Babies come into the world ready to learn. Their brains are thirsty for stimulation. Experiences that fill a baby's first days, months and years have a critical impact on brain development. Children develop much of their capacity for learning in the first three years of life, when their brains grow to 90 percent of their eventual adult weight.
It is only recently that science has taught us that a young child's active participation with their caregivers helps grow their brain. This research — the interplay between nature and nurture — forms the foundation of the Raising A Reader program.
The Aspen to Parachute Raising A Reader Program began in 2004 and currently reaches 1,600 children. Supported by research demonstrating a direct connection between reading aloud and later reading success, the program engages children from birth to age 5 in a routine of daily book sharing with their caregivers in order to foster healthy brain development, parent-child bonding and early literacy skills critical for school and life.
http://www.postindependent.com/article/20110728/VALLEYNEWS/110729887/1083&ParentProfile=1074
20.7.11
German workers urged to take siestas
Germany’s DGB confederation of trade unions urged for a short, lunchtime power nap for workers, which is good for health, energy levels and productivity. A professor of biology and psychology at the University of Regensburg said an afternoon nap bridges the power low of midday with its heightened risk of errors and help people to react faster, be more alert, remember things and put people in a better mood. The study at the University of California, Berkeley backed that up by demonstrating that healthy young adults perform better at learning task towards the end of the day if they had an afternoon nap. This idea has caught on in some big German companies such as BASF, Opel, Hornsbach and Lufthansa, which provide special rooms for their workers to take siestas, and employers said the company benefitted from the increased productivity of well-rested employees. Meanwhile, some German citizens do not welcome the idea and said nap break would delay their time to go home. Source: SCMP (A9)(19.7.2011)
Learning begins at birth
A focus on early childhood is part of the education agendas of both President Barack Obama and Gov. Rick Snyder, but this local effort was in the works before those official calls came. Barkley said that's because Calhoun County educators believe in research showing early learning supports performance throughout school. Barkley said 80 percent of brain development happens within the first 36 months, before children start school.
"So this can't wait...," she said.
"Learning begins at birth," Lee said. "Children don't walk into kindergarten with a blank slate."
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110717/NEWS01/107170316/Family-coaches-help-new-parents-through-Early-Childhood-Connections?odyssey=nav|head
"So this can't wait...," she said.
"Learning begins at birth," Lee said. "Children don't walk into kindergarten with a blank slate."
http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/article/20110717/NEWS01/107170316/Family-coaches-help-new-parents-through-Early-Childhood-Connections?odyssey=nav|head
9.7.11
Children Are Our Future, but Their Futures Are Often Up to Us
JULY 5, 2011 IN PERCEPTIONS
In a list of the top 10 most frequently used phrases, “children are our future” must surely be included.
All of us believe it and most of us have said it at one time or another. The question for us then is this: why is it so hard for the reality of our youngest children to match our rhetoric? Often, it feels that on issues of early childhood, it’s one step forward, two steps back.
It’s certainly not because the science and the research are unclear. In truth, they could not be more unequivocal: there is no time more important in every person’s brain development than the earliest years of life. By the time a toddler blows out the three candles on the cake celebrating his third birthday, his brain has grown to 80% of its adult size, soaking up experiences, building vocabulary, and developing character. These are the years when the foundations are laid for all future learning and when interventions produce dramatic returns on investments.
http://www.theurbanchildinstitute.org/articles/perceptions/children-are-our-future-but-their-futures-are-often-up-to-us
In a list of the top 10 most frequently used phrases, “children are our future” must surely be included.
All of us believe it and most of us have said it at one time or another. The question for us then is this: why is it so hard for the reality of our youngest children to match our rhetoric? Often, it feels that on issues of early childhood, it’s one step forward, two steps back.
It’s certainly not because the science and the research are unclear. In truth, they could not be more unequivocal: there is no time more important in every person’s brain development than the earliest years of life. By the time a toddler blows out the three candles on the cake celebrating his third birthday, his brain has grown to 80% of its adult size, soaking up experiences, building vocabulary, and developing character. These are the years when the foundations are laid for all future learning and when interventions produce dramatic returns on investments.
http://www.theurbanchildinstitute.org/articles/perceptions/children-are-our-future-but-their-futures-are-often-up-to-us
Communication starts from the very start of their lives.
Head of the Centre of the Development Child at Harvard and a reputed ambassador of brain development, Jack Shonkoff, speaking on the four core concepts of brain development, says the first few years are very important. The first of the four core concepts of brain development, he says, is that experience literally shapes brain architecture and brain circuitry. And the connections literally develop at the rate of 700 new synapses every second in the first several years of life.
The report was published June 30 this year and it examines how a child’s early environment – before their second birthday, influences their language and school performance.
“One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in their very early years is critical for smooth transition into the educational system,” says Professor James Law, Newcastle University, who was one of the researchers in the University of the West of England-led study.
“what you do with your child and how you communicate with them when they are under two is far more important than having a flash car or a detached house in the country. This is a very positive message as it gets us away from the belief that a child’s educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage such as income, housing or the mother’s education.”
Professor Sue Roulstone, an Underwood Trust Professor of Language and Communication Impairment at the University of the West of England, who led the project, said, “These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their child from the very start of their lives.
“The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, like having children’s books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school.”
http://www.thenigeriandaily.com/2011/07/06/communicating-with-toddlers-linked-to-academic-success-%E2%80%93-study/
The report was published June 30 this year and it examines how a child’s early environment – before their second birthday, influences their language and school performance.
“One message coming through loud and clear is that how a child learns in their very early years is critical for smooth transition into the educational system,” says Professor James Law, Newcastle University, who was one of the researchers in the University of the West of England-led study.
“what you do with your child and how you communicate with them when they are under two is far more important than having a flash car or a detached house in the country. This is a very positive message as it gets us away from the belief that a child’s educational future is pre-determined by standard measures of socio-economic disadvantage such as income, housing or the mother’s education.”
Professor Sue Roulstone, an Underwood Trust Professor of Language and Communication Impairment at the University of the West of England, who led the project, said, “These findings are an encouragement to all parents to provide a positive communication environment for their child from the very start of their lives.
“The project did identify particular aspects of the communication environment, like having children’s books around and not having the television on too much. But the main message is that, as parents, we can have an impact on how our children learn to talk by providing a range of communication experiences. And the better our children are at talking by the age of two years, the better they will do when they start school.”
http://www.thenigeriandaily.com/2011/07/06/communicating-with-toddlers-linked-to-academic-success-%E2%80%93-study/
6.7.11
Measuring an infant's response to human speech
Earlier evidence has shown that infants are perceptive to human speech, indicating that newborns are more receptive to their mother's voice. Infants can also tell the difference between the voices of not only men and women, but also children and adults.
But a new collaborative study involving researchers at Birbeck College and Kings College in the UK revealed in far greater level of the response in babies' brains. Instead of just their mother's voice, infants are receptive to a range of human noises and emotions.
To find this information, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to record the brain responses in sleeping babies as they were presented with emotionally neutral, positive, or negative speech from humans, as well as non-vocal environmental sounds.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4479/babies-are-especially-attuned-voices-emotions
But a new collaborative study involving researchers at Birbeck College and Kings College in the UK revealed in far greater level of the response in babies' brains. Instead of just their mother's voice, infants are receptive to a range of human noises and emotions.
To find this information, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to record the brain responses in sleeping babies as they were presented with emotionally neutral, positive, or negative speech from humans, as well as non-vocal environmental sounds.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4479/babies-are-especially-attuned-voices-emotions
5.7.11
Preschool children presenting with early symptoms of ADHD
What did your research find in regards to brain differences in preschool children presenting with early symptoms of ADHD?
Dr. Mahone: In our study, we determined that a small region deep in the brain called the caudate nucleus was significantly smaller in preschool children with symptoms of ADHD than it was in a group of age- and sex-matched children without symptoms of ADHD. In addition, we also found that, among the children with ADHD, the size of the caudate nucleus significantly predicted the severity of ADHD symptoms; but not in children without ADHD. The caudate nucleus is a structure that is involved in the development of attention and cognitive control, as well as the development of motor control. In contrast, the cerebral cortex, which researchers believe develops later in children, was not abnormal.
http://add.about.com/od/researchstudies/a/Study-Of-Preschool-Children-With-Adhd-Finds-Brain-Differences-Linked-To-Symptoms.htm
Dr. Mahone: In our study, we determined that a small region deep in the brain called the caudate nucleus was significantly smaller in preschool children with symptoms of ADHD than it was in a group of age- and sex-matched children without symptoms of ADHD. In addition, we also found that, among the children with ADHD, the size of the caudate nucleus significantly predicted the severity of ADHD symptoms; but not in children without ADHD. The caudate nucleus is a structure that is involved in the development of attention and cognitive control, as well as the development of motor control. In contrast, the cerebral cortex, which researchers believe develops later in children, was not abnormal.
http://add.about.com/od/researchstudies/a/Study-Of-Preschool-Children-With-Adhd-Finds-Brain-Differences-Linked-To-Symptoms.htm
1.7.11
Species learn from species.
The 2008 study being discussed was in fact preceded by a 2003 study conducted by Prof. Patricia Kuhl on 2 groups of 9-month old babies in the University of Washington. The experimental group went through 12 playgroup sessions in Putonghua with a post-graduate researcher from China.The babies were tested and were able to recognize all the sounds in Putonghua. A control group going through the same program by video conferencing could not recognize any of the Putonghua sounds. [Newsweek International, August 2005,Feature Article, Inside Your Baby's Brain.]
Species learn from species. No machine can substitute human interaction. Infants are attracted by human voice. But apparently do not recognize the sounds from a loudspeaker as human voice.
The biggest damage of TV and DVD is that during the critical period for language learning through interaction with the carers, watching the education DVD stops all chatting and playing with the child because you don't want to disrupt the learning. Babies can easily pick up 6 to 8 words in an hour by playing with their carers. When the education DVD freezes all learning through play, the end result is of course knowing fewer words.
Le Beaumont has been conducting R & D in early brain development and language acquisition in HK for the past 7 years. We discover that babies have a very sharp focus on your facial expression while listening to what you say. And in the first year, they are only interested in sounds and rhythms, with no meaning or national boundaries in languages. When you lose the personal touch, nothing happens. We now have hundreds of babies brought up with English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese AND Putonghua through play. They grow up highly gifted in languages, with high IQ and EQ. We invest heavily in building up an international team of graduates from around 10 countries to conduct playgroups for infants and toddlers. It would save us enormous amount of money if human interaction can be replaced by TV and DVD.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?source_name=mbase&source_id=2015465887
Species learn from species. No machine can substitute human interaction. Infants are attracted by human voice. But apparently do not recognize the sounds from a loudspeaker as human voice.
The biggest damage of TV and DVD is that during the critical period for language learning through interaction with the carers, watching the education DVD stops all chatting and playing with the child because you don't want to disrupt the learning. Babies can easily pick up 6 to 8 words in an hour by playing with their carers. When the education DVD freezes all learning through play, the end result is of course knowing fewer words.
Le Beaumont has been conducting R & D in early brain development and language acquisition in HK for the past 7 years. We discover that babies have a very sharp focus on your facial expression while listening to what you say. And in the first year, they are only interested in sounds and rhythms, with no meaning or national boundaries in languages. When you lose the personal touch, nothing happens. We now have hundreds of babies brought up with English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese AND Putonghua through play. They grow up highly gifted in languages, with high IQ and EQ. We invest heavily in building up an international team of graduates from around 10 countries to conduct playgroups for infants and toddlers. It would save us enormous amount of money if human interaction can be replaced by TV and DVD.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/reader_feedback/public/display.php?source_name=mbase&source_id=2015465887
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