BRAIN INITIATIVE - WEEK #14

Do you feel momentum?  From the comments I receive, it sounds like we are making an impact!!  Numerous people are posting the fact each week and are e-mailing to 5 new people each week! 

 

Isn't wonderful to know how we can so easily contribute to creating this needed awareness?  The kids are benefiting from our efforts!!

 

Every child that... receives more loving interactions, has playtime increased everyday, is read to, lives with more routine and predictability, is provided with more nutritious foods, and has the chance to spend time outdoors... THANKS YOU!

Following is the Week #14 BRAIN insight to share:

 

 

 

BRAIN 

Brains Require All Investing Now

 

A BRAIN Insight to share ~ Week #14

 

 

 

A growing brain benefits greatly from a variety of experiences. It needs a combination of varied music, movement, language, imaginative, and nature play opportunities.

 
Let's make this common knowledge! 
To share this brain fact just cut and paste or use the the share button!

• You can simply post the insight on social network sites 
• You can also include the fact in organizational literature or newsletters, add to your signature on your e-mail, post on a bulletin board and implement it into what you do each week.
• Additionally each week, e-mail the BRAIN Insight to 5 people you know. Encourage each person to share it with 5 people they know. If each person shares with 5 people each week... we will finally have EVERYONE knowing this incredibly important information!  
•  

Enjoy contributing to make this common knowledge!!

 Spreading Brain Development Even Further .... Click here to send the name of a program, agency, school, organization or business that will benefit from a brain development packet. I will draw a name and donate a brain development activity packet 

for the age of your choice, in the name of the person making the recommendation each week!!

The WINNER for WEEK #12:

 

  Tulare County WIC program

                                                                
A brain development packet for the age of their choice will be donated in the name of :  Linda Sward

 

 

Congratulations!!

 

Have you sent in your nomination? 

There are many terrific programs and agencies already nominated from all over the world! I invite you to nominate programs, schools, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from a donated brain activity packet in either English or Spanish. 

  

THANK YOU to all that are participating the initiative already! Tell everyone you know about the difference we can make!

Family Ideas for Mental Health Month

MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH MONTH
CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH WEEK IS May 1-7

Focus for 2011: BRAININSIGHTS: REAL Brain Development
with Fun and Loving Activities

The following list of activities are from braininsights activity packets. They were carefully chosen and put together as this valuable calendar  by Nancy DeWitt, BS, FSP, Preparing Mentor.
Nancy is a wonderful woman I met while working with the community of Rhinelander, WI. This community is working together to create awareness and put in place services to support the optimal development of children's brains. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute to these important efforts. 

This calendar is something Nancy is hoping you will share with families in the hopes that parents will use these easy and practical ideas to promote mental health for all children.

BRAININSIGHTS: REAL BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
WITH FUN AND LOVING ACTIVITIES

LOVE YOUR BABY: (May 1-12)
 
1. While changing my clothes or diapers, take a minute and warmly and gently
rub my back, arms and legs. Let me feel your warmth.
3. Notice what I like and respond to me. Try to tune in to the level of o
activity I seem to need. When I am more active, do a playful activity. When I seem calm, read a story
or sing a lullaby to me.
6. Make up a song using my name to sing to me while you feed me.
8. While you are cooking or doing dishes, let me explore safe items you use. For example, a rubber spatula, a wooden spoon, a
plastic container, measuring spoons, etc
9. Realize how I love when you show excitement for my achievements.

 
FUN WHILE I’M ONE: (May 13-15)
13. While we are interacting throughout the day, give me kisses and loving hugs.
14. When I am lonely, scared or bored. I will let you know by crying. I need you to comfort me. I don’t know how to handle it
on my own.
16. Create a winding down, calming bedtime routine for me. Things like taking a warm bath, reading a story to me and cuddling
with me will help soothe me.


MORE TO DO WHILE I'M TWO:      (MAY 17 -20)
17. At a grocery store point to items: or while in a waiting room point to pictures in magazines. Ask me to name them.
18. Turn on the radio, sing a song or play a CD. Tell me to move to the music stops. Have me stop until the music starts again.
19. While dressing me, ask me what piece of clothing to put on next. Example, “Should I put on your jacket or shoes next?”


 
PLAY WITH ME WHILE I’M THREE: (May 21-24)
21. While grocery shopping, have me help you find the items you need. Example: Ask me to pick out the biggest or smallest
item on the shelf.
23. Starting with breakfast everyday, develop daily routines for meals, naps, bath and bedtime. It is very important to have
order in my life. I learn what to expect through a regular pattern which helps make me calmer.
24. While you are cooking, ask me to close my eyes and guess what you are doing by the sounds I hear. (Breaking eggs, pouring
milk, running water, opening the microwave, and so on.

 
LETS LEARN MORE WHILE I’M FOUR: (May 25-28)
25. Find or save things for me to pretend with. Save food containers to play grocery store; line up chairs for a train or bus; set
up combs or brushes, etc for a barber or beauty shop;, books and index cards to play library etc.
26. Make a game of putting laundry away. Give directions to follow. For example: Say, “Put the towels on the middle shelf in
the closet and hop back.” Use words like: under, below, on top and so on to help me learn where things belong.
27. Take me on a “listening walk”. While we are out walking have me listen and talk about all the sounds I hear. Ask, “Do you
hear a bird, the wind, a car horn…..?

 
HELP ME THRIVE WHEN I’M FIVE: (May 29-31)
29. While folding the laundry tell me to try not to laugh as you do silly things. See if you can get me to laugh. Just start
laughing. See how long it takes me to join in. It is contagious.
30. While playing catch with me outdoors, change the way we pass the ball. Count to 10 while we pass it. Now have me think of
a new way to pass it 10 times. Take turns thinking of new ways to pass the ball.
31. Create a “giving jug”. Provide an empty milk container and a supply of pennies. Every time I do something nice or
thoughtful for someone else, I get to add a penny. When the jug is full, help me use the money to donate to a cause we decide
we want to support or help.

HAVE FUN!

~ All braininsights activity packets are also available in Spanish! 

BRAIN INITIATIVE - WEEEK #12

WOW.... Week #12 of the BRAIN Initiative -- Are we making progress?  From the excitement I hear in the e-mails I receive it sounds like we are!!  Are you posting the fact each week? Are you e-mailing to 5 new people each week?  The kids are counting on us... and appreciate the efforts you are making!!

In honor of Screen Free Week and Earth Day I have posted a brain fact on the positive  difference playing outdoors can make! If you would like a wealth of information on the importance of play, Carol Torgan, Ph.D has put together a extremely valuable list of over 200 resources related to play. You can enjoy it here.

Have you sent in your nomination? 

There are many terrific programs and agencies already nominated from all over the world! I invite you to nominate programs, schools, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from a donated brain activity packet in either English or Spanish. 

The winner for the donation from Week #11 is below! 

 

Following is the Week #12 BRAIN insight to share:

 

BRAIN 

Brains Require All Investing Now

 

A BRAIN Insight to share ~ Week #12

 

 

 

Physical play, imaginative play, and exploration are essential to developing all areas of the brain.

 

 

Let's make this common knowledge! 
To share this brain fact just cut and paste or use the the share button!

• You can simply post the insight on social network sites 
• You can also include the fact in organizational literature or newsletters, add to your signature on your e-mail, post on a bulletin board and implement it into what you do each week.
• Additionally each week, e-mail the BRAIN Insight to 5 people you know. Encourage each person to share it with 5 people they know. If each person shares with 5 people each week... we will finally have EVERYONE knowing this incredibly important information!  

Enjoy contributing to make this common knowledge!!

 Spreading Brain Development Even Further .... Click here to send the name of a program, agency, school, organization or business that will benefit from a brain development packet. I will draw a name and donate a brain activity packet 

in the name of the person making the recommendation each week!!

The WINNER for WEEK #11:

 

Uganda Youth Development program in Kampala

                                                                
A brain development packet for the age of their choice will be donated in the name of :  

Mary K. Winters

 

 

Congratulations!!

 

 

THANK YOU to all that are participating the initiative already! Tell everyone you know about the difference we can make!

BRAIN INITIATIVE - WEEK #11

 
"Investing in young children 0-5 is something we can and should do." 
                                                                              ~ Dr. James Heckman

It is critical to not only our young children that the real information about brain development is known and understood. It is also essential to our society to support and understand the value of investing in the early years. There are growing  numbers of people working to create awareness and share the critical need for investing in optimal learning and healthy development. You know this and it is the reason you are supporting the BRAIN Initiative. 

To help in this effort, this week I have included a brief clip from Dr. James Heckman, Nobel Prize winner in Economics, entitled Skills Beget Skills - How Early Childhood Investment Pays Off. I have provided this as an additional way to help get this information  well known. So, in addition to the BRAIN Insight to share this week, you can also share this clip with those that need to hear the message.

The BRAIN Insight to share this week is again very simple.... but is very important for creating the much needed awareness.

Have you sent in your nomination? 

There are many terrific programs and agencies already nominated from all over the world! I invite you to nominate programs, schools, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from a donated brain activity packet in either English or Spanish. 

The winner for the donation from Week #10 is below!

Following is the Week #11 BRAIN insight to share:

 

BRAIN 

Brains Require All Investing Now

A BRAIN Insight to share ~ Week #10

The experiences children receive in the early years of life are crucial to learning 

and overall development. 

 

Let's make this common knowledge! 
To share this brain fact just cut and paste or use the the share button!

• You can simply post the insight on social network sites 
• You can also include the fact in organizational literature or newsletters, add to your signature on your e-mail, post on a bulletin board and implement it into what you do each week.
• Additionally each week, e-mail the BRAIN Insight to 5 people you know. Encourage each person to share it with 5 people they know. If each person shares with 5 people each week... we will finally have EVERYONE knowing this incredibly important information!  

Enjoy contributing to make this common knowledge!!

 Spreading Brain Development Even Further .... Click here to send the name of a program, agency, school, organization or business that will benefit from a brain development packet. I will draw a name and donate a brain activity packet 

in the name of the person making the recommendation each week!!

The WINNER for WEEK #10:

 

South Shore Educational Collaborative  Hingham,Massachusetts

                                                                
A brain development packet for the age of their choice will be donated in the name of :  

Daphne Knudson

 

 

Congratulations!!

 

THANK YOU to all that are participating the initiative already! Tell everyone you know about the difference we can make!

The Quality of Early Experience Has a Dramatic Impact

Isn’t it wonderful when you get simple information that can make a big difference?  Sometimes the concept of brain development can seem too complicated or overwhelming. However, optimal brain development can occur very easily through every day experiences. It is essential to ensure that every adult realizes the importance of the early years and how we can support a long lasting and dramatic impact.

It is really exciting to have technology providing the study of the brain, like we've never seen before. On going scientific research demonstrates that a child's early development is determined by the environment and experiences, rather than genetics alone. For us to provide the best for children, we must understand how a child's brain develops.

Early Experiences Wire a Brain

The experiences children receive in the early years of life are crucial to overall brain development. When a child has an experience, connections are formed between brain cells. The cells are dependent on experience to create these connections. After eight months a child exposed to a nurturing and stimulating environment may already have 1,000 trillion connections created. These connections physically grow and develop the brain. It is primarily the early experiences that largely determine the basic strength and function of the brain's wiring system. It is that simple!
Warm and consistent parents, who cuddle and talk to their children and provide fun learning experiences, promote healthy brain development for their children. It is so refreshing for many parents to learn that beyond meeting a child’s basic needs for safety, sleep, and providing good nutrition, all that a developing brain needs most is loving interaction and play.
 
The Brain Adapts to Any Environment 

Because the brain develops based on experience, a young child’s brain will adapt to a negative environment just as easily as it will adapt to a positive environment. 

Prolonged, severe, or unpredictable stress-including abuse and neglect-during a child's early years can result in negative impacts on the child's physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. Babies who do not receive consistent and caring responses to their cries, and those whose cries are met with abuse, develop brain connections to prepare them to cope in that environment. As a result their ability to learn and respond to nurturing and kindness may be impaired.

It is Repetition That Makes Strong Connections.

The brain organizes through a "use it or lose it" process. The brain eliminates and strengthens connections in an effort to become more efficient. So, experiences that are repeated frequently lead to brain connections that are retained. Connections that are not used often due to lack of repeated experience are eliminated. This is how a child’s brain adapts to the experiences in daily life.

Consistency is key. The brain feels comfortable when it knows what to expect. When children learn through repetition, that a parent (or care provider) will be there for them when needed, they can relax and feel safe.  Providing loving interaction, adequate amounts of sleep, healthy nutrition, time playing outdoors, physical activity, lots of creative play, and exploration contributes to a child with a healthy brain.

Through understanding how quality experiences impact brain development we can make a REAL difference. This is what children want all of the adults in their lives to know!

It is critical that this becomes common knowledge. We can ALL play an important role in making this happen for ALL children. Start now!  Tell everyone you know that we can make a dramatic, long lasting and positive impact through providing quality experiences in the early years! 

The reason I created, The Brain Devlopment Series is to make it easy to develop healthy brains even during busy everyday life. For further information for interaction activity ideas go to www.braininsightsonline.com  

BRAIN INITIATIVE - WEEK #10

It is critical to our young children that the real information about brain development is known and understood. Every day there are numerous initiatives, blogs, articles, webinars, presentations and talk radio programs that share the critical importance of play for optimal learning and healthy development. There are scientific studies and continuing research reports that reveal the critical difference play has on a growing brain. However, opportunity for time play is an infrequent part of everyday life for most children.  

So the BRAIN Insight to share this week is very simple.... but is very important for creating the much needed awareness. Let's create the following statistic -  "100% of parents know  that play is the best way to help a child learn."

Have you sent in your nomination? 

There are many terrific programs and agencies already nominated from all over the world! I invite you to nominate programs, schools, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from a donated brain activity packet in either English or Spanish. 

The winner for the donation from Week #9 is below!

Following is the Week #10 BRAIN insight to share:

 

BRAIN 

Brains Require All Investing Now

A BRAIN Insight to share ~ Week #10

 

Healthy brains are developed through play!

           

 Let's make this common knowledge! 
To share this brain fact just cut and paste or use the the share button!

• You can simply post the insight on social network sites 
• You can also include the fact in organizational literature or newsletters, add to your signature on your e-mail, post on a bulletin board and implement it into what you do each week.
• Additionally each week, e-mail the BRAIN Insight to 5 people you know. Encourage each person to share it with 5 people they know. If each person shares with 5 people each week... we will finally have EVERYONE knowing this incredibly important information!  

Enjoy contributing to make this common knowledge!!

 Spreading Brain Development Even Further .... Click here to send the name of a program, agency, school, organization or business that will benefit from a brain development packet. I will draw a name and donate a brain activity packet 

in the name of the person making the recommendation each week!!

The WINNER for WEEK #9:

 

Cross Trainers Academy ~ Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Milwaukee, WI

                                                                
A brain development packet for the age of their choice will be donated in the name of : Jan Whittow

                                                  

Congratulations!!

 

THANK YOU to all that are participating the initiative already! Tell everyone you know about the difference we can make!

BRAIN INITIATIVE - WEEK #9

It is critical to our young children that the real information about brain development is known and understood. There is still too much that is not common knowledge. I am continuously amazed by the number of adults that still do not know that the AAP recommends no TV (DVD's) before the age of two.  This recommendation came out in 1999! 

Yesterday I read this finding in a valuable report put together from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood , "56% of parents of young children believe that baby videos are good for child development."

So the BRAIN Insight to share this week is important for creating the awareness of all that really IS good for the development of young brains. Let's change this statistic to: "0% of parents believe that baby videos are good for child development."

Have you sent in your nomination? 

There are many terrific programs and agencies already nominated from all over the world! I invite you to nominate programs, schools, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from a donated brain activity packet in either English or Spanish. 

The winner for the donation from Week #8 is below!

Following is the Week #8 BRAIN insight to share:

 

BRAIN 

Brains Require All Investing Now

A BRAIN Insight to share ~ Week #9

 

Optimal learning and healthy development occurs only through exploration and interaction with people and real objects.

           

 Let's make this common knowledge! 
To share this brain fact just cut and paste or use the the share button!

• You can simply post the insight on social network sites 
• You can also include the fact in organizational literature or newsletters, add to your signature on your e-mail, post on a bulletin board and implement it into what you do each week.
• Additionally each week, e-mail the BRAIN Insight to 5 people you know. Encourage each person to share it with 5 people they know. If each person shares with 5 people each week... we will finally have EVERYONE knowing this incredibly important information!  

Enjoy contributing to make this common knowledge!!

 Spreading Brain Development Even Further .... Click here to send the name of a program, agency, school, organization or business that will benefit from a brain development packet. I will draw a name and donate a brain activity packet 

in the name of the person making the recommendation each week!!

The WINNER for WEEK #8:

 

Maternal/Infant Support program of the Dickinson-Iron Health Dept. Kingsford, MI

                                                                
A brain development packet for the age of their choice will be donated in the name of :   Cherie Fila     

                                                  

Congratulations!!

 

THANK YOU to all that are participating the initiative already! Tell everyone you know about the difference we can make!