When we talk about executive functions, we’re usually talking about distinct, discrete skills that are easy to get our arms around. Empathy, while often lumped in with executive functions, is not a singular skill or character trait, but a package of skills that pulls from multiple parts of the brain. Children who are empathetic can form and sustain friendships, are more likely to behave well in class, and are less likely to engage in aggressive, antisocial, or criminal behavior.
Building the brain from the beginning. By the time a child turns 3, his brain is 85% the volume of an adult brain. That means that nearly all of the neural connections that will ever form have already been set. These three…
Last week, Amy Bornemeier, our Vice President of Early Childhood Programs conducted a webinar for more than 200 attendees from across Nebraska on early childhood brain development. You can view the webinar now. Warning: The audio is not precisely synched…
By Mary Kate Gulick, Content Manager This video recreates the famous Standford Marshmallow Test that made headlines in the late 1960s. During the test, researchers put preschoolers in an empty room with a marshmallow. If the child could wait 15…
By Mary Kate Gulick, Content Manager Why is it that two children from seemingly similar backgrounds can turn out so differently? How can one child bounce back from adverse experiences that set the other on a course to lifelong mental…
By Mary Kate Gulick, Content Manager Too often, early childhood education programs are seen as ways to pump up toddlers’ math and pre-reading skills. There’s an unspoken idea that these programs are “nice to have” because they provide a soft,…
Growing the Good Life 