Brent lines up the little metal cars one more time. Yesterday, he lined them up and promptly counted, “1, 2, 3 …”
Today he starts with the red convertible, then the blue police car, then a black van, then a red pick-up, and is reaching for the black car but changes his mind and searches for something blue.
If a young child’s job is to learn, both socially and cognitively, then his tools are the toys and play activities of his life. Research shows that our brainpower grows as we start with the familiar and scaffold on newer elements.
Brent’s cars are his familiar toy. He enjoys his collection, he feels ownership, and he is open to added challenges surrounding his familiar toys. These learning connections tend to be meaningful and permanent.
Young children need to have real materials with which to experiment. For example, by scooping and pouring water into different size containers, a child starts to learn about the math concept of volume.
By building structures with blocks, a child starts to learn about geometry (shapes), physics (how shapes can fit together) and gravity (that’s self-explanatory!) Manipulating materials, trying things out first this way and then that, coming to a conclusion and then rejecting it for another — these are the ways young children grow their brains.
A subsequent part of fostering meaningful brain growth is by providing plenty of time for our brains to absorb and then categorize these pieces of learning. This is where both physical activity and sleep provide downtime for our brains to accomplish this task.
For instance, when Anna runs out to the playground at recess to race about with her friends, her brain is busy consolidating what she just learned in her classroom.
Research shows that unstructured physical exercise allows our brains to do the connecting and classifying work. So each day should have some of this (hopefully, outside) “messing about” time.
This kind of free activity also gives Anna a sense of ownership over her choices on the playground. She expands her creativity as she plays pretend horses with her friends. She increases her confidence as she asks to join a group at jump rope. She learns to appreciate nature as she sees a butterfly land on a flowering bush.
Outside summer play is perfect for children’s brains. Budding naturalists see how plants grow in gardens, observing insects and birds.
Potential civil engineers dig water channels in sandboxes. Young artists hide among Japanese maple leaves and see how light comes through the branches.
All the while, these young brains are absorbing copious amounts of meaningful information and then actively organizing more and more connections as these brains grow with vigor, complexity and richness.
Carolyn Wirkman is the director of the Kirkland Preschool, where children learn by doing. For more information, visit www.kirklandpreschool.org or call 425-822-4450.
