Firstly, I have to say that the innovation was created in a way that it was meant to include all children. Although it's an English as a second language innovation. English speaking children on the spectrum can also learn to communicate using The Lucky Mushroom ABCs.
A lot of people are intimidated by learning languages but children are not. In most cases a child only becomes shy about a language and shuts down when an adult interferes with the learning process and learning the language becomes a task instead of something fun.
I wanted to make learning English accessible to everyone by making it fun. The only person that will "make a fool of himself" is me; the guy who is not a ventriloquist and is talking to and with a puppet.
The need for a genuine setting for kids to learn was necessary because the need to communicate is more urgent than it has ever been.
I warted to make sure any person capable of speaking English with their own body ( I mean that literally) should learn to do so. I wanted to make sure that kids do not turn over the autonomy of their tongues in English just because they didn't think they could express themselves well enough.
I had already spent over 20 years teaching non-native adults to express themselves in English in a corporate setting with the company that I had founded in 2005 called Express ya Self (English Consulting).
The first step is to establish what we term a "transitional space" based on the teachings of Donald Winnicott 1896-1971 (pediatrician and psychoanalyst). The teacher introduces him/herself to the group. Before the initial meeting the kids are informed that Lucky is coming for a visit. The kids inevitably google Lucky or go straight to the YouTube channel and check out the videos for themselves.
Once this "space" has been set up the children will feel free to communicate. Start with the ABCs and once it has been established that all the kids know the ABC song and recognize the ABCs, make a connection to another word in another language. E.g. Yellow starts with an A, Fear starts with an A, Love starts with an A.
A is capable of more than making apples as you have learned. At this point foreign (non-native speakers) automatically start scanning their brains for other words. Hell starts with an A if you are Korean for example.
From there the universe is opened up to the teacher and the students. A color discussion is what I like. Blue starts with an A in Spanish but so does Yellow.
And we always count the letters! A is the first letter, M is the 13th etc...
A lesson can start with a puzzle. "Give me some 7th letter concepts or colors".
I also use it for counting syllables. All letters have only 1 accept for the 23rd.
I have made Lucky the Ambassador of "Hashemo's Haus" an nonprofit that I called into life to make sure that kids have access to quality English as a Second language material regardless of their social/ economic standing.
Lucky has been speaking primarily to artists from the reggae scene and posting videos on social media.
I am a rapper by trade. I am untarnished by any scandal as I have always stressed the importance of lyrics and how the affect they have on the young. My first song was released in 1989. It was about how crack cocaine was negatively impacting the young and how it should not be equated to Hip Hop Music. The song was on the Real Milli Vanilli album but unfortunately it was not released in the USA.
I haven't modified anything I just failed to inform readers that it was designed to learn English as a second language for all non-native speakers but it's so challenging because it was actually created to include native-speakers that might feel left out. Especially those with special needs, or those in poor urban, rural areas.
The first thing you should do is ask a child you know if they know the ABCs. Or ask them what is their favorite letter. If they say that they don't have one talk about why. Alternatively, you could use the first letter of the child's name (most kids do that anyway) and then look up that letter on the Lucky Mushroom ABCs. You can check the website or the YouTube channel. If you are genuinely curious, go to my linkedin account. There is more information on the Lucky Mushroom ABCS.
Make sure that you have time to listen! Learning starts with listening. Remember while you're listening that this is a letter of the English alphabet that does not think the ABC song has done it justice. It is trying to tell you how special it is and that it does not require the other 25 letters.
It is as special as the child that chose it! Try it with you own name! Pick a letter at random and let the letter introduce itself.
Learning starts with listening. Listening without judgment is how you learn. Listen to 3 letters! That's all that I ask. There are not videos for all the letters. Some are only audio files. I would like to keep it that way for now. I would like to offer children the opportunity to create their own videos, with or without AI for their favorite letter.
