Does your child's experience change the structure of their brain?

Brain development is "activity-dependent," meaning that the electrical activity in every circuit—sensory, motor, emotional, cognitive--shapes the way that circuit gets put together.  Every experience--whether it is seeing one's first rainbow, riding a bicycle, reading a book, sharing a joke--excites certain neural circuits and leaves others inactive. Those that are consistently turned on over time will be strengthened, while those that are rarely excited may be dropped away. The elimination of unused neural circuits, also referred to as "pruning," may sound harsh, but it is generally a good thing. It streamlines children's neural processing, making the remaining circuits work more quickly and efficiently. Without synaptic pruning, children wouldn't be able to walk, talk, or even see properly.

The more variety of experiences we offer the children in our programs help build these neural circuits.  This is why we offer children a variety of activities early on that focus on the skills that will build upon one another.  The scaffolding of learning is a critical component of your child's future school success.  Children for example can not write there name, if they are not given the experience of first scribbling, then making lines, followed by forming circles, and followed by the skill of making shapes.  Once children are able to make basic shapes, they are able to use this skill to form letters.  These early skills are critical for your child's development and the experiences they are offered at an early age are important.