Early Years Education Foundations

To kick things of in this 'Very Unusual Course All About Play' Ben asks a very important question; "Why do children skip?" when you think about it, walking is the most effective and efficient means of movement for humans...skipping is far less efficient than running or walking. It takes up more energy per step than walking and cannot approach the speed of running. Yet, nearly all children across the globe, without ever being taught how to, will impulsively skip at some stage in their early years. Why is this? Well I'm glad you asked as this is what Lesson 1 is all about as Ben begins his journey of play and the science behind it all! Lesson 1 provides you with all you need to know about the basics of brain architecture and the different structures within that make us who we are, as well as, finding out all about Ben's drug dealer cat!

Armed with an understanding of the brains different systems and it's overall architecture we move onto a deeper look at play and what makes children, and all other mammals, want to play. As an evolutionary processes play should have died out long ago as it makes mammals in the wild less attentive to their surroundings and consequently more vulnerable. So why after 100's of years is play still so important to both humans and animals?

In Lesson 3 we dive into the world of biochemicals inside children's brains! From a biochemical perspective, when children activate the pro-social motions they produce a cocktail of biochemicals including benzodiazepines, producing substances so powerful that they are prescribed by doctors as an anti-anxiety medication. How can we help children to release these happy drugs inside their brains?

What do young children do when they walk past a fence or a wall? They instinctively reach out and stroke the fence. What does a 1-year-old do with a crayon? They instinctively put it in their mouth for a good old taste. What does a child do when they walk through an echoey space? "Ooooooweeee!" Whilst these behaviours are intrinsically linked to play, they fall under another of Jaak Panksepp's emotional systems, CURIOSITY. In this lesson we explore the important role curiosity and exploration play when it comes to brain growth and development in the early years!

In order to protect our particularly vulnerable young, we have an extremely potent nurturing system. When an adult makes a child feel safe, emotionally secure and happy, they are nurturing that child and producing a positive biochemical response (including benzodiazepines), making that child feel amazing. The tragedy is that there has been a fundamental shift in parenting trends over the last few years. There has been a marked decrease in face-to-face nurturing in some families, along with a corresponding increase in screen time for children! Let's explore the power of nurturing and the incredible role positive relationships and attachments play in brain development and children's behaviours!

Play is a neurological development process that builds the fundamental structure of the brain and underpins all forms of higher learning. Reading, writing and maths are not hardwired into the brain. The fundamental structures for these higher academic tasks are not present at birth but need to be built through experiential brain growth. The process that builds brains is not sitting still, listening to grown-ups speak, but the bits in between - in short, play!

That's it from Ben! We hope you've taken lots away from this course about all things brain development and the importance of play, curiosity and nurture! If you'd like to see Ben back on The Early Years Network make sure to let us know and keep your eyes peeled for his next book all about the power of joy dropping January 2024.