Week 5 Harvard University’s “Global Children’s Initiative”
My objective for this week is to share things I learned from the Global Children's Initiative:
#1 It was interesting to know how they are working around the world to make a difference: Together with partner organizations on the ground, the Center promotes innovation in Brazil, Canada, and Mexico, as well as across a broader international platform.
I just really enjoyed this short video on the brain. Here is a summary of what was discussed.
It was referred to as "Brain Builders". Get an introduction of the brain story. Brain---Built
Brain-Positive Interaction in early years (Serve & Return) This was related to a tennis match.
Toxic Stress can affect the brain and this is bad for brain development. Example: abuse, neglect, or parental addiction.
Emotional & Social Skills: This was related to an Air Traffic Control--This helps the child regulate.
The findings indicate that kids cannot do this on their own.
Help build
healthy brains!
#3. Across Countries: Saving Brains
A partnership led by Grand Challenges Canada, Saving Brains seeks to improve outcomes for children living in poverty through interventions that nurture and protect early brain development in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.
Hello Katrina,
ReplyDeleteI really like the Saving Brains initiative that improves outcomes for children living in poverty. I enjoyed the video information about the brain. It is vital for young children to have a positive interaction with a caregiver from birth. Children need to be taken care of and spoken to so they can speak back and stimulate their brain. I see so many preschoolers in the Head Start program where I work that suffer from toxic stress. It is so sad. Interventions need to take place as soon as possible so the children can improve and overcome the bad brain development that takes place from abuse, neglect, or parental addiction situations. The Head Start program where I work uses a Second Step emotion/social curriculum to teach preschoolers how to self-regulate. A lot of preschoolers come to school without knowing how to acknowledge how they are feeling and what to do with their feelings or how to solve social problems appropriately. We, as early childhood educators need to teach our young students the skills to self-regulate. This is a skill they will use throughout their lifetime. Great post!
Hello Katrina,
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is crucial for organizations to help children and families during times like this. When reading about Saving Brains I thought that this was really crucial to supporting early brain development. The partnership also seeks to improve outcomes for children and poverty around the world. I really enjoyed the brain video you shared. It is so crucial for children to receive positive interactions in the early years of their lives. I really enjoy the serve and return method and I use it often when working with the children in my care. Infants are my favorite group of children to work with I enjoy singing to them and seeing them smile, while giving them hugs. Strong bonds are important and children feel safe and are able to gain trust in their caregivers.
Hi Katrina! Poverty is truly troublesome to the brain and physical development of children. This is a great resource to revisit in the future. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! Thank you for sharing the link of the brain. Trauma affects the brain and development of children. In the black community we say "children are acting grown" but those children may have endured trauma at a young age which made them grow up or feel as if they needed to grow up faster in order to protect themselves.