Fun Fact #1: Science tells us that our child’s first 5 years are the best time to build the brain!
Fun Fact #2: You already have what it takes to build your child’s brain!
Fun Fact #3: The FREE app to make it happen is Vroom or use the website vroom.org!
The purpose of the Vroom app and website is to spark brain-building moments between adults and children, whether those be parents, caregivers, grandparents, nannies, or child care teachers. The tips are offered in a daily reminder and tailored to your child(ren) age(s). They are designed to add layers of information about everyday things and interactions. There are over 20 categories of activities!
App activities will engage one of these areas:
- Looking: making eye contact or sharing a focus of attention
- Following: watching what the child does and following their lead, echoing their sounds, or asking follow-up questions to their observations
- Chatting: having conversations about what the child is sensing whether through sight, sound, taste, touch, listening or feeling
- Stretching: adding observations or information to the ones the child is already sharing
- Taking turns: whether making faces, performing a chore, or making up a dance, take turns leading the event
Learning only happens in the context of relationships. The Vroom app guides adults to use an activity that they are already engaged in to further a brain-building moment. For example, when sorting laundry, have the child help by finding all the socks. Next level of learning could be to sort the socks by any number of characteristics: size, color, pattern, or shape. The laundry gets folded and your child gets a learning opportunity that builds the brain!
What else is the child learning? By being engaged in a positive relationship with adults, the child learns about active learning and the back and forth interactions that affirm the learning process. The child is also learning “executive function”. These are the skills that help the brain organize information, hold many pieces of information at one time, and help with self-regulation.
Download and use the app. It’s free! There’s nothing to lose, and everything for your child to gain!
This information is summarized from the vroom.org website.
-hmd-