HOW TO ENGAGE A CHILD'S BRAIN and More!

CREATIVE BRAIN DEVELOPMENT OF OUR CHILDREN
Introducing iBG
Intellectual Brainwave Games

Hello again!  I'm so grateful you chose to spend some of your time visiting my blog. Back in 2001, when I founded the F.A.M.E. Foundation, now known as the Global Learning Foundation, one of

the first sets of strategies I created were unique physical brain games that went along with the rhythm of very specific music. As I began to play these games with young children, I noticed they loved the physical activity and teachers noticed they were more focused after playing them. We did some research and we found improved performance in many areas. Enjoy the image below of some brain games and this short video from me to each and every one of you!

A Storytime Session, led by Enrique at Make Way for Books in Tucson, AZ, which quite often begins with iBG, Intellectual Brainwave Games to help everyone enter their optimal zone for learning... and get some exercise!

Here's a quick glimpse of the research we first documented which helped our Foundation create a name for itself. Today we continue to research the impact of these proven brainwave games.

People kept asking me to make videos and I thought, I don't want my face on a video playing these brain games.... and I thought about it for years while I kept creating these brain games.  

That's me! And I stuck to my guns... I am not the face of
these videos...whew!  Just not play-based enough.

Today there are 324 of them!  We've been crossing our mid-line in time with specific classical music with specific frequencies and there has been a lot of learning, laughter and the creating of a natural desire to learn!

Since 2001, over 85,000 children and families have experienced our many strategies, including iBG, but only with the live format.  Together with many of my colleagues and their children we used these brain games to:

• Create a more alert learner at any age
• Improve cognition with young children ages 3 - 6
• Improve patterning skills with young children ages 3 - 12
• Create short and enjoyable brain breaks for any learner
• Remind adult learners how to elevate their energy and create new messages for their brain
• Help all learners of all ages reduce their stress level.

The challenge for many of us who present around the country is there is only one of us, yet I knew these brainwave games needed to be accessed by any family, school or organization.  My 92-year old mentor who just recently passed away, was also insistent with his question "How do we get IT out there?" About a year ago while in a meeting with one of my creative teams, we were creating the first of a new series of children's books titled Sam the Ant. 

Daughter/Father Co-authors of Sam the Ant Series,
Sam Sierra-Feldman and Enrique Feldman

Illustrator Abe Mendoza and his wife.

I mentioned the brainwave games and an idea for the videos, so simple yet profound, came to me. I said, "Why don't we animate Sam the Ant and have the Ant be the face of these Brain Games. It felt playful, honoring and like the beginning of a new journey. And so we have done exactly that. Here's the first time I have ever shared this image with anyone! 

Sam the Ant comes to life in 3D real time with iBG.  The Sam the Ant team are big fans of perspective building and
as you can see, that grass looks more like a forest of grass!

How do you play these brain games?
Simply open the videos and follow Sam the Ant's lead as you:

• Cross your midline
• Do that in time with the classical music
• Start from easy brain games and move up the challenge levels
• Change the speed of the video to slow it down or speed it up

Sam the Ant in the middle of a brain game.  Each video is short and designed to help your child get off the technology and use their own body.

Today these games are known as iBG, Intellectual Brainwave Games, and guess what?!   It is an online platform that allows you to access brainwave videos that are designed to take the young learner or old learner OFF the technology.... as a friend of mine said, from Online to Offline.

The Co-Author of the Sam the Ant books, Sam Sierra-Feldman
 back when we started this journey in 1998!

I find some key elements of this journey truly amazing. When my daughter and I began creating the Sam the Ant stories, I didn't realize it would lead to these brainwave games. If we had not followed our curiosity, and if I had not paid attention to my daughter's interest in creating original stories, who knows what might not have happened. 

Sam the Ant demonstrates a simple brain game.

Children mimic a simple brain game, or is it so simple?  It's food for
your brain!

I'm so pleased that children love both the videos and playing the brain games off the video.  The images to the left are a great example of how the movements shown by Sam the Ant, become physicalized by the learner, in this case, young children.  Some of these look simple, but not all are...lol!

Which videos do I use for children and which for adults?

Numbers 1 - 4 are for young children, and number 5 is for adults.  When you experience number 5, you will experience what a young child feels like when they are playing games 1 - 4.

The first 5 games are the original 5 and more will be coming out.  Watch each short video (15 - 20 seconds), ideally with a young child, and copy what the Ant is doing.  As was pointed out earlier,you can even choose your speed.  Soon, there will be brainwave game videos for all ages and you'll be able to create your own iBG playlist.

iBG being used with adult leaners! Creating new messages for our brains wakes us up from our routine adult lives
and creates a different energy that improves how we do whatever it is we do.... such joy!

Today is the first day you can actually purchase these brain games for a school, a center and even for your own use, and it's extremely affordable for individual users. A big thank you to our first school user, Outer Limits Preschool!

"I'm so excited to be the face of iBG!"

But what if you're not a school?  The school license would not be affordable for an individual. For a limited time, we am offering the first set of brain games for $11.99 a year, which comes out to less than a $1 per month. You can begin engaging your young children in your home and begin to build their brain in a very playful and relevant way!

Sam the Ant is all about following your curiosity
and helping others.

With recess being lessened (and it needs to be put back in!), and the general level of attention span diminishing, these videos are based on the live playing of the brain games.  Actually, the point of these brainwave videos is to help you and your child learn how to play them and then play them whenever you want.  We'll keep adding brainwave videos and you can keep expanding the capacity of your child's brain... and your own!

All you have to do is click on our Sam the Ant website and you'll be on your way. Over time you'll continue to receive more brainwave games.

For schools who purchase the school license, my Foundation is offering heavily discounted professional development workshops, and in some cases, waive the cost completely! If you are wanting more information on this, please click on my public speaking website and fill out the contact info and I'll be in touch.

We also want to thank Barnes & Noble and Mildred and Dildred's Toy Store for there support of all things Sam the Ant!  For the many upcoming events, click here!

Thank so much and now it's time to feed your brain!
Enrique C. Feldman
Creator, iBG
Co-Author, Sam the Ant Children's Book Series
Founder, Global Learning Foundation
Performing Artist and Composer
Producer, Kaleidoscope
(Music for Children)


Free Bonus Resources
Sam the Ant videos for improved critical thinking and creative problem solving.  Just click here! There are currently 13 videos and 17 more to come.  Each one is 15 - 20 seconds long and offer you an authentic opportunity to engage young 
learners with great questions.

Illustrator Abe Mendoza creates the images of Sam the Ant for our videos and books!

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT – the EC Version!

Happy May! 

Happy End-of-the-School Year to many! 

Happy children-outdoors-as-the-weather-turns- warmer in some parts of the world.  

Onward we trudge/skip/wiggle for those of us who teach year ‘round!  

   Miss Carole of Macaroni Soup here – in surprisingly chilly Chicago, though since it IS Chicago, no weather should take anyone by surprise here!

   Yes, I’ll share a song – but before dessert, let’s talk about the main course of what we do: delivering educational content and enriching experience to little people.  I’m going to concentrate on DELIVERY here – how we can make our students more engaged and focused on the content we serve up.  My intent is not to turn every teacher into an entertainer.  Yet there are techniques that seasoned performers use that can come in handy in the classroom, too!

MISS CAROLE’S THEORY OF ENTERTAINMENT IN EDUCATION:

•       In order to learn, children must be engaged.
•      In order to be engaged, you must get their attention.
•      In order to get their attention, you may have to be entertaining at times!

      

"A tree grows like this!"

How did they know what to do?
I showed them with my body, and a picture!

   

     But...but…but – I hear you – “I’m a teacher, not an entertainer!”  I know!  But as a teacher, caregiver, or parent we have many tools we use as we interact with children. This is a gentle reminder that how we present content matters!

Even a tiny tot can focus and be fully engaged!

Your basic toolbox:  your voice, eyes, facial expressions, gestures, full-body movements – YOU!

You can add:  Visuals, props, participation/movement, stylistic elements.

It’s not difficult – you are probably already doing this!  But check yourself – what can you add, improve or change?

YOUR VOICE:  Do you speak at a comfortable volume to be heard by all, but not shouting?  (My laryngologist tells me that teachers are his “best” clients – they constantly lose their voices due to strain – and the need to keep talking even when vocally compromised from all the little germs their students share with them!)  Is there a “smile” in your voice?  Are you speaking at a rate your students can process?  Young children process language at about 120 words-per-minute.  The average adult speaks at 160 WPM.  Slow down just a little for better comprehension!

EYES:  Are you making eye contact with every student during the first few minutes of class?  No, you don’t have to lock into a staring contest – but meaningful eye contact puts you in relationship with each child that lasts all day.  Add an encouraging nod and smile and it goes a long way for better behavior!

FACIAL EXPRESSIONS:  Is your face “alive”?  I’m not talking about what my mother called “making faces” – mugging is different.  Children intuitively read your face – an arched eyebrow, a small frown, crinkly eyes – it’s good practice for them to interpret non-verbal communication.

GESTURES/FULL-BODY MOVEMENTS:  What are we saying with our bodies?  Remember, children copy the movements they see from adults – make it interesting!  A child recently said to me, “I like the way you dance, Miss Carole.”  We hadn’t done any formal dancing that day, but I do move around a lot – changing position from floor to standing, moving to a different side of the room and using my body to illuminate a point.  It’s not about being manic – it is about being interesting. 

An invitation to dance!

ADD-ONs:  Visuals, props, opportunities for participation and getting off our bottoms and adding a musical component to any lesson will enhance a child’s learning and retention.  Provide instruction that engages all three primary learning styles:  visual, auditory and kinesthetic.  

   The occasional change in style – speaking in a whisper, pantomiming an instruction, mood music under an activity – tells students that you are engaged in their learning process while getting their attention.

 Now for a song!  This is one of my student’s favorites this Spring – they act it out while singing!  You can hear a clip of it HERE.  It’s on my “Season Sings!” cd.

JUMP IN THE PUDDLES!

We jump, jump, jump in the puddles

As the rain goes pittery-pat!

We jump, jump, jump in the puddles

And we put on our coat and our hat!

We put up our umbrellas –

And we pull on our boots with a tug – (grunt!)

We jump, jump, jump in the puddles

And we’re snug as a bug in a rug!

Have a Splash - act out putting on a coat, opening an umbrella, and tugging on those boots!  End in a snuggly self-hug!  

Oh - and don't forget "GROWING!" - the pictures at the top of this blog are of that wonderful little rhyme I featured on my September 2015 blog - check it out!  It's perfect for Spring and Summer, too!

    

Blowing you kisses!

Need a professional development workshop? Want a Family Concert for your school, library, park district or church? Want a classroom visit?  Contact Me!

Yours for a Spring Song!

“Miss Carole” Stephens

Macaroni Soup! Active Music forActive Learners!”

carole@macaronisoup.com

Inspiring Others to Inspire Themselves... the Art of the Question

WHAT WOULD THE WORLD LOOK LIKE IF WE INSPIRED OTHERS TO INSPIRE THEMSELVES?

THE ART OF THE QUESTION

• ASK
• EMBRACE THE SILENCE THAT FOLLOWS (the sound of thinking!)
• ASK AGAIN
• BE PHYSICALLY ENGAGED WHEN YOU LISTEN
• ASK AGAIN
• EMBRACE THIS PROCESS (the byproducts will astound you!)

I used to use many more periods and !'s than the empowering ?  I finally started using more questions when I was re-introduced to my mentor Dr. Carroll Rinehart.  I asked questions and I THOUGHT I was listening.  I was listening... technically.... but I was uncomfortable with the silence that followed the question.  I thought that was a sign of confusion.  In fact, it was the sound of thinking.  When I read to children I ask many questions.  When I meet with colleagues, I ask lots of questions.  When I see my kids, I ask lots of questions... and the result has been truly wonderful.

At the early childhood program, Child-Parent Centers, Inc. in Southern Arizona, they ask lots of questions as well.  Whether we use the word inquiry, prompt or any other word, it is the quality and intent of the question which is critical.  Above you see a lovely "Snow Angel" made from wire that a preschool child made.  As beautiful as this product is, what is even more stunning is the process of learning that led to this product being made.... and it all started with a question.  Perhaps the question was "What is wire?"  "What can you do with wire?" After that question was asked, their was silence, followed by more questions.  It took patience and an engaged teacher who was willing to have an authentic moment or two with a young child.  I wonder if we realize how important not only questions are, but the quality of those questions?

What was the question that led to 7 leafs being posted on a board, with the written number "Seven" and the number "7" drawn as well?  What additional questions can you think of asking?

Above is a piece of artwork made with flower parts...amazing, right?  What was the question that led to this creation?  Ask yourself, what questions have I asked that led to the learners being so engaged, they couldn't wait for what was about to happen or what they were about to do?  When the learned is that engaged, there was a great question that led to it.

I wonder if the question that preceded the above painting was, "What is your favorite food?"  I wonder if the answer was "Pizza" or "Chili's?"  Or perhaps the first question was "What is your favorite shape?"  Either way, the question, followed by silence, authentic conversation and more questions leads to all manner of creations, along with a beautiful balance of critical thinking and creativity.

A Rocket ship made out of wire! What question was asked?  I bet it initially had little to do with a Rocket.  Our minds are super computers and yet, so often, we ask only linear questions of young learners...what?!?!  We need to remind ourselves of the simple, yet empowering, act of asking not only questions, but OPEN ENDED questions of our young learners.  The results remind us of how much the learner brings to the table of education.

Ah... the SUN!!!  We know all about that in Arizona, my home state, and the home of the national non profit organization, the F.A.M.E. Foundation.  Through the Context Method® we look for contextual ways of learning with young children all the way through high school students.  Above is the sun.  The question might have been "What do trees need to grow? or "What is summer like" or "How do you feel when you are at school?"  As guides of young children, we need to become masters of the question.

We also need to ask ourselves questions!  Above are two of my colleagues, the incredible bass vocalist and Artist, Juan Aguirre (left), and Rick Wamer, Program Director of Arts Integration Solutions and world famous Mime and Actor.  I know what question was asked because... I ASKED IT...lol...  The question was, "Can you show me everything you know about lines and curves?"  Their willingness to live and learn like a child, makes them both excellent when it comes to connecting with children...Bravo!

The creation of the doll above may have not happened without questions being asked first.

One of my favorite questions to ask is "What do you see?" Above you see the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus in China.  When we are encourage to see for ourselves, we can see both differences and similarities.  A city is city in many ways, but culturally there are also differences.

Here's one for you, the reader of this blog... look at the image above and write down everything you see.  Now that you've done that, look at the image and and write down some more things you didn't notice the first time.  Inspiration is in part related to looking for and expressing depth of meaning along with depth of being.  Sometimes we have to look more than once... sometimes we have to ask more than once.

In the above photo, we would not have witnessed the artistic process unfold in front of our very eyes if I had not asked this preschooler the question, "Can you draw some quarter notes?"  When we ask questions openly, without one particular answer in mind, we open the door to creativity.

Many days when I visit an early childhood classroom, I bring a small suitcase on wheels and inside are all sorts of things from puppets to books and more.  If I hadn't asked the question, "What do you think is in my suitcase?" and continued to ask questions as I slowly took out puppet Eddie the Elephant foot by foot, the above scenario might never had taken place; a child inspired to create an elephant out of clay!

Those children aren't sleeping... they are creating geometric shapes with their bodies.  This was preceded by all manner of questions, including:

• "Can you make a line with your body?"
• "How many ways can you make a line with your body?"
• "What else can you make with your body?"

We have to model what we teach in our own lives.  To the left is Dr. Carroll Rinehart, to the right Corey Ferrugia of MyTown Music, and myself in the middle and we are asking each other questions. Some of our answers were even questions.  This simple act has transformed my life and I hope you use it to transform yours.  When I ask my teenage kids questions, I receive responses.  It's quite different when I make statement...lol.

Asking a child "Who are you?" or "What do you look like?"  can lead to self-portraits and more!

Questions can lead to creation of objects and turning dreams into reality. 

Questions help us find and/or create paths to knowledge.  Questions help the learner create their own path to knowledge and the use of the knowledge.

"What can you make with a shadow?" is a simple question.  Simple questions can lead to complex understanding.

Another self-portrait... what is a question worth?  Certainly, more than any statement.  Think about it... how many questions do you ask and how many are open-ended.  I invite you to join me on November 4th on Twitter for a one hour intellectual jam on "Inspiring Learners".  My colleague Debbie Clement will post some questions and we can go back and forth on ideas.  Chat with you then!

Enrique

Founder/Director of Education, F.A.M.E. Foundation

2-Time Grammy Nominated Artist

Co-Founder, Context Method®

Redleaf Author

"W" Sitting Alternatives: Needs + Rationale

What is “W” sitting?

Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

Gibbs Consulting, Inc.

“W” sitting occurs when children sit on the floor with their legs bent in the shape of a “W”. Observe your students today and see how they sit on the floor at school and home. Do they sit in the “W” position?

            

Why do children “W” sit?

Children may develop a habit for “W” sitting as a way to establish increased stability in their bodies when they cannot assume and maintain the criss-cross (tailor) sitting position. Unfortunately, “W” sitting compromises knee and hip joint positioning, inhibits trunk stability needed for sitting, and may impact the development of proficient hand skills. 

What should teachers and parents do when a child is a “W” sitter?

Teachers and parents should gently, but firmly discourage “W” sitting. I recommend allowing a variety of sitting positions especially if kiddos are struggling or have pain sitting in the criss-cross position. All of the following positions support healthy joint development and learning.

Recommended Sitting Positions:

1.      Long Sit (legs straight out in front of torso)

2.      Side Sit (legs bent and tucked to one side)

3.      Lying on Tummy (propped up on elbows) 

            
4.      Lying on Back (propped up on elbows)

5.      Sitting on a small to medium-sized ball with feet connected firmly with the ground is a fun way to sit and gain coordination at the same time.

We should expect young children to move in and out of positions when sitting on the floor - that is natural and the way kids stay alert and learn to manage their bodies in space. Just as one size does NOT fit all, one sitting position will never accommodate the sitting needs of all children. Young children learn best when their bodies are safely and comfortably positioned. When you support a variety of appropriate sitting positions, you are setting all children up for success!

Marianne Gibbs, EdD, OTR/L

Write Out of the Box

Note-from-the-editor: This is very significant insight and often "unknown" by parents. Would you please help pass the word by 'pinning' from this post? Your pin is the most direct way to circulate this information to a wider group. Please share directly with those that you have the opportunity to impact. Thanks for your support of behalf of developing children everywhere. ~~ Debbie