One study found that, among people who did eventually get dementia, those who were bilingual throughout their lives developed the disease three to four years later.
Dr Ellen Bialystok, of York University in Toronto, Canada, and two colleagues examined hospital records of patients diagnosed with a variety of different types of dementia.
They found: "In spite of being equivalent on a variety of cognitive and other factors, the bilinguals experienced onset and symptoms and were diagnosed approximately three to four years later than the monolinguals.
"Specifically, monolingual patients were diagnosed on average at age 75.4 years and bilinguals at age 78.6 years.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9173552/Learning-another-language-could-protect-against-dementia.html
30.3.12
Brain scans reveal astonishingly simple 3D grid structure
Wedeen and colleagues report new evidence of the brain's elegant simplicity March 30, 2012 in the journal Science. The study was funded, in part, by the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Human Connectome Project of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, and other NIH components.
"Far from being just a tangle of wires, the brain's connections turn out to be more like ribbon cables -- folding 2D sheets of parallel neuronal fibers that cross paths at right angles, like the warp and weft of a fabric," explained Van Wedeen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Harvard Medical School. "This grid structure is continuous and consistent at all scales and across humans and other primate species."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-wiring-no-brainer-scans-reveal.html
"Far from being just a tangle of wires, the brain's connections turn out to be more like ribbon cables -- folding 2D sheets of parallel neuronal fibers that cross paths at right angles, like the warp and weft of a fabric," explained Van Wedeen, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), A.A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging and the Harvard Medical School. "This grid structure is continuous and consistent at all scales and across humans and other primate species."
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brain-wiring-no-brainer-scans-reveal.html
10 Signs Your Young Child Might Have Autism
Dr. Landa recommends that as parents play with their infant (6 – 12 months), they look for the following signs that have been linked to later diagnosis of ASD or other communication disorders:
1. Rarely smiles when approached by caregivers
2. Rarely tries to imitate sounds and movements others make, such as smiling and laughing, during simple social exchanges
3. Delayed or infrequent babbling
4. Does not respond to his or her name with increasing consistency from 6 – 12 months
5. Does not gesture to communicate by 10 months
6. Poor eye contact
7. Seeks your attention infrequently
8. Repeatedly stiffens arms, hands, legs or displays unusual body movements such as rotating the hands on the wrists, uncommon postures or other repetitive behaviors
9. Does not reach up toward you when you reach to pick him or her up
10. Delays in motor development, including delayed rolling over, pushing up and crawling
“If parents suspect something is wrong with their child’s development, or that their child is losing skills, they should talk to their pediatrician or another developmental expert,” says Dr. Landa. “Don’t adopt a ‘wait and see’ perspective. We want to identify delays early in development so that intervention can begin when children’s brains are more malleable and still developing their circuitry.”
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-soup/2012/03/10-signs-your-young-child-might-have-autism/
1. Rarely smiles when approached by caregivers
2. Rarely tries to imitate sounds and movements others make, such as smiling and laughing, during simple social exchanges
3. Delayed or infrequent babbling
4. Does not respond to his or her name with increasing consistency from 6 – 12 months
5. Does not gesture to communicate by 10 months
6. Poor eye contact
7. Seeks your attention infrequently
8. Repeatedly stiffens arms, hands, legs or displays unusual body movements such as rotating the hands on the wrists, uncommon postures or other repetitive behaviors
9. Does not reach up toward you when you reach to pick him or her up
10. Delays in motor development, including delayed rolling over, pushing up and crawling
“If parents suspect something is wrong with their child’s development, or that their child is losing skills, they should talk to their pediatrician or another developmental expert,” says Dr. Landa. “Don’t adopt a ‘wait and see’ perspective. We want to identify delays early in development so that intervention can begin when children’s brains are more malleable and still developing their circuitry.”
http://blogs.psychcentral.com/therapy-soup/2012/03/10-signs-your-young-child-might-have-autism/
Killing Kindergarten
Amanda Moreno, Ph.D.Associate Director, Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy
03/29/2012
I want you to know it took a lot of self-discipline not to title this post "Killing Kindergarteners." In addition to being an early education researcher, I am also a mother of a 5-year-old currently in kindergarten, so I can tell you that is pretty much the way it feels. All around this country, families are trying to figure out why their small children already dread going to a place that was supposed to serve as a gentle transition to formal learning. They are struggling with ambivalent allegiances, not wanting to be the over-protective parent who babies their child, but at the same time not being fully convinced that their child has a behavior problem just because they don't enjoy sitting at a desk, independently going through worksheets for a solid hour.
Is teaching 5-year-olds really that complex an enterprise? It is true that little kids are like sponges in that they absorb discrete pieces of knowledge daily, naturally, and without effort, such as new vocabulary, locations of things in their house, how specific toys work, and what their family dinner and bedtime routines are. But in formal learning settings -- at least as they are on average in the U.S. -- the game completely changes. For better or worse, the "great divider" in formal learning settings may be whether the learner can decide to tackle new tasks or problems, not because she wants to but simply because she is being asked to.
Our educational system is not equipped to support the application of this kind of knowledge. John Medina has said, "If you anted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you would probably design something like a classroom."
This is not a debate about exploratory vs. direct instruction in the early grades, or play vs. structure, or creative learning vs. traditional academics, or any other label for this false dichotomy. Research supports both, depending on the group of children studied and methods used.
Either way, bad teaching will be the result if a kindergarten teacher practices (or is forced to practice) any style in the extreme, and without an arsenal of creative tools for individualizing to children. For those brilliant kindergarten teachers who do possess such a toolbox, the standards and testing craze has tamped their best instincts into hiding.
I agree with Holly Robinson who says that, from a parent's perspective, the immediate answer lies in finding the right fit for your child -- a process we are right in the middle of with our own daughter. Unfortunately, good options are not nearly plentiful enough, and those that exist are not accessible enough to families and children that likely need them the most.
In the meantime, my colleagues and I are trying to do our part by speaking out for differentiating education reform efforts for young children, incorporating modern child and brain development principles into teacher and principal prep programs, and consulting to early education initiatives about how to answer to the pressures of accountability without "killing kindergarteners" in the process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-moreno-phd/post_3023_b_1285135.html
03/29/2012
I want you to know it took a lot of self-discipline not to title this post "Killing Kindergarteners." In addition to being an early education researcher, I am also a mother of a 5-year-old currently in kindergarten, so I can tell you that is pretty much the way it feels. All around this country, families are trying to figure out why their small children already dread going to a place that was supposed to serve as a gentle transition to formal learning. They are struggling with ambivalent allegiances, not wanting to be the over-protective parent who babies their child, but at the same time not being fully convinced that their child has a behavior problem just because they don't enjoy sitting at a desk, independently going through worksheets for a solid hour.
Is teaching 5-year-olds really that complex an enterprise? It is true that little kids are like sponges in that they absorb discrete pieces of knowledge daily, naturally, and without effort, such as new vocabulary, locations of things in their house, how specific toys work, and what their family dinner and bedtime routines are. But in formal learning settings -- at least as they are on average in the U.S. -- the game completely changes. For better or worse, the "great divider" in formal learning settings may be whether the learner can decide to tackle new tasks or problems, not because she wants to but simply because she is being asked to.
Our educational system is not equipped to support the application of this kind of knowledge. John Medina has said, "If you anted to create an education environment that was directly opposed to what the brain was good at doing, you would probably design something like a classroom."
This is not a debate about exploratory vs. direct instruction in the early grades, or play vs. structure, or creative learning vs. traditional academics, or any other label for this false dichotomy. Research supports both, depending on the group of children studied and methods used.
Either way, bad teaching will be the result if a kindergarten teacher practices (or is forced to practice) any style in the extreme, and without an arsenal of creative tools for individualizing to children. For those brilliant kindergarten teachers who do possess such a toolbox, the standards and testing craze has tamped their best instincts into hiding.
I agree with Holly Robinson who says that, from a parent's perspective, the immediate answer lies in finding the right fit for your child -- a process we are right in the middle of with our own daughter. Unfortunately, good options are not nearly plentiful enough, and those that exist are not accessible enough to families and children that likely need them the most.
In the meantime, my colleagues and I are trying to do our part by speaking out for differentiating education reform efforts for young children, incorporating modern child and brain development principles into teacher and principal prep programs, and consulting to early education initiatives about how to answer to the pressures of accountability without "killing kindergarteners" in the process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-moreno-phd/post_3023_b_1285135.html
24.3.12
The innate ability to learn language
All human languages contain two levels of structure, said Iris Berent, a psychology professor in Northeastern’s College of Science. One is syntax, or the ordering of words in a sentence. The other is phonology, or the sound structure of individual words.
Berent — whose research focuses on the phonological structure of language — examines the nature of linguistic competence, its origins and its interaction with reading. While previous studies have all centered on adult language acquisition, she is now working with infants to address two core questions.
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2012/03/language.html
Berent — whose research focuses on the phonological structure of language — examines the nature of linguistic competence, its origins and its interaction with reading. While previous studies have all centered on adult language acquisition, she is now working with infants to address two core questions.
http://www.northeastern.edu/news/stories/2012/03/language.html
23.3.12
Parents playing with children shows significant impact on academic achievement.
Mar 21, 2012
Utah State University researchers spent 15 years studying families enrolled in the “U.S. Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project” and determined the range of influence early parent-child engagement has on later academic achievement is significant.
“It is important for parents to engage with their children during the vital, early stages of brain development, because that early exposure to cognitive stimulation with both mothers and fathers can have a long-lasting and positive influence on the educational success of at-risk children.”
http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/15-year-USU-study-on-parents-playing-with-children-shows-significant-impact-on-academic-achievement-143727996.html
Utah State University researchers spent 15 years studying families enrolled in the “U.S. Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project” and determined the range of influence early parent-child engagement has on later academic achievement is significant.
“It is important for parents to engage with their children during the vital, early stages of brain development, because that early exposure to cognitive stimulation with both mothers and fathers can have a long-lasting and positive influence on the educational success of at-risk children.”
http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/15-year-USU-study-on-parents-playing-with-children-shows-significant-impact-on-academic-achievement-143727996.html
16.3.12
Promote Early Brain Development
Parents are often interested in knowing the best way to help encourage early brain development in their children. There are many different videos and programs available that promise to put your child on a fast track for reading and speaking, but are those really the best way to help your child development their skills?
Dr. Lelach Rave, Pediatrician at The Everett Clinic at Harbour Pointe talks about how parents can help their children with brain development during the early stages of their life.You can watch the 4 min video online.
http://www.everettclinic.com/Specialties/Pediatrics/promote-early-brain-development.ashx?p=4675
Dr. Lelach Rave, Pediatrician at The Everett Clinic at Harbour Pointe talks about how parents can help their children with brain development during the early stages of their life.You can watch the 4 min video online.
http://www.everettclinic.com/Specialties/Pediatrics/promote-early-brain-development.ashx?p=4675
Einstein Never Used Flashcards: How Our Children Really Learn--and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less
Authors and child psychologists Hirsh-Pasek, Golinkoff and Eyer join together to prove that training preschoolers with flash cards and attempting to hurry intellectual development doesn't pay off. In fact, the authors claim, kids who are pressured early on to join the academic rat race don't fair any better than children who are allowed to take their time. Alarmed by the current trend toward creating baby Einsteins, Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff urge parents to step back and practice the "Three R's: Reflect, Resist, and Recenter." Instead of pushing preschoolers into academically oriented programs that focus on early achievement, they suggest that children learn best through simple playtime, which enhances problem solving skills, attention span, social development and creativity. "Play is to early childhood as gas is to a car," say Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, explaining that reciting and memorizing will produce "trained seals" rather than creative thinkers. Creativity and independent thinking, they argue, are true 21st-century skills; IQ and other test scores provide a narrow view of intelligence.
http://www.kathyhirshpasek.com/
http://www.kathyhirshpasek.com/
Early language acquisition: cracking the speech code
Patricia K. Kuhl
Infants learn language with remarkable speed, but how they do it remains a mystery. New data show that infants use computational strategies to detect the statistical and prosodic patterns in language input, and that this leads to the discovery of phonemes and words. Social interaction with another human being affects speech learning in a way that resembles communicative learning in songbirds. The brain's commitment to the statistical and prosodic patterns that are experienced early in life might help to explain the long-standing puzzle of why infants are better language learners than adults. Successful learning by infants, as well as constraints on that learning, are changing theories of language acquisition.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Infant+Language+Laboratory&hl=zh-TW&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=N8piT8DSKu6TiAeh_YzjBQ&ved=0CDkQgQMwAA
Infants learn language with remarkable speed, but how they do it remains a mystery. New data show that infants use computational strategies to detect the statistical and prosodic patterns in language input, and that this leads to the discovery of phonemes and words. Social interaction with another human being affects speech learning in a way that resembles communicative learning in songbirds. The brain's commitment to the statistical and prosodic patterns that are experienced early in life might help to explain the long-standing puzzle of why infants are better language learners than adults. Successful learning by infants, as well as constraints on that learning, are changing theories of language acquisition.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Infant+Language+Laboratory&hl=zh-TW&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=N8piT8DSKu6TiAeh_YzjBQ&ved=0CDkQgQMwAA
15.3.12
The early years
All of the academic research shows just how important the early years are to a child's development," she said in a statement.
"These are the years when critical brain development takes place, and this shapes learning, behaviour and health outcomes for life.
"If we get the early years right with opportunities to learn and develop, our children will have the best foundation for future success."
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8434300/labor-promises-new-early-learning-centres
"These are the years when critical brain development takes place, and this shapes learning, behaviour and health outcomes for life.
"If we get the early years right with opportunities to learn and develop, our children will have the best foundation for future success."
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8434300/labor-promises-new-early-learning-centres
13.3.12
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis recruited 92 children between the ages of 3 and 6. Rather than asking parents about how they treated their children, the researchers brought the kids and parents into a lab and videotaped them as the parents, almost always mothers, tried to help their children cope with a mildly stressful task that was designed to approximate the stress of daily parenting.
Ratings of parental ability to nurture their children were done by study personnel who watched the videos while knowing nothing about either children or parents. Several years later, on average, the children had the size of a brain area called the hippocampus measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After taking into account a whole range of factors that can affect hippocampal size, the researchers found that children with especially nurturing, caring mothers, based on their behavior during the laboratory stressor, had significantly larger hippocampi (plural of hippocampus - you’ve got one on each side of the brain) than kids with mothers who were average or poor nurturers.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=816787280757930789
Ratings of parental ability to nurture their children were done by study personnel who watched the videos while knowing nothing about either children or parents. Several years later, on average, the children had the size of a brain area called the hippocampus measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). After taking into account a whole range of factors that can affect hippocampal size, the researchers found that children with especially nurturing, caring mothers, based on their behavior during the laboratory stressor, had significantly larger hippocampi (plural of hippocampus - you’ve got one on each side of the brain) than kids with mothers who were average or poor nurturers.
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=816787280757930789
12.3.12
The 2011 Nobel Laureates
You don't have to be a genius to understand the work of the Nobel Laureates. These games and simulations, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, will teach and inspire you while you're having FUN!
Click to the official website of Nobel Prize at
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/
Click to the official website of Nobel Prize at
http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/
Brain Awareness Week
March 11, 2012
Every March, scientists and children's advocates around the world participate in Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase public awareness of brain-related research and its importance for public health.
CANDLE (Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood) is following 1,503 Memphis and Shelby County mothers from their second trimester of pregnancy until their children reach age 5. When completed, the study will provide valuable data that will enrich the child development field as well as inform public policy.
Children are profoundly affected by what they hear, see and experience. Even in the earliest years of life, children's long-term outcomes are linked to family income, neighborhood characteristics and parents' education and mental health.
Why do early experiences remain so powerful throughout life? The key is the way the brain develops in a child's first three years. Early childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, which sometimes occurs in spurts. These spurts are critical periods to enhance a child's development, but they also are times in which insults can have a detrimental effect on the brain's growth. Fortunately the brain is more adaptable during early childhood than it is in later years. Brain cells are making more connections, and a child's environment plays a large role in determining which connections become strong enough to survive. This means that early experiences can have lifelong effects on intellectual, emotional and social development. Positive experiences promote optimal brain development and desirable outcomes.
Fran Tylavsky is a professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is also principal investigator for the CANDLE study.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/mar/11/guest-column-environments-play-huge-role-in/
Every March, scientists and children's advocates around the world participate in Brain Awareness Week, a global campaign to increase public awareness of brain-related research and its importance for public health.
CANDLE (Conditions Affecting Neurocognitive Development and Learning in Early Childhood) is following 1,503 Memphis and Shelby County mothers from their second trimester of pregnancy until their children reach age 5. When completed, the study will provide valuable data that will enrich the child development field as well as inform public policy.
Children are profoundly affected by what they hear, see and experience. Even in the earliest years of life, children's long-term outcomes are linked to family income, neighborhood characteristics and parents' education and mental health.
Why do early experiences remain so powerful throughout life? The key is the way the brain develops in a child's first three years. Early childhood is a time of rapid growth and development, which sometimes occurs in spurts. These spurts are critical periods to enhance a child's development, but they also are times in which insults can have a detrimental effect on the brain's growth. Fortunately the brain is more adaptable during early childhood than it is in later years. Brain cells are making more connections, and a child's environment plays a large role in determining which connections become strong enough to survive. This means that early experiences can have lifelong effects on intellectual, emotional and social development. Positive experiences promote optimal brain development and desirable outcomes.
Fran Tylavsky is a professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is also principal investigator for the CANDLE study.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/mar/11/guest-column-environments-play-huge-role-in/
Language Learning Softwares
First time buyers should know right away that not all language-learning packages are created the same. In order to find the best product, you will need to do a bit of work, starting with looking up language software reviews online. Some packages are highly lauded by language experts as well as actual customers, and they are quite easy to find since many testimonials and favorable reviews are written about such products. Comparing software specifications is also very important as it provides customers with an idea as to what they can expect from each product. Some programs do not provide for some features, so you have to be thorough when it comes to making product comparisons in order to find the best.
http://www.travlang.com/learning/language-learning-software.html
http://www.travlang.com/learning/language-learning-software.html
11.3.12
Economist: A successful child needs investment
March 09, 2012
Creating a successful workforce starts by investing in children before they are 5 by supplementing resources of disadvantaged families, according to Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman.
In a time of shrinking budgets, massive cuts and inequality in services, Heckman argued the way to make true change is to invest in character early in a child’s life.
By age 3, gaps in achievement and understanding are set. Statistically, Heckman said, those remain throughout education. To make effective change, the United States needs to start talking about prevention rather than remediation.
Basically, he said focusing on building children who have successful social-emotional skills, cognitive skills and are in good health allows for success in the future.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=230160&title=Economist:%20A%20successful%20child%20needs%20investment
Creating a successful workforce starts by investing in children before they are 5 by supplementing resources of disadvantaged families, according to Nobel Laureate economist James Heckman.
In a time of shrinking budgets, massive cuts and inequality in services, Heckman argued the way to make true change is to invest in character early in a child’s life.
By age 3, gaps in achievement and understanding are set. Statistically, Heckman said, those remain throughout education. To make effective change, the United States needs to start talking about prevention rather than remediation.
Basically, he said focusing on building children who have successful social-emotional skills, cognitive skills and are in good health allows for success in the future.
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=230160&title=Economist:%20A%20successful%20child%20needs%20investment
9.3.12
Children's Academic Success Linked to How Parents Play With Toddlers
08 Mar 2012 - 5:00 PST
The ways in which parents engage with their children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes, according to results from a 15 year study.
The study was conducted in 1996, by researchers from Utah State University's department of Family, Consumer and Human Development (FCHD). In order to find out the extent of influence early parent-child engagement has on children's future academic success, the team examined families participating in the "U.S. Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project." Results from the study will be published in an upcoming special issue on fathers in the Family Science journal.
According to the researchers, parent-child activities demonstrated to have a positive impact on children's future academic outcomes, include:
Elaborating on the words, actions, and pictures in a book or on unique attributes or objects
Relating book text or play activity to the child's experience
Encouraging and engaging in pretend play
Presenting activities in an organized sequence of steps
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242651.php
The ways in which parents engage with their children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes, according to results from a 15 year study.
The study was conducted in 1996, by researchers from Utah State University's department of Family, Consumer and Human Development (FCHD). In order to find out the extent of influence early parent-child engagement has on children's future academic success, the team examined families participating in the "U.S. Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project." Results from the study will be published in an upcoming special issue on fathers in the Family Science journal.
According to the researchers, parent-child activities demonstrated to have a positive impact on children's future academic outcomes, include:
Elaborating on the words, actions, and pictures in a book or on unique attributes or objects
Relating book text or play activity to the child's experience
Encouraging and engaging in pretend play
Presenting activities in an organized sequence of steps
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/242651.php
8.3.12
Rice originated in China about 8000 years ago
, a team of genome researchers has concluded in a study tracing back thousands of years of evolutionary history through large-scale gene re-sequencing. Their findings, which appear in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), indicate that domesticated rice may have first appeared as far back as approximately 9,000 years ago in the Yangtze Valley of China. Previous research suggested domesticated rice may have two points of origin—India as well as China.
The study was conducted by researchers from New York University's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and its Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis' Department of Biology, Stanford University's Department of Genetics, and Purdue University's Department of Agronomy.
http://www.sciencenewsline.com/biology/2011050313000047.html
The study was conducted by researchers from New York University's Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and its Department of Biology, Washington University in St. Louis' Department of Biology, Stanford University's Department of Genetics, and Purdue University's Department of Agronomy.
http://www.sciencenewsline.com/biology/2011050313000047.html
How fathers and mothers play with children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes.
LOGAN, Utah, Mar 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Mothers Do More Teaching With Their Child When the Biological Father is a Resident in the Home
Results from a 15-year research project show that the ways in which fathers and mothers play with children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes.
Among the highly stimulating activities parents engaged in that were shown to have a positive impact on children's later academic performance are:
-- Encouraging and engaging in pretend play
-- Presenting activities in an organized sequence of steps
-- Elaborating on the pictures, words, and actions in a book or on unique attributes of objects
-- Relating play activity or book text to the child's experience
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/15-year-study-shows-positive-connection-between-how-parents-play-with-toddlers-and-their-childrens-academic-success-2012-03-06
Results from a 15-year research project show that the ways in which fathers and mothers play with children at age two predicts their children's future academic outcomes.
Among the highly stimulating activities parents engaged in that were shown to have a positive impact on children's later academic performance are:
-- Encouraging and engaging in pretend play
-- Presenting activities in an organized sequence of steps
-- Elaborating on the pictures, words, and actions in a book or on unique attributes of objects
-- Relating play activity or book text to the child's experience
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/15-year-study-shows-positive-connection-between-how-parents-play-with-toddlers-and-their-childrens-academic-success-2012-03-06
3.3.12
Brain doubles in weight from birth to age 3
Did you know that the brain becomes 75% wired by age 1?
Did you know that a baby’s brain doubles in weight from birth to age 3?
Play is the single most powerful learning tool that young children have to
learn about their world. Learn about the role of play in early brain development.
http://www.beechacres.org/Document.Doc?id=47
Did you know that a baby’s brain doubles in weight from birth to age 3?
Play is the single most powerful learning tool that young children have to
learn about their world. Learn about the role of play in early brain development.
http://www.beechacres.org/Document.Doc?id=47
2.3.12
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
We expressed deep concern regarding the House Select Committee’s prior draft recommendations that would cut off nearly 10,000 children from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to receive high-quality early learning at a critical time in their brain’s physical development and as they seek to reach key educational milestones.
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2012/03/01/praise-wariness-follow-committee-decision-to-slow-down-changes-to-pre-k-eligibility/
http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2012/03/01/praise-wariness-follow-committee-decision-to-slow-down-changes-to-pre-k-eligibility/
1.3.12
Children who begin school behind typically remain behind
There is a convergence of knowledge from neuroscience, child development and economics on the importance of early childhood. A child’s most important brain development occurs before age 5, and children who begin school behind typically remain behind. Early experiences affect the quality of the brain’s architecture — establishing a sturdy or fragile foundation for all learning, health and behavior that follow.
http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/2186452-123/letter-early-learning-critical.html
http://theadvocate.com/news/opinion/2186452-123/letter-early-learning-critical.html
訂閱：
文章 (Atom)