CRITICAL CONNECTIONS: The Interplay of the … CONNECTIONS: The Interplay of the ... DEVELOPMENT...

[contractor]A member of the National Head Start Training and Technical Assistance Network

Head Start

CRITICAL CONNECTIONS:

The Interplay of the

Developing Heart and Brain

15th Annual Birth to Three Institute

Presented by: Janet Humphryes, M.A.

Early Childhood Specialist/Manager

Colorado State Training and Technical Assistance Center

A member of the OHS TTA System

CO State TTA Center


2

OBJECTIVES

• Participants will explore how emotional

interactions affect brain development and

learning.

• Participants will review school readiness factors

for infants and toddlers including the

involvement of their families.

• Participants will practice facilitating a solution

discovery process and produce an individualized

action plan for implementing this process with

young children.CO State TTA Center


PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

3CO State TTA Center

• 1304.21(b)(1)(ii)(iii): Encourage trust and emotional security

so that each child can explore the environment according to

his or her developmental level; opportunities for each child

to explore a variety of sensory and motor experiences with

support and stimulation from teachers and family members.

• 1304.21(b)(2)(i)(ii): Support the social and emotional

development of infants and toddlers by encouraging the

development of self awareness, autonomy, and self-

expression, and supporting emerging communication skills.

• 1304.24(a)(1)(iii)(iv): Work with parents on appropriate

responses to children‟s behaviors, and to strengthen

nurturing, supportive environments and relationships in the

home and at the program.


BRAIN GYM ®

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Source: Brain Gym® Teacher’s Edition by Paul E. Dennison, PhD, & Gail E. Dennison ,2010

Photos © Nicole SimpkinsBooz Allen HamiltonCO State TTA Center


NATURE OR NURTURE

• Nature and nurture

are so interwoven

from the moment of

conception that there

is NO separation.

• Both genes and

brains can be

significantly changed

by environmental

experience.



NATURE: DEVELOPMENT

• The brain follows a sequence of maturational

cycles with more complex skills building on

previously mastered abilities.

• Timetables for maturation vary with each

individual child.

• Foundations for the brain‟s higher-level abilities

(reasoning/creativity) are solidified with

interesting, challenging, and developmentally

appropriate activities, in environments rich in

relationships.6CO State TTA Center


NURTURE: EPIGENETICS

• New scientific research in a field called

“Epigenetics” is showing that environmental

influences can actually affect whether and how

genes are expressed.

– For example: Stresses caused by bad experiences

can switch genes on or off at the wrong times, forcing

them to build abnormal networks of brain-cell

connections resulting in, for example, an epileptic

seizure instead of a clear signal between cells.

Source: National Scientific Council on the Developing Child

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/library/reports_and_working_papers/working_papers/wp10/


http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/library/reports_and_working_papers/working_papers/wp10/


WHAT MAKES A BRAIN GROW?

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Healthy versus neglected brainFrom The Biology of Transcendence by Joseph Chilton Pearce

CO State TTA Center


A nurturing, stress-free environment

• Adult caregivers who are able to provide

attuned, nurturing care, and have a capacity for

joy – Relationships are KEY!

• A prepared, warm, responsive, stimulating

environment

• Long, uninterrupted periods of time for creative

play especially outdoors

• Contributing to the family or group through

meaningful work



Booz Allen Hamilton

- adult caregivers who are able to provide

..attuned, nurturing care & have a capacity for

..joy Source: Guiding Children’s Potentials by Opening Hearts to Joy, Janet Humphryes & Stone Wolfsong, 2008.

CO State TTA Center


REFLECTION

• Is this the attachment cycle

you have provided for ALL of

the children entrusted to you?

• Who was the attuned,

responsive, joy-full person

who cared for you when

you were very young?

• What response can you

commit to using with the

children in your learning

environment in the future?12

Source: Guiding Children’s Potentials by Opening Hearts to Joy, Janet Humphryes & Stone Wolfsong, 2008.

CO State TTA Center


Young children experience their world as

an environment of relationships,

and these relationships affect

virtually all aspects of their development

– Intellectual

– Social

– Emotional

– Physical

– Behavioral

– Moral


- healthy relationships


The quality and stability of a child‟s human

relationships in the early years lay the

foundation for a wide range of later

developmental outcomes that really matter to

whether a child is ready for school and life.

– Self-confidence

– Motivation to learn

– Achievement throughout life

– Self-regulation

– Morality

– Capacity for friendships15CO State TTA Center



©M

ichelle

Sm

ith

FULLY engaging parents

in their child‟s early „school‟ life experiences

enhances the child‟s readiness for school

and success throughout the school years.



© P

atti T

em

plin

- a prepared, warm, responsive, stimulating

environment



© P

atti T

em

plin

- long, uninterrupted periods of time for

creative play, especially outdoors



© J

anet H

um

phry

es

- contributing to the family or group

through meaningful work

© Julie Conly


“In order to develop normally, a child requires

progressively more complex joint activity with

one or more adults who have an irrational

emotional relationship with the child.

Somebody‟s got to be crazy about that kid. That‟s number one. First, last, and always.”


Urie Bronfenbrenner Developmental Psychologist

©S

teve G

aglia

no


REFLECTION

• Can you see how much of an influence you have

on each of the children entrusted to you – and

on their entire life?

• In what ways are

you the person

that‟s “crazy about”

each child you

engage with?


© Janet Humphryes


WHAT ELSE MAKES A BRAIN GROW?


LANGUAGE!

Children who lack the stimulation, models,

or opportunities to absorb and practice

lots of human language with human models

enter school with lower high-level language skills

(intelligent listening, understanding,

using complex grammar [syntax] to

formulate sentences, a wide vocabulary,

and social conventions of language).

This leads to more learning and behavior problems.


• Only language experienced through HUMAN

INTERACTION is absorbed by young children!

• Screen time/electronic voices fail to improve

language use and have been found to retard

overall development of language, attention, and

related learning skills related to executive

function (self-regulation) - the strongest predictor

of school achievement and lifetime success.

Source: Dr. Patricia Kuhl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcb8nT0QC6o


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcb8nT0QC6o


WHAT ELSE MAKES A BRAIN GROW?

• Varied, multi-sensory, challenging experiences

with intellectually valid content that engage the

child‟s body, mind, and active curiosity.

• Enriched curriculum focused on expanding and

strengthening the skills and habits of mind that

will support the child in lifetime intellectual

endeavors.



SENSITIVE PERIODS

• Specific experiences affect specific brain circuits

during specific developmental states.

– Order, Movement, Language

• The quality of a child‟s early environment and

the availability of appropriate experiences at the

right states of development are crucial in

determining the strength or weakness of the

brain‟s architecture, which, in turn, determines

how well he or she will be able to think and to

regulate emotions.



WINDOW FOR: WIRING

WINDOW:

GREATEST LEARNING

ENHANCEMENT OP:

Emotional Intelligence

Trust

Impulse Control

Birth – 48 months

0 – 14 months

16 – 48 months

4 years – Puberty

Social Development

Attachment

Independence

Cooperation

Birth – 48 months

0 – 12 months

18 – 36 months

24 – 48 months

4 years – Puberty

Motor Development Birth – 24 months 2 years – Puberty

Vision Birth – 24 months 2 years – Puberty

Language Skills

Early Sounds/Sentence Structure

Vocabulary/Speaking/Reading

Second Language

Birth – 24 months

4 – 8 months

Birth – 24 months

Birth – 24 months

2 years – Puberty

8 months – Puberty

2 – 5 years

2 years to puberty

Thinking Skills

Cause and Effect

Problem Solving

Birth – 48 months

Birth – 16 months

16 – 48 months

4 years – Puberty

Music Birth – 36 months 3 years – Puberty

Source: Pam Schiller, PhDCO State TTA Center


“…during the first year of life the brain is set to

wire for trust (the basis of emotional intelligence).

If the baby‟s experiences are positive

(attuned & synchronous), the brain will wire for trust.

If those experiences are negative,

the brain will still wire, but it will wire for mistrust.

Rewiring is possible in most cases,

with the exception of vision,

but it becomes more difficult with every passing day

because the wiring strengthens

as experiences are repeated.”

Pam Schiller, Ph.D.27CO State TTA Center


REFLECTION

• What does this information about enriched

experiences in developmentally appropriate

environments, attuned relationships, human

language, sensitive periods and brain wiring

inspire you to do with the children?

• How might you better prepare yourself to be the

brain/heart engineer children count on you to

be?



WHAT ELSE MAKES THE BRAIN GROW?

Responsive Communication Skills:

• Take time to be

fully present with

and converse with

children

• Trust in the child‟s

ability to discover

solutions to their

challenges!29CO State TTA Center


SOLUTION DISCOVERY PROCESS

• SITUATION: Alique hits Philippe. Philippe cries.

• Adult attends to any injury needing immediate attention and

brings both children together to resolve the conflict together.

• Adult sits at eye level with both children and asks what

happened.

• Adult says to the identified victim, Philippe, “Make a serious

face and tell Alique that you don‟t like it when she hits you.”

• Adult says to Alique, “You need to ask Philippe what will

help make him feel better.”

• Adult offers suggestions for the victim to identify what will

make him feel better and then express this to the aggressor.

• Adult assures the aggressor follows through with the

restitution requested.30CO State TTA Center

Source: Guiding Children’s Potentials by Opening Hearts to Joy, Janet Humphryes & Stone Wolfsong, 2008.


ACTION PLAN

• What is your plan for how you might implement the

Solution Discovery Process with children

experiencing conflict?

• What strategies will you incorporate into your daily

practices that will create and support children‟s

„critical connections‟?

• How will you help parents understand how they can

support these „critical connections‟?

• How can you plan to use more reflective practices

during your time with children in your early

childhood setting? 31CO State TTA Center


RESOURCES/REFERENCES

32

• Dennison, Paul E. and Gail E. Dennison. Brain Gym Teacher’s

Edition. Ventura, CA: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc. 1989.

• Humphryes, Janet and Stone Wolfsong. Guiding Children’s

Potentials by Opening Hearts to Joy. Lakewood, CO: Joy-

FullConnections, LLC. 2008.

• Patricia Kuhl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcb8nT0QC6o

• Lipton, Bruce. The Biology of Belief. Santa Rosa, CA: Mountain of

Love/Elite Books. 2005.

• National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.

http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/council/

• Siegel, Daniel J. The Mindful Brain. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &

Company, Inc. 2007.

CO State TTA Center




http://developingchild.harvard.edu/initiatives/council/


CONTACT INFORMATION

JANET HUMPHRYES, M.A.

Early Childhood Specialist/Manager

Colorado Head Start Training & Technical Assistance Center

Booz Allen Hamilton contractor for

DHHS/ACF/Office of Head Start Region VIII

[email protected]

(Office) 303-985-4246

(Cell) 303-912-0540


mailto:[email protected]

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