Your Brain on Childhood: The unexpected side effects of Classrooms, Ballparks, Family Rooms, and the Minivan
by Gabrielle Principe

(Summary Part 1 of 2)


I LOVED this book.  It really spoke to some of my instincts and things I've learned about childhood, brain development, education, and culture.  The table of contents is totally intriguing withe a detailed list of chapters and headings.

Here's a smattering of what I learned.  For the details, see the book!  Remember, I'm partly writing this blog to keep track of major points of my own learning and knowledge, but it will only infrequently contain the full details.  It will serve as a reference to looking up the rest of the information that I may want at a later date.  Sorry, it's not really going to be college-essay style or material!  ~;-D
 
*The sham of "early learning" programs, media, and devices for babies/young children:  The young, growing brain is designed mostly to learn about socialization and communication in the early years (up til age 4 or 5) and is OPTIMALLY ready to learn to read at age 5-6.  Furthermore, pushing (too-)early literacy skills is counterproductive, and can result in various negative side effects.

*The education system in America and it's many downfalls:  Grades and reward systems de-motivate children by taking away their intrinsic desire for knowledge and discovery.  Classroom size problems exacerbate the reality that EVERYONE learns at their own pace and their own way.  The tortoise and the hare- those who learn more slowly sometimes exceed those whose IQs were jammed up early on.

*Baby "positioning":  kids need to be free to explore, not confined to a play-yard, crib, car seat, or other such location for too long.  Try to have babies face you in the stroller seat.

Back to sleep-Tummy to play!

*Kids toys & play:  Open-ended toys leave the most room for the development of imagination.  They also don't "exclude" any options for play because they don't limit the user by being obviously designed for a single purpose.  Toys marketed as educational often prey on our tendency to lean on exaggerated scientific claims.  Free-thinking less-defined toys are just as good, if not better, to encourage unstructured play.  Kids learn self-regulation through play.  We need to let them play the games that they think of, including sports- not just lining them up on the field to play a game adults regulate.  "Play...[is] more essential to healhful neurological development than flash cards, alphabet drills, battery-powered toys, or electronic learning consoles."

and those are some very abbreviated notes from the first half of the book.  More soon, G-d willing!