Boosting Brain Power: 52 Ways to Use What Science Tells Us

by Jill Stamm PhD

Overview

If the timing is right, the learning that occurs in the first five years can be a gold mine, promoting valuable cognitive and physical development that lasts a lifetime. Boosting Brain Power provides 52 strategies - one for every week of the year - to help teachers stimulate healthy brain growth in young children. In addition to well-researched strategies, each snippet of information offers teachers evidence-based instructions for how to bring the concepts to life in the classroom.

Award Winner! 
Recipient of the 2016 Academics' Choice Smart Book Award & 2016 Teachers' Choice Award

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780876593608
Publisher:	Gryphon House Inc.
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	126
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jill Stamm, PhD, is the cofounder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development. Dr. Stamm has been an associate clinical professor at Arizona State University in Tempe for more than 25 years. She is the developer of Brain Boxes, a unique set of products designed to help adults interact with young children to encourage healthy brain development. She is an international speaker on brain research and serves on the advisory board for the Learning & the Brain Conference series.
Jill Stamm, PhD, is the cofounder of New Directions Institute for Infant Brain Development. Dr. Stamm has been an associate clinical professor at Arizona State University in Tempe for more than 25 years. She is the developer of Brain Boxes, a unique set of products designed to help adults interact with young children to encourage healthy brain development. She is an international speaker on brain research and serves on the advisory board for the Learning & the Brain Conference series. 

Table of Contents

Introduction: What Caregivers Can Easily Learn about Brain Development 1

Part 1 Brain Basics 101 1

How the Brain Develops 7

Brain Structure and Function 12

Characteristics That All Brains Share 14

Part 2 Link What You Learn to What You Do

Development Linked to Timing and Activities 17

Learn, Link, Think, and Apply 18

Part 3 General Science-Based messages

1 Use it or lose it 21

2 Pay attention to the sequence and timing of how a new brain wires up 22

3 Don't expect to see brain structures change, but know that they do so continuously 26

4 Realize that varying levels of stress cause different reactions in the brain 27

5 Link new ideas you want children to learn to things they already know 30

6 Be aware of how many skills depend on pattern recognition 31

7 Know why tummy time is recommended by pediatricians 34

8 Encourage activities that cross the midline of the body 36

9 Remain hopeful that every child can benefit permanently by living in positive environments 37

10 Resist the natural temptation to look for a quick fix 39

11 Be able to explain the early childhood return on investment 40

12 See the brain as a novelty-seeking organ 42

13 Understand how play is linked directly to learning 44

Part 4 Attention Messages

14 Use emotion to help children pay better attention 47

15 Play rim tracking exercises with infants 48

16 Get young children out of convenient safety buckets when the buckets are not necessary 50

17 Give children opportunities to make predictions 53

18 Understand why television viewing is not OK for infants and toddlers 54

19 Understand the importance of face time 57

20 Be intentional about increasing the child's attention span 58

21 Simplify the classroom or care environment to be visually soothing 60

22 Provide lots of practice for children to begin to learn impulse control 61

23 Provide stable, consistent, and challenging environments that encourage children to develop the foundation of executive functions in the brain 64

Part 5 Bonding Messages

24 Realize the power of having at least one consistent person who loves you 67

25 Respond rapidly to the needs of infants 69

26 Touch to calm; touch for better health 71

27 Hold children close so they know they are secure 73

28 Express your genuine love and respect daily to those in your care 75

29 Enjoy the practice of reading to children 76

30 Promote touch through guided exploration of common experiences 78

31 Show photos of key people to a child to build a sense of security 79

32 Teach first in the language of the heart when encouraging dual-language development 80

33 Use music to help bond with young children 83

34 Comment on a child's effort rather than on how smart a child is 86

35 Consider carefully your own use of smart technology 88

36 Know that risk is not destiny 91

37 Learn about and practice mindfulness 93

Part 6 Communication Messages

38 Realize the power of a face 99

39 Talk, talk, talk! 101

40 Use the voice that comes naturally when you talk to a baby 103

41 Articulate speech sounds accurately because a child's ability to hear these sounds can affect the child's success in learning to talk 105

42 Try using sign language with preverbal children 107

43 Learn that actually playing a musical instrument is better than just listening for children's brain development 110

44 Use bold colors with young infants, but don't get carried away for long 112

45 Watch what is done-to know what to do 113

46 Learn why so many children seem to love puppets 116

47 Repeat the same book; it's OK 117

48 Be sure to point to objects when teaching new words 119

49 Read books and sing songs that have rhyme, rhythm, and repetition 121

50 Read books aloud to build a child's conceptual development 123

51 Try proactive approaches in early reading strategies 124

52 Use a visual when you first introduce a new idea 126

Epilogue 129

Index 131

Editorial Reviews

In this age of "let's let technology do the training" this book is a breath of fresh air. It stresses (without preaching) the importance of real life human interaction as a means to helping our children's brains develop properly. It encourages physical, mental and emotional interaction to help shape a well-rounded individual. I think it should be mandatory reading for people who do childcare as a profession — so many in-home caretakers use electronics as a means to babysit not realizing how negatively this can affect a child's development. - Academic's Choice Awards


"The book was carefully crafted and informative." - Academic's Choice Awards

From the Publisher