So, you've figured out that you have a visual child. Great, now what??

Here are some tips and tricks to help you prepare some activities for your visual learner. Remember, that visual learners need to watch things being done, they learn through their eyes and manipulation with their hands. It is difficult to watch a concept or an internal thought process. This is further compounded because visual learners do not process information in the same way.

Some visual learner activities include:

• Put up note cards all over the house that say what the item is. So, on the front door, there would be a note card that says "door" or a note card on the oven that says "oven". This allows the child to picture the item and the word together, which is how they learn best.
• Take them to a live game, soccer, baseball, football, tennis match anything. Sit up high in the bleachers so that your visual learner can see where everyone stands on the field and how they move.
• Take them to the beach, or a sandbox and have them write letters in the sand. Let them feel the sand move around their finger as they write. Write the words "sand" "water" "beach" anything that they associate with the beach or a sandbox. (No, not cat poo!) Although that might make them laugh and having fun does increase knowledge retention. (See below for how to make an indoor sandbox for just this purpose.)
• Math skills - using about 20 items that are all about the same (could be building blocks, Cheerios, M&Ms, legos) and work math skills. Give the child 2 blocks and show him or her that you have 3 blocks, ask if we put the blocks together, how many would we have. While you are doing this, you should also have note cards with the actual numbers on them. If you are adding, have a note card with a plus sign and an equal sign. This allows them to understand the symbols society uses and will help them in math to get the entire picture (which is how they learn).

Visual learner activities need to allow the child to match the picture he sees in his head to a concept he needs to learn. For instance, he or she does not always read the word "dog" as D...O...G; they read the entire word and picture a fluffy puppy. A visual learner may not know how they got to 2+3+2=7; they just know the answer is 7.

If you are struggling with your child, and you believe they are a visual learner, there are a lot of resources out there for you to find. Also, talk with your child's school to see what tools are available for your child.

*Indoor Sandbox--get a large, shallow, rectangle tupperware container that has a lid that can seal well. (I like the "Really Useful Boxes" that you can get at Office Depot or Office Max). Fill the container a bit less than half way full. You have yourself a sandbox for practicing writing letters and words.