In the initial years of our life, the brain is our fastest growing organ. Did you know that a newborn baby’s brain is only around 25% of the size of an adult brain? And by the time your child is 3 years old, his brain reaches more than two-thirds of its final size? In the first three years of his life, a child’s brain undergoes an impressive amount of change. With the brain developing rapidly during these early years, a focus on positive stimulation for the first 8 years, which is considered the critical period, can have an enormous impact on your child’s brain development.

Intelligence is not based on the number of brain cells we have, but the number of connections that we are able to make between these brain cells. These connections are made through our interactions with our children, the environment we are able to expose them to, and the experiences we are able to provide them with.Since we parents spend the most number of hours with our children during these crucial years, we are their first and most important teachers.

What can we do to ensure we give them a stimulating environment?

There is a lot of research that has been done in this area about why it is important to build overall skills. The one I found most interesting was the research by Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences. It talks about our seven intelligences – linguistic, logical (mathematical), musical, visual, physical, interpersonal (social), and intrapersonal (reflecting on self).

As parents we need to ensure that we work towards developing all the intelligences in the early years, through little games and activities. Each area is as important as the other. Here are some simple activities that I found very useful with my kids.

Read these examples, and get inspired:

Math: Make something quite mundane, such as laundry, a time for learning math. Initially you could just get them to separate their t-shirts and shirts from their pants, and as they get a hang of it, get them to pair socks and then even fold clothes. As they get better, you make them do a little more. This is their first step to sorting!

Writing: Before children start writing they need to develop their fine motor skills. Fun activities like cutting strips of paper and solving puzzles are great activities to build these skills. I created a cut paper money activity in KIDS Explore, just because this is an important skill that helps them work so much better, especially when they start writing.

Vocabulary: The best advice would be to talk! Simple games made on the spot such as “let’s name all the things around the room” and taking it further “what are they made of?” are the best way to introduce new words. At a later stage you can even start labeling things with little name cards – like CHAIR, BED. This will not only help them learn and read these words very quickly, it will also help them get confident.

Music: We all know music is fun, hence it important to introduce music at this stage – and different kinds of music. Add movement and we then attack two skills – physical development with music. Encourage your child to dance to music, using a variety of movements such as balancing on one leg, turning, spinning, bending, and stretching. This is great fun if you do this together while also developing musical ability and stimulating muscle/physical development.

Thinking Skills: This is one of my favourite examples! Get them to think. Introduce science with bath time. Yes, it is the same everyday ritual– but instead ask questions. “Is the water flowing? Is it still? Is this hot or cold? What happens when we stir the water?” These are your little one’s first step towards science and experimentation.

Creativity: Painting time can be made a lot more exciting when we use unconventional materials to make patterns and designs. It is fun and out of the box. Take some vegetables like bhindi and potato and dip them in paint. Help them cut some shapes, dip them in paint and place on paper. Use a brush, some fabric, a sponge, or just let them use their fingers!

Values: Read value-based stories at night or while on a drive. This is one of the most effective ways to inculcate moral values. Some of our Indian mythology stories are just great for this. Pick a story around a value. Read the story and discuss what it means to the child. It is really important to stop and talk about the value and how it applies to their life. We regularly publish moral stories and mythological stories in KIDS Explore. Grab your copy today!

Written By: Gayatri Singh, Founder, TeamExplore