Celeste is nice and understanding. She makes me work more quickly without rushing me and gives me breaks when I need them. "
" When I am at her house claying, I feel happy because I love to see her and to learn how to spell new words".
"Celeste makes me understand things so I can remember and she is very patient".
I am so very pleased I have found Celeste to work with our daughter.
Since prep, I have been trying to tell teachers that she learns in a different way and that I suspected she had dyslexia.
School was willing to help but in all honesty failed as they used their normal reading recovery strategies which just do not work and at times even make the problems worse.
An example is repeating. Putting pressure on her and using flash cards over and over, never made her better at reading and spelling trigger words like "that" and "the". It did bring down her confidence and her joy for learning. After mastering these words in clay, she gets it. And is proud of herself.
So long as my girl does not understand, she will not remember. Her memory is never the problem as she has a fabulous memory (one of her gifts). Celeste taught her to tell time. Starting with where time came from then working out the clock.
Within a few days my daughter reached her goal of 'telling time' after years (she is in grade 4) of frustrating 'time telling' sessions at school.
The biggest change came just after her first day with Celeste on which she learned to use her 'minds eye' to make pictures.
The skill of making mental pictures is a great help and my daughter feels empowered by this and other tools Celeste gave her. Knowing when she is focussed and knowing how to get back to that after getting distracted or lost in thoughts, is amazing to see.
She has grown in self awareness which in turn has grown her confidence.
She is always happy to go and work with Celeste. The one on one attention, the calm, the patience, the respect and appreciation from Celeste, are worth a million. Her behaviour has improved since seeing Celeste as she looks at her actions and what she can do, rather then blaming everyone else when things don't go well. Her reading and spelling have improved. As has her math. 5 days with Celeste have proven to teach her as much or more as she did in two years at school.
And Celeste has given her tools for life. To use with learning and with living. Our family is grateful to have you, Celeste. Not in the least for your support in recognising the beauty of her mind and bringing it out into the light.
I’ve had a lifelong struggle with reading. As a writer it made my job, and life, harder. Through the years I’ve worked around it, tried to hide it, and basically accepted it. And then Celeste came along. Working with her has helped me understand why I’ve struggled and helped me become more self-aware, which is essential for change. Her program has given me practical tools that enable me to be more present and more focused in all aspects of my life, not just reading.
She was patient and encouraging, and her passion for the program was contagious. I’ve definitely benefited from working with the clay and applying her tools.
I did the Davis reading correction Program with Celeste only recently and her calm and relaxed environment helped me to take stock on how to slow down the "confusion
moments" in my brain and not sabotage my thought pattern.
The Davis strategies has helped me to cope and think about how to
progress with a task, using a unique and simple process.
I only wish the education system and parents through the years had realised
there were and are so many of us struggling with spelling, maths,
handwriting, ADD, Dyspraxia and trying to organise our day to day lives.
As a mature dyslexic I would strongly recommend having a talk to Celeste
about the program in the hope that you or your child does not go through the many years of anxiety and frustration that I did.
My daughter was diagnosed by her school as having “Attention Deficit Disorder” when she was in Grade 2. The only advice the school psychologist gave us was that my daughter could be put on medication to curb her behaviour.
I am a medical doctor and this did not sit at all well with me. My daughter was not disruptive in class but would often spend time gazing through the window lost in her own imagination.
I was so lucky that we found Celeste at C.L.A.Y. learning. We were recommended by a friend and the experience was life changing.
My daughter spent many happy hours with Celeste learning new techniques to help her with her attention, her memory and embracing her creativity. Celeste taught her new ways to understand and receive information that really spoke to her.
When she went back to school after her intensive sessions with Celeste the teachers were completely shocked. They couldn’t believe the turn around in such a short time and I know they recommended the program to other students.
My daughter is now in Grade 6 and still uses techniques she learnt with Celeste to help her with her Attention in class. She never required medication and Celeste helped her see her different brain as something to be marvelled at.
She often says to me “My talent is my imagination” and as a mother this makes me so proud.
Thank you Celeste!