Growing a Future Scholar

Contributed by Julie Douglas-Family Programs Director

If you asked most parents of preschoolers, they would say that they want their children to be “ready” for Kindergarten.  Many preschool programs and daycare centers make a point of telling parents that they are preparing the child for school.  DVDs, games, and books promise parents the tools they need to make sure their child will be successful on that first day in the classroom.

So what does a child need to be a successful learner?  How does he/she get ready for school?  Aside from being healthy, getting the right nutrition, exercise and rest, much of what a child needs to succeed starts at birth. While there are many things that go into the making of a good student, let’s look at the very basics.

Humans are born with brains that are still developing.  A child’s early experiences influence how that brain will form.  What a baby hears and sees and feels causes connections to be made between the neurons in a baby’s brain.  These connections are called synapses, and they happen at a dizzying rate (according to researchers, a  baby may have as many as 1,000 trillion synapses before he reaches 9 months old.)  The brain is actively growing and changing, fueled by interactions and experiences, but it is also efficient.  Unused synapses are “pruned” away. In other words, just like with muscles, the adage “Use it or lose it” applies to the connections in the brain.

When a parent reads or talks or sings to a child, those synapses that are involved in language development are being well-used and avoid the pruning process. The more language the child experiences, the stronger the connections in the brain become.  And strong connections mean the brain is able to easily do those things it is naturally meant to do, such as to speak and understand a language.

So we know that talking and reading to a baby helps build a strong brain.  Research also tells us that when a parent talks, tells stories, or chants nursery rhymes to a baby, the child’s vocabulary grows.  A large, rich vocabulary is linked to success in learning to read.

Even snuggling with a child and a book goes a long way in helping the child become a better learner. Children who feel secure because they have received nurturing attention from an adult are better able to handle stress and are more confident, both of which aid the learning process.

So what is the best thing a parent can do to equip a future scholar with the skills and desire to become a lifelong learner?  Read….talk…sing…chant…ask questions…tell stories…interact!

Need some ideas to get started?  Check out these websites for lists of books named “best of 2011” by librarians, bloggers, and most importantly…kids!

Books on the 2011 Children Choices Project list are chosen by 12,500 children from around the US.

http://www.reading.org/Libraries/Choices/cc2011.pdf

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) publishes an annual list of exemplary books for children.

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

The New York Times Book Review presents its list of the 10 Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2011.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/the-2011-best-illustrated-books/

Publishers Weekly shares its picks for top children’s books of 2011.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2011/childrens-picture#book/book-1

Chosen by a panel of librarians and, child development experts, the books on Best Books for Babies list are judged to have enticing illustrations and the ability to encourage interaction between parent and child.

http://www.fredrogers.org/best-books-babies/about.html

Want to know which books Missouri children say are the best?  See which book won the 2011 Building Block Award (to be announced in February 2012.)

http://molib.org/awards/buildingblock/nominees/nominees2011.html

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