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The ideas hub.

A child's brain is a remarkable little creature forming more than a million neural connections every second when activated. Babies learn through spending time with their parents and other special people in their life. Here are some ideas to help create meaningful moments with your child. These meaningful moments, especially if they occur early in a child’s life and often, build strong brains, providing a strong foundation for their life.

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Icon Attention and focus

Icon Responding to emotions

Icon Relationships and communication

Icon Planning and routines

Icon Taking on challenges

AGE GROUP

Ages 4-5

Letter Lookout

Taking on challenges

Pick a letter with your child and try to find it everywhere you go. Take turns calling it out when you see it. If they see an apple for the letter A, then you have to find something next. See how many things you can find. Four? Ten? More?

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Ages 4-5

Letter Lookout

Taking on challenges

Pick a letter with your child and try to find it everywhere you go. Take turns calling it out when you see it. If they see an apple for the letter A, then you have to find something next. See how many things you can find. Four? Ten? More?

BRAINY BACKGROUND

“I Spy” games like this one are great brain builders. They make your child aware of their environment and teach them to make connections between similar things. You can try this game with letters, colours, shapes—anything really!

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Ages 4-5

Face Off

Responding to emotions

Make a face that expresses a feeling and ask your child to make a face that expresses the opposite feeling. If you make a happy face, they should make a sad face. Talk about when they remember people making these faces. Then take a selfie together with your goofiest faces!

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Ages 4-5

Face Off

Responding to emotions

Make a face that expresses a feeling and ask your child to make a face that expresses the opposite feeling. If you make a happy face, they should make a sad face. Talk about when they remember people making these faces. Then take a selfie together with your goofiest faces!

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This game helps your child learn empathy, by practicing to understand the emotions of others, and express their own feelings. It's an important skill that we use every day as adults!

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Ages 3-5

Rhyme Time

Attention and focus

Pick a word, like cake, and take turns saying words that rhyme with it. Keep going until you run out of words that rhyme, and then let your child pick a word to play with. See if you can come up with silly ones to keep it fun like slinky, pinky, stinky.

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Ages 3-5

Rhyme Time

Attention and focus

Pick a word, like cake, and take turns saying words that rhyme with it. Keep going until you run out of words that rhyme, and then let your child pick a word to play with. See if you can come up with silly ones to keep it fun like slinky, pinky, stinky.

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Rhyming or word guessing games, like this one, help your child detect differences in sounds. This will help with reading and writing later on.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

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Ages 3-5

Fruit Facts

Relationships and communication

When picking out fruit, play a guessing game: "Is this orange sweet or sour? Is this apple crisp or mushy?" Use words they might not understand and ask them to use their own words to describe tastes. When you eat the fruit later, talk about their guesses.

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Ages 3-5

Fruit Facts

Relationships and communication

When picking out fruit, play a guessing game: "Is this orange sweet or sour? Is this apple crisp or mushy?" Use words they might not understand and ask them to use their own words to describe tastes. When you eat the fruit later, talk about their guesses.

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Talking about things beyond the here and now helps expose children to new vocabulary. Asking your child questions will also help develop their reasoning skills - especially when you ask them for their own words to describe tastes.

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Ages 0-2

Dressing Play

Relationships and communication

Even if your child doesn’t seem to understand, tell them everything you’re doing as you get them ready in the morning. Start with how you picked their clothes and go from there. Make eye contact and respond back to the sounds they make.

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Ages 0-2

Dressing Play

Relationships and communication

Even if your child doesn’t seem to understand, tell them everything you’re doing as you get them ready in the morning. Start with how you picked their clothes and go from there. Make eye contact and respond back to the sounds they make.

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Think of yourself as a sports announcer - one who responds back with sounds and faces. These back-and-forth conversations are helping them bond with you and begin to associate words with their experiences.

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Ages 0-2

Meal Plan

Responding to emotions

When feeding your baby, talk about what they’re doing and why you think they’re doing it. "You’re drinking your milk because you’re so hungry!" Talk about what will happen next. "After your tummy is full of milk, you’ll be sleepy and it will be time for your nap."

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Ages 0-2

Meal Plan

Responding to emotions

When feeding your baby, talk about what they’re doing and why you think they’re doing it. "You’re drinking your milk because you’re so hungry!" Talk about what will happen next. "After your tummy is full of milk, you’ll be sleepy and it will be time for your nap."

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Talking with your baby and labelling their sounds and actions helps them connect words to feelings, and builds vocabulary. When you talk about your baby’s daily routine, you help them feel safe throughout the day’s changes.

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Ages 2-4

Bathtime Sing-a-long

Attention and focus

During bathtime sing your child’s favourite songs. You can make up your own song about what’s happening in the bath too. Are they pouring water from a cup, or pretending with a toy? Encourage them to sing their own song and respond to them.

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Ages 2-4

Bathtime Sing-a-long

Attention and focus

During bathtime sing your child’s favourite songs. You can make up your own song about what’s happening in the bath too. Are they pouring water from a cup, or pretending with a toy? Encourage them to sing their own song and respond to them.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you ask your child to respond to the songs, you're helping them pay attention, while also making connections between what they already know and what you're asking. These connections help them organise information in new ways, which is very important to learning.

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Ages 0-2

At Arm’s Reach

Taking on challenges

Encourage your child to move and stretch. Put them on their tummy on a blanket on the floor and place a soft, safe object in front of them saying, "Here’s your soft bear!" Put it down just out of their reach. Talk about their efforts: "You’re working so hard to reach your toy!"

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Ages 0-2

At Arm’s Reach

Taking on challenges

Encourage your child to move and stretch. Put them on their tummy on a blanket on the floor and place a soft, safe object in front of them saying, "Here’s your soft bear!" Put it down just out of their reach. Talk about their efforts: "You’re working so hard to reach your toy!"

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Your child is more likely to keep trying when focused on a clear goal they care about. By encouraging them to try, even when things are hard, you're preparing them to take on challenges in life.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

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Ages 0-2

Song Traditions

Planning and routines

There are things we do every day. Sing the same songs at those moments to explain what you’re doing with your child. Examples could be leaving a room, finishing eating, or washing hands. What else do you do daily that you could sing about?

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Ages 0-2

Song Traditions

Planning and routines

There are things we do every day. Sing the same songs at those moments to explain what you’re doing with your child. Examples could be leaving a room, finishing eating, or washing hands. What else do you do daily that you could sing about?

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Children love traditions. Singing about your shared daily moments adds to the comfort of a known routine. It also helps your child connect these moments and new words. They love learning language from your sing-song voice.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

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Every time we connect with young children, it’s not just their eyes that light up—it’s their brains, too. A global program of the Bezos Family Foundation, Vroom(R) helps parents boost their child’s learning during the time they already spend together. Vroom believes all parents want what’s best for their children. So we joined with scientists, researchers, and parents to take the science out of the lab and put it in the hands of caregivers. Vroom provides science-based tips and tools to inspire families to turn shared, everyday moments into Brain Building Moments(TM). Since 2015, Vroom has grown to impact nearly 1,500,000 families in 37 US states and 6 countries around the world. Learn more at Vroom.org.

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