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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

1-2

Stop and Start the Music

Taking on challenges

Set your radio to a music station and have your child turn it off and on. Every time they turn it on, start to dance—or move around—and say “on.” When they turn it off, stop moving and say “off.” Soon they will probably say “off” and “on” with you.

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1-2

Stop and Start the Music

Taking on challenges

Set your radio to a music station and have your child turn it off and on. Every time they turn it on, start to dance—or move around—and say “on.” When they turn it off, stop moving and say “off.” Soon they will probably say “off” and “on” with you.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When your child is at the stage of learning new words and concepts (like “off” and “on”), they learn them much better if they can make something happen (like turning music off and on) that demonstrates what the words and concepts mean.

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4-5

Winks and Smiles

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them, and encourage them to copy you. When your child can do this, then ask them to do the opposite—if you smile, then they should wink and if you wink, they should smile. See how long you can have fun playing this game.

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4-5

Winks and Smiles

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them, and encourage them to copy you. When your child can do this, then ask them to do the opposite—if you smile, then they should wink and if you wink, they should smile. See how long you can have fun playing this game.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Playing Winks and Smiles helps your child learn to pay attention to what you're doing, remember the rules, and copy you. When you ask them to do the opposite, they have to resist the temptation to go on autopilot and not copy you. These are important skills for school and life.

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3-4

Smile and Wink Game

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them and encourage your child to try to copy you. When they can do this, change the order—wink first and then smile. You can make it even more complicated by smiling and winking two times. It’s a fun game that will make you laugh.

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3-4

Smile and Wink Game

Attention and focus

Smile at your child, wink at them and encourage your child to try to copy you. When they can do this, change the order—wink first and then smile. You can make it even more complicated by smiling and winking two times. It’s a fun game that will make you laugh.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Playing this game helps your child learn to pay attention to what you're doing, remember the rules, and copy what you're doing. These are important skills for school and life.

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Brainy Background™

0-1

Skin Sensations

Responding to emotions

Talk to your child about how things feel on their skin: “Your shirt is soft.” “The wind is cold.” “The ice cube is slippery.” See how they react and continue the conversation: “You like the warm water in your bath!”

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0-1

Skin Sensations

Responding to emotions

Talk to your child about how things feel on their skin: “Your shirt is soft.” “The wind is cold.” “The ice cube is slippery.” See how they react and continue the conversation: “You like the warm water in your bath!”

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you talk back and forth with your child about how things feel on their skin, you're introducing them to new words and feelings. This helps make new connections, which are the foundation for learning to use these words themselves in the future.

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3-5

Fill in the Blank

Taking on challenges

Fill in the blanks to make up a story: “We're going to ___. When we get there we'll see ___.” As your child gets in the rhythm, take turns going back and forth. Is your story realistic? Make believe? There is no right or wrong, just have fun!

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3-5

Fill in the Blank

Taking on challenges

Fill in the blanks to make up a story: “We're going to ___. When we get there we'll see ___.” As your child gets in the rhythm, take turns going back and forth. Is your story realistic? Make believe? There is no right or wrong, just have fun!

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Creating a fill-in-the-blanks story means your child is thinking and cannot go on automatic pilot. They have to shift their thinking to respond to an unpredictable and changing story line. Thinking in flexible ways encourages problem solving skills.

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4-5

Tomorrow Talk

Planning and routines

Today’s the perfect time to talk to your child about tomorrow. Find out what they hope tomorrow has in store for them: “If you could do anything tomorrow, what would you most want to do? What next?" It’s a good way to learn about their hopes for the future.

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4-5

Tomorrow Talk

Planning and routines

Today’s the perfect time to talk to your child about tomorrow. Find out what they hope tomorrow has in store for them: “If you could do anything tomorrow, what would you most want to do? What next?" It’s a good way to learn about their hopes for the future.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Asking your child to think about the future helps them make predictions and think flexibly. These types of questions also allow them to make up their own answers, encouraging them to be creative.

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Brainy Background™

0.25-1

Daily Discoveries

Taking on challenges

What is your child doing? Reaching for a toy? Hitting two blocks together to make a sound? As they discover their world, pay attention, smile, and use words that they will learn someday: “You reached out your fingers and got your toy.”

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0.25-1

Daily Discoveries

Taking on challenges

What is your child doing? Reaching for a toy? Hitting two blocks together to make a sound? As they discover their world, pay attention, smile, and use words that they will learn someday: “You reached out your fingers and got your toy.”

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you pay attention to what your child does and share their delight in doing and learning, you start them on the path to become a lifelong learner.

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Brainy Background™

0.5-1.5

Playtime Poems

Attention and focus

When your child makes a sound, turn it into a rhyme. If they say “Eee,” say, “Eee rhymes with WE and we are together.” How many funny poems can you make with the sounds they are making? It is fun for them and helps them listen to sounds.

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0.5-1.5

Playtime Poems

Attention and focus

When your child makes a sound, turn it into a rhyme. If they say “Eee,” say, “Eee rhymes with WE and we are together.” How many funny poems can you make with the sounds they are making? It is fun for them and helps them listen to sounds.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Your child is a natural learner. When you watch what they're doing and follow their lead, you can begin to build their learning by adding your ideas. When they're responded to, their brain is active, which increases learning.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

0.25-1

Share a Stare

Relationships and communication

As you hold your child and look into each other’s eyes, make a silly face or sound. How do they respond? With twinkly eyes? A smile? A laugh? Try it again but do something different. This is the beginning of a lifetime of laughs to share together.

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0.25-1

Share a Stare

Relationships and communication

As you hold your child and look into each other’s eyes, make a silly face or sound. How do they respond? With twinkly eyes? A smile? A laugh? Try it again but do something different. This is the beginning of a lifetime of laughs to share together.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

This back and forth game of sharing a laugh is anything but silly. It is an important building block in your child’s ability to enjoy and communicate with other people. It also deepens your relationship with one another—and it’s fun!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

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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