Cognitive Curriculum

Brain Brochure

"Facts you can wrapyour brain around"

Breanna BennettECED243 spring 11'Instructor: Deb L.

Interesting Brain Facts:

-Parents and teachers who read aloud and talk oftento young children are promoting brain development.

-Children who learn two languages before the age offive have a different brain structure than children wholearn only one language

-Studies have shown that child abuse can change theway the brain develops and can negatively affectlearning.

-Those that are left-handed or ambidextrous have acorpus collosum that is about 11% larger than thosewho are right-handed

-Each time a memory is recalled or a new thoughtoccurs, a new connection is created in the brain.

-A lack of sleep may actually decrease your ability tocreate new memories

-As easy as laughing seems, it is actually a verycomplex task that requires activity in five differentareas of the brain.

-It is believed that humans experience 70,000thoughts each day

-The brain is made up of about 75% water.

-The human brain weighs about 3 pounds.

Source:http://www.associatesdegree.com/20 1% 1/27/50-brain-facts-every-educator-should-know/

Food for Thought:

Brain Enhancing Activities

ExpandingOurMindsThroughMemory:Whole Wheat Bread

Mixed NutsSalmonBanananasPeanut ButterOatmealSoybeans

Memorization is a very useful skill since a lot ofeducation is based on memorizing certain information.From memorizing our addresses and phone numbers to

the multiplication tables. Introducing children to memoryexercise such as having the children practice writing

their namesand address helps children use their brain tofocus and retain the information.

Activity: Make a homemadememorization games based onweekly themes (ex: farm babies) or your children's

favorite book or movie.

Foods to stay away from:

Food ColoringHigh Fructose Drinks

PopHigh Sugared Candies

AlcoholNicotineFrosting

White Bread

F.5.11- Indentifysimilaritiesanddifferencesinobjects

Family Time Crossword Puzzles:Crossword puzzles are great activity to help exercise andexpand children's minds. Crossword puzzles can be usedas a family activity by working as a team to finish the

puzzle. Children can increase their reading skills byreading the clues to his or her family.

Activity: Find age appropriate crossword puzzles tocomplete with your family. There are manywebsites thatwill let you generate your very own crosswords. Childrenmay find a crossword puzzle over their favorite book or

an area of interest extremely fun!

Source :4mind4life .com

F.1.43·Usenewvocabularylearnedfromexperiences

Early Stages of Brain Development:References:

Before Birth:* Three to four weeks after conception a thin layer ofcells forms on the embryo. The cells fold and fuse toform a liquid filled tube. This is the basis of the brain

and spinal cord* In the first month following conception the cells in the

neural tube start to multiply at an astonishing rate,reaching a maximum of 250,000 neurons a minute* Most of the brain's lifetime's supplies of cells are

produced by six months.Brainwave.org

Birth - Infancy:* Almost immediately after birth the newborn's brainbegins to form trillions of connections and pathways

between the neurons. These connections andpathways are vital as they enable the infant to see,hear, smell, learn and reason in a more developed

way.* Infant's experiences trigger the electrical activitynecessary to enable the brain to develop connections

and grow.* Repeated experiences because the connections tobecome well worn pathways, permanently etched intothe brain. Infrequent experiences result in the loss of

developing pathways

associatesdegree.com/20 1% 1/27/50-brain-facts-every-educator-should-know/

Source :4mind4Iife. com

Indiana Foundations for Young Children

SDoys 2Monfll'!i

1 Y€'or 28 Y ors

Above are brain scans from different age groups: By eightmonths of age the average infant, living will have sparked 500trillion of these connections. By the age of two an infant has

developed around 1000 trillion of these connections - twice asmany as the parents. By the age of 18 the number of connectionshas been reduced to around 500 trillion - the same number the

young adult had as an 8-month oldSource: Brainwave.org

Cognitive Curriculum

Brain Brochure

"Facts you can wrapyour brain around"

Breanna BennettECED 243 spring 11'Instructor: Deb L.