Young Minds: The Important Role of Brain Science

May 3, 2017

By Lisa Hansel

If you’ve visited NAEYC.org lately, you’ve seen our tagline:
Promoting high-quality early learning by connecting practice, policy, and research
It’s not just a slogan, it’s our guiding principle—and it’s exemplified by the May issue of Young Children on brain science.* Whether you’re wondering how to cultivate a more joyful and effective learning environment or crafting a new policy agenda to reduce stress among needy families, the rapidly advancing field of brain science will help.
Research on how the brain develops and functions not only offers insights for educators, families, and policy makers but also provides a strong foundation for uniting our efforts. Brain science robustly reinforces what early childhood educators already know in their hearts and minds: the early years are a special time of promise and vulnerability, consistently warm relationships are as important as nutritious food, and all children have enormous potential.
This cluster opens with “Breakthrough Impacts: What Science Tells Us about Supporting Early Childhood Development” by Jack P. Shonkoff of The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Based on From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts: A Science-Based Approach to Building a More Promising Future for Young Children and Families, this article distills a massive body of research into key takeaways. Educators and policy makers will see clearly the importance of early childhood being filled with responsive relationships and positive experiences. At the same time, they’ll grasp a hopeful message: even if a child experiences high stress, neglect, or other trauma in the early years, poor outcomes are not inevitable. Nurturing relationships—with primary caregivers, teachers, and other mentors—can foster resilience.
The next article, written by J. Ronald Lally and Peter Mangione of the Center for Child and Family Studies at WestEd, takes a deeper dive into why relationships are so critical. “Caring Relationships: The Heart of Early Brain Development” offers tips for meeting young children’s needs and building on their strengths at each stage of child development, from prenatal through age 3.

While the first two articles summarize large bodies of research on brain development, the third builds on that research foundation and offers strategies to improve the lives of children growing up in chaotic, stressful conditions. As Eric Pakulak of the University of Oregon’s Brain Development Lab and his team of researchers and educators explain in “Focusing on Families: A Two-Generation Model for Reducing Parents’ Stress and Boosting Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation and Attention,” the good news is that teachers can model strategies with families and children to improve interactions at home and in programs, and to help parents more consistently provide the warm relationships young children need.
Rounding out this cluster, two articles address hot topics for the whole early childhood field: dual language learners and play. In “The Brain Science of Bilingualism” Naja Ferjan Ramirez and Patricia Kuhl, with the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington, provide a detailed picture of how a child acquires two languages simultaneously. Importantly, the research shows that English language development is not hindered by a dual language approach and that there are substantial lifelong benefits to bilingualism. In “The Case of Brain Science and Guided Play: A Developing Story” Brenna Hassinger-Das and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, with the Temple University Infant and Child Lab, and Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, with the Child’s Play, Learning and Development Lab at the University of Delaware, show the unique power of play to ensure that children are mentally active, socially interactive, engaged, and making meaningful connections—all of which are essential to learning.
Throughout this cluster of articles, I hope you’ll see a special opportunity to connect practice, policy, and research. While multiple forms of research are necessary to continuously improve educational programs, brain science is grabbing public attention, so this issue of Young Children could support multiple facets of your work.

If you are a teacher, you may be inspired to help a family reduce its stress level or to share this research on early childhood brain development with your local, state, and national representatives. If you are a higher education professor, you might weave the research more intentionally into the content of your courses or write an op-ed for your local newspaper to spread the key findings throughout your community. If you are a policy maker, you could work with educators to craft tailored applications of this research. In short, opportunities abound to use brain science to create more advocates for high-quality early childhood education and to enrich young children’s lives.
Article Credit www.NAEYC.org

2017 Week of the Young Child

April 11, 2017

Week of the Young Child™

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) celebrating early learning, young children, their teachers and families.     
 
We’re so excited for a week long celebration of our youngest learners! Start planning your celebration today with event ideas and activities below!
  
Music Monday!   April 24, 2017

Sing, dance, celebrate, and learn
Through music, children develop math, language, and literacy skills – All while having fun and being active! This year, make up and record your own unique version of a song or write your own, and share it on NAEYC’s Facebook page or post to Twitter using the hashtag #woyc17.
TRY THIS: Find the beat to connect music, movement, and math. Practice clapping, drumming, or stomping to the beat of the music while counting.

 Tasty Tuesday   April 25, 2017

Healthy eating and fitness at home and school
This fun, food-themed day is about more than just cheese and crackers. Cooking together connects math with literacy skills, science, and more. With the rise in childhood obesity, you can encourage healthy nutrition and fitness habits at home and in the classroom. Create your own healthy snacks and share the recipes and photos of your creations on NAEYC’s Facebook page or post to Twitter using the hashtag #woyc17. 
TRY THIS: Measure your ingredients while making your snacks! Ask children if they’d like the same or different amounts of each ingredient.
For more fun ideas on how to incorporate cooking into your classroom activities, check out how one NAEYC-accredited center prepared for the day! www.naeyc.org

Work Together Wednesday   April 26, 2017

Work together, build together, learn together
When children build together they explore math and science concepts and develop their social and early literacy skills. Children can use any building material—from a fort of branches on the playground to a block city in the classroom, or a hideaway made from couch pillows at home. Build and share pictures of children’s creations on NAEYC’s Facebook page or Twitter using the #woyc17 hashtag.
TRY THIS: Practice organizing blocks by size! Try building a block tower with large blocks on the bottom and little blocks on top!

 Artsy Thursday   April 27,2017

Think, problem solve, create
Children develop creativity, social skills and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands. On Artsy Thursday celebrate the joy and learning children experience when engaged in creative art making. Use any materials—from crayons to paint, clay to crafts! Create and share a photos of your children’s creations on NAEYC’s Facebook page or Twitter using the #woyc17 hashtag.
TRY THIS: Bring art outdoors! Offer dark and light paper, chalk and pastels, and suggest children create their own versions of the day and night sky!

Family Friday   April 28, 2017

Sharing family stories
Engaging and celebrating families is at the heart of supporting our youngest learners. NAEYC applauds family members’ role as young children’s first and most important teachers.  Share pictures and stories about your family on NAEYC’s Facebook page or post to Twitter using the hashtag #woyc17 as we celebrate the unique role families play in their children’s learning and development.
TRY THIS: Invite parents for a Family Friday breakfast, where children can prepare and share breakfast treats with their families!

Week of the Young Child article credit and information: www.naeyc.org