Church E.B. 50 fun&easy brain-based activities for young learners

Scholastic, 1999. — 66 p.Each of the 50 activities in this book includes a section on ways to vary the activity. Studies in neuroscience tell us that frequent change of materials, experiences, and environment provide novelty for the brain, and that attention is naturally drawn to things unusual or new. Therefore, it is important to take a familiar (or newly acquired) activity and apply it to new situations or materials. In science, this is called "changing the variable." This provides not only novelty but important opportunities for practice and application. Doing activities in different ways also invites children to use flexible and fluent thinking skills. These skills help children see various possibilities, or view objects or situations in many different ways. Researchers have found that the ability to think flexibly and fluently is one of the most important skills for school success.