Do Brain Training Games Work?
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natachabeim:

Interesting perspective from LAURA GRACE WELDON, and a very touching and personal story. Being on the other side of the spectrum, in the Early Learning world, I see a similar “approach” to the one Laura shared: programs promising “academic excellence” and making misleading allegations about the benefits of their programs.
As a fervent believer in early brain development, and as someone who dedicates two hours daily to research on child development and brain development, it saddens me to see that many profit from public fear and uncertainty, when they do not really understand the subject.
Are there things we can do that promote healthy brain development? Most certainly, and at any age, but as Laura eloquently points out, not at the expense of a healthy, happy, balanced life.
Thank you Laura for your blog post!

Originally posted on Laura Grace Weldon:

Nurturing neurons

We listen to a lot of public radio in my house. Shows like Radiolab, This American Life, andScience 360 make chores go faster and often lead to great conversations. But I bristle every time I hear another sponsorship slogan by a certain program underwriter. It goes something like this: “Lumosity, the brain training program to improve memory and performance, for life.”

Every time I hear it, I think of my dad’s experience. My father moved back to his childhood hometown when he was in his seventies. He was delighted to run across people he’d known decades earlier. They recognized him, asked about his family, reminisced about his mother (who’d been a popular high school teacher), and shared stories of their own lives. It was an absolute thrill for him. He felt rooted, more truly at home than he’d felt for years. “Who you are,”…

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first day of school
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It’s a sea of firsts, as usual. One thinks every year will be similar, but every year, there are such immense changes in our children’s lives and likes, it becomes this amazing journey, which is unique in its own way.
The first day of school has been a long time coming with us: new clothes, new shoes, new backpacks, fresh haircuts, brand new notebooks… I love the start of the school year.

This year, my mom got the boys special highlighters. I remember when she bought me new stationery, I loved it!! It is funny, but they are some of my strongest memories of my childhood… Finding new highlighters in my shoes in the morning, as a surprise. I loved that she got the boys special stationery too, continuing the family tradition.

But this year, what made me realize how incredibly lucky I am, was this: J (now 15, going into grade 11), helped D (13, going into grade 8) prepare for his new, bigger high school. They are now both in the same school again. J carefully looked at D’s clothes last night, asked him to try on his new pants and t-shirt, trimmed his eyebrows (wow) and just made sure everything was absolutely perfect for his brother’s first day. This morning, he styled his little brother’s hair with pomade, and made sure every detail was taken care of.

They only had one hour of school each. one at 8:30am and the other at 1pm. We all drove together this morning, and then J and I went for a coffee after dropping D off. I wasn’t nervous for D at all, but J kept saying he was nervous about D’s first day. He so wanted his brother to have a good start, he was more concerned about that than his own first day with the IB program. It really was seeing empathy firsthand. The love and care with which he helped his brother enter a more mature world brought tears to my eyes. Like I said, I didn’t even feel as nervous about D’s first day as he did. I just felt excited. But today, during our morning coffee, he shared with me what it was like to start grade 8 in a new school, and I felt so close to him.

Hubby is away in Germany, and kept writing all day to see how they both did. It is such a great experience to go through as a parent, and it is one we treasure every year. I have to say, it gets much easier every year! I remember labelling the boys’ pencils and material until 3am every year, and now they no longer need their name on every pencil, glue stick and marker. They are responsible for most things, and we are just there to enjoy it as parents.

I feel so lucky to be able to take the day off and share these moments with them! It is on days like today that I am really grateful to own my own schedule.

I am working now, of course, but still, it was amazing to share the day with them. Being a mother truly brings so much to my life! I am grateful for every minute.

Hubby went to sleep already, and I am just now managing to write him with all the details of the day, but how do you describe every feeling, every moment you didn’t expect?

Hope your first day of the New Year was as amazing as ours.

Filed under: being a mom, My personal journal

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can you imagine being homeless? sleeping outside in the dead of winter – as a child?
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Sleeping on the streets, in the cold and the rain, is something I can’t even imagine having to go through. Yet, so many teenagers and youth do it every night, because they have no other option.
If you know me, you know that I’ve dedicated my whole life to helping children. That’s why I WILL BE SLEEPING ON THE STREET to raise funds to help children get out of the streets and rebuild their future.
My goal is $5,000. Please help me reach this amount by donating here:

SLEEP OUT EXECUTIVE EDITION 2015 – Support Natacha Beim
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