brain development

From Live Science comes "11 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Baby's Brain," and needless to say, many of them have to do with language learning and early literacy. This is a great introduction to brain development in babies that you may wish to share with parents, or use to sharpen your own knowledge and find some tips to share with parents!  Why is a baby's perception more like a lantern, while an adult's is like a flashlight?

From the August edition of "Progress and Possibilities" from the Lt. Governor's office. To subscribe, send a message to early.childhoodteam@capitol.state.co.us with "Subscribe P&P" in the subject line:

The Marsico Institute for Early Learning and Literacy, in partnership with the Ann M. Logan Lecture Series, proudly presents an evening with Dr. John Medina
 
Thursday, October 28, 2010 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
 

The Los Angeles Times blogger Melissa Healy reports on an article in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science that poses this question: "is a toddler's lack of self-control key to early learning?"  Babies are born with their prefrontal cortex (that which enables us as adults to filter out distractions and keep on task) virtually undeveloped, and it is this lack of development that allows them to learn things quickly -- like language.  Their inability to pay attention me