Discoveries in neuroscience have given us a new understanding of how the brain develops and impact the way we approach literacy.

We now know that:

• By the time a child is three, his brain is “middle-aged,” with much of the basic circuitry of the brain already built.
• How the brain develops depends on a complex interplay between the genes we’re born with and the experiences we have. Activity, attachment and stimulation determine the architecture of the brain and whether a child will have a strong or weak foundation for all future learning, behavior and health.
• Children learn through a “give and take” in the context of important relationships with adults. Warm, responsive caregiving is essential to healthy brain development.
• Both brain architecture and developing skills are built “from the bottom up,” with simple circuits and skills providing the scaffolding for more advanced circuits and skills over time. Reading, for example, cannot occur until the brain has been successfully wired, circuit on circuit, skill on skill.

These findings support Read to Grow’s work to help parents create a loving, language-rich home for their children, beginning at birth, that will foster literacy development and lifelong learning.

Kuhl Constructs: How Babies Form Language (Asha Sphere, June 4, 2013)

The Power of Talking to Your Baby (NY Times, April 10, 2013)

The Reading Brain in the Digital Age (The Scientific American, April 11, 2013)

Early Investment in Families Helps Children Succeed in School (e! Science News, April 16, 2013)

Mothers’ Complex Talk When Sharing Books with Their Toddlers: Book Genre Matters (First Language, 2013)

The power of talking to your baby

• Study shows that achievement gap can start as early as age three.

• This wonderful video illustrates how important ‘serve and return’ interactions between babies and adults build the architecture of the brain.

• The Benefits of Bilingualism

• New study on Infant Language Development

• Why the First 2,000 Days Matters – a wonderful video from Education Nation and NBC News

• What Parents Can Do to Help Their Child Succeed in School

• Why Books Are Better than e-Books for Children

• American Academy of Pediatrics says: Babies and Toddlers Should Learn from Play, Not Screens

• An interesting experiment in how babies can be affected by a parent’s facial response.

There are staggering statistics related to early literacy, or the lack thereof. What we do know is that children are born ready to learn. We can prevent low literacy and illiteracy and build a better and brighter future for our children. Literacy Statistics