Brain Building Blogs
Maintaining Indigenous Parenting in a Modern World
“To understand traditional parenting of children, one must firstly understand the Blackfoot ways of knowing and how the indigenous people used to live together as a community of their tribes, their land and animals within the universe”.
Mindfulness: What is it?
Mindfulness is a common strategy to use for coping and looks different for everyone. Read this week’s blog post to learn more about what mindfulness is and check out the many links to mindfulness exercises.
Using Building Brains Together Curriculum in the Preschool-Aged Classroom
Building Brains Together (BBT) has developed some specific activities to enhance executive function in three and four-year old children attending preschool-aged programs.
Parenting from Western and Traditional Indigenous Perspectives
This week’s blog looks as some of the differences between western and traditional indigenous parenting practices.
Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: Preschool Children
Each child will journey through literacy development at an individual pace, moving to the next stage when ready. It is critical for the child to be immersed in ongoing language and literacy activities.
Let’s Get Moving with Gross Motor Skills!
Gross motor skills are an important part of development. Young children that are encouraged to move and be active often supersede others that are more passive.
Let’s Talk About Discipline
Remember “the goal of discipline is to guide and teach, not to punish.”
Using Emotional Regulation
“Emotional regulation gives us the power to stay calm in situations that can cause stressful body responses.” Learn practical ways to develop emotional regulation in this week’s blog.
Developing Fine Motor Skills
There are many activities that help build a strong foundation for future fine motor skills. Take a look at this week’s blog offering several practical suggestions.
Power of Storytelling
The benefits of storytelling as well as engaging in stories as an audience are numerous. Learn more about the power of storytelling in this week’s blog.
Caring for Yourself While Caring for Others
How do parents make time for themselves without feeling like they're being asked to add yet one more thing to an already lengthy to-do list? Learn more about self-care on this week’s blog.
Oral Traditions and Storytelling of the Indigenous People
The Blackfoot are known as Niitsitapi, or the real people, who have woven oral story telling into every aspect of their culture. This week’s Blog looks at the oral traditions and story telling of Indigenous people.
The importance of keeping your children physically active during the pandemic
During the current pandemic it can be a serious challenge to keep young children physically active and minimize screen time. Read this week’s blogs for practical suggestions on how to help your child stay active.
Indigenous Practices for Wellness
The healthy and spiritual connections to the land, the water, the animals, and all within the universe are what heals and guides wellness for the indigenous people.
Engaging the Brain Over the Holidays
In this week’s blog we explore some ideas to try at home that will keep your child’s young brain (and yours) stimulated over the holidays.
Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: Toddlers
This week’s blog will provide parents and caregivers with an overview of oral language development, pre-reading development, and pre-writing development for the toddler stage.
6 Stages of Social Play
In this post we will dig deeper to explore how social play develops within the first five years of a child’s life.
Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: Infancy
Starting at infancy, parents and caregivers model the pleasure that reading and writing bring by making time to read with their child, engaging in conversations about the text and the illustrations, providing materials and opportunities to write and in celebrating the joy that each literacy encounter brings. In today’s blog, Dr. Noella Piquette shares several early language and literacy activities to engage in with your child during infancy.
Engaging in Early Language and Literacy Activities: The Start
Parents and caregivers play a vital role in the young child’s language and literacy development. Over the next few blog posts, Dr. Noella Piquette will provide information for parents and caregivers to facilitate their child’s language and literacy development.
The Art of Dressing-Up and Engaging in Dramatic Play
Your child’s brain will delight in its ability to practice a new role through the act of dressing up and engaging in dramatic play. Check out this week’s blog where we take a quick look at what some of the benefits of encouraging your child to dress-up are.