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Looking for activities to boost your child's brain development? Check out these ideas!
I feel like I am constantly looking for educational or development-building activities/toys/games that will be beneficial for my son. In all honesty, I probably worry a little too much about the activities he is participating in. Is it just me? I am guessing not. But the truth is. our kids learn through play and so you may already be encouraging brain development in your child.
Summer is here for many of us and you may have more time with your little ones at home. My son's daycare is closed for about three weeks over the summer months. So of course I am looking for activities that are fun and engaging for him, but I also want activities that will be good for his brain!
Brain Development
Young children's brains are developing rapidly, with 90% of brain development occurring before age 5. There are four primary domains of brain development: cognitive, physical, speech and communication, and social and emotional. The domains are categories of development. When you consider what milestones your child is achieving, those milestones fall into domains. (Some milestones fit multiple domains.)
Positive, safe, and nurturing environments and experiences are the foundation for healthy development for young children. As parents, we want to make sure our children are forming secure attachments and have a healthy environment to grow in.
Adult Engagement
Your child benefits from you engaging with them through play and fun activities. Though as your child grows they may need less engagement from you to engage in the activities below. It is always good to speak with your little ones, read with them, sing with them, ask questions, etc. You know your child best and how much engagement your child will require to get the most out of these activities.
Personally, I feel the most important thing is to have fun! Your child will likely have fun if you are and enjoy the activities that are also helping them develop.
Cognitive Activities
These activities help develop executive function skills. Keep in mind that activities that also help develop other skills may help develop cognitive skills. The skills associated with cognitive development (executive function) include:
focus
working memory
emotional awareness
emotional regulation
empathy
adaptability
motivation
self-control
The Harvard Center on the Developing Child has an awesome site with information on activities for different ages.
Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop executive function skills include:
Active songs (music that encourages children to participate and follow directions)
Follow the leader or Simon Says or other copycat games
Puzzles
Peek-a-book or hiding games
Storytelling and reading - be sure to stop and ask questions along the way (as your child gets older, let them be the story teller and/or ask them to finish a story you start)
Pretend play
Memory games
Matching and sorting games (Increase the difficulty as children get older)
Counting games
I spy
Physical Activities
The activities below help children with physical development. Skills associated with physical development are related to gross and fine motor skills and include:
Picking up head
Sitting up
Rolling over
Crawling
Standing
Walking
Running
Kicking
Throwing
Holding toys
Picking up small objects
Feeding themselves
Drinking from a cup
Climbing stairs
Dressing/undressing
Jumping
Turning pages in a book
Catching a ball
Using buttons
Using a pen/pencil
(and so much more!)
Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop motor skills include:
Tummy time
Free play/exploration (inside and outside)
Have a dance party
Take family walks/bike rides/scooters, etc.
Organized activity and sports
Build with blocks/LEGOS
Arts and crafts projects that include scissors, small beads, playdoh, crayons, markers, etc.
Have your child help with household chores (make a game of it!)
Read! Let your child turn the pages
Play games and sing songs that encourage physical movement (follow the leader, musical chairs, Simon Says, hokey pokey, etc.)
Language and Communication Activities
The activities below help children develop their language and communication skills. The skills associated with language and communication development include:
understanding language
communicating
speaking
Check out Empowered Parents for a ton of great ideas to help your child develop including language and communication.
Activities you can engage in with your child to help them develop language and communication skills include:
Building toys - talk all about the colors and shapes, give directions, and talk all about what your child is building.
Sing songs
Read - ask questions, discuss pictures, make up alternate storylines, etc.
Sensory bins - talk-about textures, colors, and sizes; have your children sort and match things.
Pretend play - have your child pretend to make a phone call, or choose a character, or run a restaurant, etc., which will get them talking about the pretend situation
Play photographer - allow your child to take three pictures and then have them describe them in vivid detail
Whiteboard time - give your child letters, words, and pictures to draw/write.
Read the billboards on road trips - once your child is able, billboards can be a great way to practice reading skills
Show and tell - have your child pick out their favorite toy, stuffie, or book and have them tell you about it. Prompt with additional questions.
Nature walk - comment and describe everything you see and have your child do the same; answer any questions your little one has
Social and Emotional Activities
The activities below help children develop their social and emotional skills. The skills associated with social and emotional development include:
self-regulation
emotional awareness (self)
emotional awareness of others
self-control
relationship skills
decision making
Activities that you can engage in with your child to help them develop social and emotional skills include:
Read stories and discuss how the character feels, point out emotions in images
Pretend play - give your child a character to play
Think out loud
Do chores together
Play games
Team Sports
Explore social and emotional situations through a puppet show
Play emotions charades
Make a calm-down bottle (and teach your child how to use it!)
Create a vision board, so your child can create a visual representation of kindness, friendship, and support they would like to see around them
Check out these great resources from Discovery Building Sets and PBS with more specific details on games and supporting your child's social and emotional development.
Conclusion
Our child's brain development is so critically important, especially from birth to age five. There are so many activities we can do with kids (that are easy!) to help as they're developing.
I personally love an activity I can do with my son any time with no extra materials. Bonus points if it can be done with just a few spare minutes or while we are waiting or in the car. Parker and I love to sing songs in the car (I definitely have noticed this helping in his language development and I am sure it is helpful in other areas of development too). He also loves a pretend phone (we have three) and they are great for the car and to bring along in the diaper bag. He loves to call his Mimi on his pretend phone and have a pretend conversation. I love these easy activities we can do anytime with any amount of time.
I hope this post has given you some great and easy ideas for activities you can do with your little ones!
Remember Mama, you are doing a great job! You got this!
Resources and Sources for More Information:
Harvard Center on the Developing Child - Cognitive
Edutopia - Cognitive
NAEYC - Social and Emotional
Empowered Parents - Social and Emotional
The Art of Education - Social and Emotional
PBS - Social and Emotional
Discovery Building Sets - Social and Emotional
CDC - Developmental Milestones
Raising Children - Physical
Help Me Grow - Physical
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association - Language and Communication
Empowered Parents - Language and Communication
Teaching Expertise - Language and Communication