Saturday, December 9, 2006

Our Latest PEPS meeting

Jake and I had a great time at PEPS this week. We had a speaker come in from Nurturing Pathways: a company that focuses on movement to enhance brain development in infants and toddlers. We learned some great things like: there's a physical part of boy's brains that focuses on social and emotional connections that actually takes about 3 years longer to thicken/mature than their girl counterparts and that usually matures around 23 as opposed to 20 years of age in girls! We also learned that boys have a harder time making neurological connections between the right and left side of the brain, so they need a lot more movement as youngin's to enhance and promote these cross-brain connections to help with growth, spatial relationships, and especially speech. After learning some cool facts, we took the kids, put them on a huge mat, put a bunch of streamers in the middle and let them go at it! They all had so much fun! We then, do some great stretches and movements to enhance further right-left brain connections all while seeing nursery rhymes because when you sign you stimulate the right brain and when you speak you stimulate the left brain. These kids were fully stimulated, extremely happy, and doing really well on their tummies!!! I linked the website below if you would like to know more or see pictures! I went out that day to Costco and bought Jake a mat so he could properly scoot and begin to crawl! I am so excited to see him enjoy tummy time and begin the next phase of his movement!
Best,
Maria