Parents across the country have suddenly found themselves on the front line as teachers for their children. Fifty-five million K- 12 students are furloughed from school – some for the rest of the year.  Districts and teachers are scrambling to devise “distance learning” modes or, at the very least, ways to stay in touch with their students and offer enrichment.

For families with access to computers and internet, the good news is that there are lots of online platforms with good, free content and fun ideas to keep kids learning; from PBS Digital Learning to NASA, from Jump Start to Khan Academy.  And there’s a growing trove of funny memes on how parents and children are adjusting – or not!

Parents as first teachers

This experience calls to mind how important parents and caregivers are to their children’s intellectual and emotional development, beginning in the very earliest days of a child’s life.  Brain science and the study of early childhood development are revealing how even the simplest interactions between an infant or toddler with a parent or caregiver pay off in a big way.  

The first three years of brain development is like a fast-tracked construction project.  A baby’s brain makes 700 new connections every second in response to what is happening around him or her.  Parents and caregivers can keep these connections firing by doing simple things – no home-schooling experience required.

The science also points to how enduring an early focus on “executive function” can be.  Yes, that’s right:  executive function (EF) development for infants and toddlers can be as effective as IQ in predicting a child’s learning success in school and beyond.  Such things as self-control and focus, communicating, gaining perspective, and other EF skills can be easily practiced by parents and caregivers with their young children and babies.  

Minds in the making, Fun in the making

Mind in the Making, first a book by Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of Families and Work Institute, and now a movement in early care and education, links the science of brain development to guiding principles for parents and teachers and to strategies for bringing an EF  focus to life for all children, beginning in their earliest weeks and months.  It is sponsored by the Bezos Family Foundation and provides training programs and free, downloadable skill-building tips for early childhood caregivers and for parents.

Another exciting science-based, and fun inspired, tool is Vroom (https://www.vroom.org).  Provided free by the Bezos Family Foundation, it is available as an app, by text, and on Facebook and Twitter.  Vroom translates MITM science and experience into one thousand tips for how parents and caregivers can turn everyday events – changing diapers, getting dressed, walking outside – into brain-building and relationship-building moments.

In our work in early childhood care and education, we have seen MITM and Vroom add real value to communities building systems of care for children and support for families.  We’ve been helping early childhood leaders in Nevada and Mississippi develop stronger statewide support systems for families with young children that use these and other proven tools.  

We’re all in this together

This pandemic has upended normal life as we all knew it.  It has caused enormous stress and heartbreak.  It also has shown how generous people can be, how brave they can be, and how resourceful they can be. If there is a bright side to this time of homeschooling and distance learning, it is to remind us how parents are our children’s first teachers.  And to learn that there are tools and networks to support everyone in that effort and have fun while they’re at it.

This terrific YouTube clip shows how fun it can be to build skills with your child.  Enjoy.