News on Brain Development 

In the last five years, there has been a great deal of excitement generated by brain research. I have briefly summarized some of the important information that I received at a workshop I attended: Teaching with the Brain in Mind: The Importance of Music, Movement, Rhythm and Rhyme.  This workshop was given by Shirley Handy.

The brain is a use dependent organ.  It develops as we use it and in the manner in which we use it.

We are all born with the same amount of brain cells.  From an early age, even before birth, neural pathways are continually formed.  The simple fact is:  the more pathways a child develops, the better his or her brain functions.

Research results indicate that immersion in musical experiences actually establishes more neural pathways throughout the brain. Music stimulates the entire brain.  It naturally increases attention span; concentration; memory and new learning.  Auditory development begins during pregnancy at 16 weeks for girls and 17-18 weeks for boys.

Movement builds pathways in the brain.  3 key elements in movement are:

Repetition: the brain is a pattern seeking device.  Repetitive pattern of movements stimulates the brain.

Rhythm: move with the beat.  There is a strong correlation between fluency and reading and beat competency.

Cross-body actions: Nursery rhymes are great for children because they have repetition and rhythm, which help stimulate the brain.  Cross-body movements are VERY important to the development of the brain.  I have been doing lots of cross-body movement with the children.  Ex.  Touch your left shoulder with your right hand and then touch the right shoulder with your left hand.  We do this to songs or nursery rhymes. Ask your child if he/she can show you the pancake and fluff.

Screen time: S itting in front of a television, computer or video games causes pathways to develop contrary to what is needed for learning. Screen time guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend:

Ages 0–3:  0 minutes per day Ages 3-6:  Under 25 minutes per day Ages 6-8:  Not to exceed 40 minutes per day

Shirley Handy who conducted the workshop said that her grandchildren, ages 3 & 5 have never watched TV.  Due to current research she feels strongly that screen time prevents the brain pathways from being built.  One reason is that fixed gaze and locked vision that you have when watching TV trains the children to put their eyes upward.  This causes the visual perception to go the opposite way it should for reading.  Reading requires eyes downward and movement from left to right.

To summarize, remember the 3 M’s: Music, Movement, and Merriment (have fun).  The 3 M’s naturally increase the positive neurotransmitters and peptides associated with concentration, sustained attention, memory, new learning.  The 3 M’s help us to be better thinkers!