5 Foundational Systems Neuroscience Says Your Child Needs for Healthy Brain Development
Neuroscience describes the early years, birth to 7, as a critical time when the brain forms. Research in neuroscience shows that the brain develops from the bottom up and follows a sequence. The brainstem and sensory systems develop first, then the emotional systems. Both of these first two systems develop healthily when we focus on healthy attachments, give our children a sense of safety, allow time for lots of movement, and work on being a self-regulated, compassionate parent and caregiver. Last to develop is the prefrontal cortex which impacts reasoning ability, impulse control and abstract thinking. When we think of neuroscience, we must consider these 5 foundational systems critical for healthy brain development: Secure attachments, Sensory experiences, Movement, Imagination, and Language.
What does this mean? It means that we can expect children to first learn primarily through movement, sensory experiences, emotional connection, imitation, and play. It also means that abstract academic instruction and learning rely on brain regions that are still very immature before age 7. For this reason and more, play in our early childhood classrooms is not an activity that is squeezed in, instead it is the curriculum along with other developmentally appropriate activities that our programs offer. Here’s what play in our preschool and Kindergarten classrooms supports: Self-regulation, Executive skills, Emotional resilience, Language development, Social intelligence, and Creative out-of-the-box thinking. Neuroscience says that every one of these is deeply rooted in healthy brain development.
Here’s what’s happening in the brain between birth and seven years old. Neuroscience tells us that the brain forms over one million neural connections per second in a child’s early years. Here’s the critical part: what a child experiences determines which connections are strengthened or pruned. It also tells us that repetition (experienced as rhythm in our classrooms) actually wires pathways for attention, language, motor skills, and emotional regulation. Rhythm supports healthy physical development. It provides emotional security and builds strong habits. Neuroscience also shows that rhythm regulates the nervous system and reduces stress. Because the brain is shaped by the environment(s) it is exposed to as well as relationships with caregivers, our teachers honor each child’s emotional and developmental needs with great care within an environment that nurtures their growth.
Our teachers know that cultivating a secure relationship with every child in their class shapes the part of the brain that develops the child’s ability to regulate. Children need to experience regulated adults and have experiences that build their ability to be regulated. Neuroscience shows that secure relationships lower stress hormones like cortisol, support emotional regulation, and improve a child’s learning capacities. Neuroscience also points out that when children experience chronic stress, it can impair neural development, especially in the hippocampus (where memory is processed) and the prefrontal cortex.
At Hundred Hills School, our programs and classrooms are designed to be environments that provide nourishing sensory experiences. Research aligns with our philosophy and shows that overstimulating environments overwhelm a child’s immature and still developing sensory pathways. Overstimulation might contribute to a child’s difficulty sustaining attention, increased impulsivity, and heightened emotional reactivity. This is because young children cannot filter out or regulate stimulation. As adults, we rely on our mature prefrontal cortex to ignore background noise and regulate our emotional reactions whereas a young child does not yet have this capacity. So when stimulation exceeds what their nervous system can integrate, stress systems become activated. Because the brain organizes sensory input through repeated, manageable experiences, our classrooms provide healthy sensory input with rhythm, predictability, imaginative play both inside and outside, lots of physical movement, artistic activities, and storytelling.
Our teachers know how important movement is and that it is foundational to every child’s healthy development. In fact, studies show that movement enhances the integration of both sides of the brain, executive function, language development, the ability to focus and attention skills. We know that young children need active, embodied learning instead of sitting in front of a screen. Formal academics, such as learning to read and write are developmentally not appropriate during this phase of a young child’s physical, emotional, and cognitive growth.
Viewed through the lens of neuroscience, imagination is central to brain development and is one of the most powerful ways the brain integrates language, emotions, movement, memory, and executive function. Activation of the imagination is seen as a whole-brain activation that strengthens integration across several neural systems. In essence, the brain isn’t just practicing one isolated skill, instead several systems are simultaneously activated. Some of these systems impact the development of self-control, spatial awareness, language, memory, the ability to follow a narrative, and emotional expression. Our programs offer rich, imaginative experiences through play, storytelling, puppetry, and artistic experiences. Every part of the school day is built on providing children with deep
When it comes to language development, neuroscience is very clear that language is one of the most powerful systems that builds the brain. Language not only builds neural systems, it shapes emotional regulation, thinking patterns, and even impacts long-term academic outcomes. In our classrooms, language is not strengthened through formal instruction but through relationship, rhythm, repetition, imitation, storytelling, singing, and imaginative play. We focus on building the foundation for oral language which neuroscience shows is essential for children to experience before literacy skills can develop fully. Our teachers tell stories from memory, use rhythmic, poetic language, and repeat the same story over multiple days which strengthens neural pathways for syntax and vocabulary.
At Hundred Hills School, our philosophy and approach to educating the whole child begins in the early years and aligns with what neuroscience tells us about how children’s brains grow. Instead of pushing early development of the intellect, we educate to first nourish the 5 foundational systems that over time support the development of higher-order brain functions like abstract thinking, analytical thinking, and executive control which all develop later as the prefrontal cortex matures.
By Chinyelu Kunz
Joint Head of School