About the Young Child’s Brain

Building the Brain’s Wiring System

Each brain cell (neuron) looks a bit like a root system of a tree. As children take in information about the world, their neurons branch out and create connections with each other. This occurs providing the information offered is real and of interest and useful to the student. Neurons make connections with other neurons that have related information. This building process results is neural pathways, these connections are like an electrical wiring system. Each neuron can have multiple connections to thousands of other neurons. This development is cognitive development.

Accelerating Young Minds contributes to this natural process by providing only real video, photographs and spoken language as part of the learning process. The young brain thinks only in terms of reality. However fantasy presentation does lead to having entertainment and educational value.

How Neural Pathways Work

Each neural pathway is a circuit. When electricity goes through a circuit, it powers a response. For example, when you plug in an electrical devise, the devise turns on and goes to work. Certain brain circuits are already activated, the ones for the heart, breathing and circulation, are already developed at birth. An estimated 100 billion neurons stand ready to develop the thinking and motor skills of the individual. That input for these neurons comes from the real world experiences an individual has. First hand real world experiences have the greatest- the most effective- impact on the individual’s development.

AYM provides the second most important impact on developing neuronal pathways by presenting visual and sound experiences an individual can relate to. One of education clichés heard is the claim that “Some students are visual learners.” Brain research has thoroughly discredited this idea; we are all visual learners.  By far the most important part of our brains (the right brain) taking in new stimuli is visual. When sound and movement help build the interest and emotion, the cognitive intake to the brain is greatly increased. One of the least effective manners in which to provide knowledge is the classroom lecture. Lectures are typically not visually stimulating not aurally interesting or emotionally intriguing.

Neurons: If You Do not Use Them You Lose Them

The neural pathways that are used more often get stronger. Neuron circuits that are not used weaken and disappear over time through a process known as “pruning.” Pruning stars at age 3 and is ended around ages 8/9. Therefore if a child’s early education experience is not maximizing neural circuit development, the student will not have the option to have an appreciation for a wide area of skill development and interests.

AYM presents visual/audio of 65 primary clusters and even more 60 sub-clusters of a measured 12,000 vocabulary words. These words are covered within currently 224 learning activities which creates a broad range of subjects for consideration. As part of keeping the brain agile AYM provides real world experiences into new areas of potential interest. By offering new challenges with each learning activity it pushes mental thinking in the brain to change the way it works. This is the way in which new neurons are grown and strengthened to connect to existing pathways.