish swim into holes, stuff themselves silly with bananas until they’re too big to escape, and tragically die of "banana fever." An effective tale for endearing oneself to a four-year old, yes, but the fact that Seymour then goes back to his hotel and shoots himself gives us a bit more pause for thought than if the day ended with, say, a picnic.