Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A Life in Balance Book Review

Learning Breakthrough Program Review
Learning Breakthrough Program recently sent me their book to review A Life in Balance .  This compelling book shares how their program came about.

About:

This book is written by Eric Belgau based on the information his father Frank Belgau shared with him.  The book tells the beginnings, why and how the  Learning Breakthrough Program came about. You will learn about Balance Boards, the brain and how they are all connected. 


You can purchase the book here for $16.94. 

My Thoughts:

This book drew me in with the first chapter.  In fact at the time I only had about an hour to read and I was so disappointed because I wanted to read more right then and there.  (I did read a little longer than I planned.)  I ended up finishing the book within two days. 

One of the things I liked so much about this book is that it read like more a novel than a autobiography.  Each step in life lead to a new break through for teaching kids to read and learn.  The story starts with young Frank and his personal struggles with reading.  He grew up in a family where all his siblings were natural readers.  He was the exception. He also struggled physically.  We would call it clumsy but I think after reading the book and the authors connection to that clumsiness and his reading abilities we would see a greater significance.  He eventually overcomes the clumsiness and learns to read beautifully.

Then we move to him eventually being a teacher and how he stumbles into teaching kids who were classified as brain injured.  He comes up with techniques that work.  It is really a remarkable tale because back then (60's, 70's and 80's)  there wasn't the knowledge of learning disabilities like today.  Mr. Belgau worked on the front lines with his discoveries!  He changed lives!

It felt like fate was working in Belgau's life based on the situations he found himself in with his different jobs.  Each bringing him to a different level by challenging him.  Not only that but the people that came in and out of his life were just who he needed to meet at each stage.    All of this  helped in the molding of his program.  

I've always been intrigued by how the brain works and I felt like this book gave me some additional insight in that area.  I especially loved  and was grateful for the appendix in this book which includes descriptions of the activities Mr. Belgua developed.  Honestly this book is a treasure.  If you have a child with any sort of learning issue:  ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia... this would be a great read for you.  While I do not have children with those issues we do have some sensory issues and some other neurological things (slight but there) going on.  I think that made this book all the more informative for me as well.  As a home educator I really enjoy reading about subjects of kid's learning and their brain workings.  Even if you don't fit in either of the above areas it still is a fascinating story that includes politics and history of education! 


You can read additional reviews of this book by clicking on the link below:



Click to read Crew Reviews

Also be sure to visit Learning Breakthrough on the following social medias:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearningBreakthrough
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LearningBreak
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LearningBreakthrough



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