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WHERE PLAY MEETS BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

The first five years of life are a time of incredible brain growth, laying the foundation for how children think, learn, and connect with the world around them. During this period, every interaction, experience, and environment plays a role in shaping developing neural pathways.


For young children, even the simplest moments - stacking blocks, hearing a song, or engaging in conversation - are brand new learning opportunities. As educators, keeping brain development in mind helps us recognize the importance of responsive relationships, meaningful play, and intentional environments that support curiosity and exploration. In these early years, everything we do matters - because for children, everything is learning.


GROSS MOTOR ACTIVITIES FOR BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

Gross motor activities are essential for young children because movement helps organize the brain, build self-regulation, and strengthen the neural connections needed for learning. Through active play, children naturally develop academic skills—counting steps and jumps builds early math concepts, while following directions and describing movement supports language development. Here are a few simple gross motor activities and songs that support young children’s ability to regulate their bodies and emotions:

  1. Animal Walks Invite children to move like different animals—bear crawls, frog jumps, crab walks, or slithering like a snake. These movements provide deep pressure and engage large muscle groups, which can have a calming and organizing effect on the body. You can make it playful by calling out animals or letting children choose.

  2. Obstacle Course Set up a simple course using items like pillows, tunnels, cones, or tape lines on the floor. Include opportunities to climb, crawl, balance, and jump. Moving through a predictable sequence helps children practice focus, body control, and transitions, all of which support self-regulation.

  3. Freeze Dance Play music and encourage children to dance freely. When the music stops, they “freeze” their bodies. This activity helps children practice impulse control, listening skills, and body awareness in a fun and engaging way. You can also add prompts like freezing in a certain shape or emotion.

    1. “If You’re Happy and You Know It” A classic that’s easy to adapt—add movements like stomping, jumping, stretching, or taking deep breaths. The repetition and predictability help children feel secure while practicing following directions.

    2. “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” This song builds body awareness and focus. You can speed it up or slow it down to help children practice control over their movements and attention.

    3. “The Hokey Pokey” Great for teaching body parts and encouraging big movements. The clear start-and-stop structure supports listening skills and self-regulation. 


THE UPSTAIRS & DOWNSTAIRS BRAIN


A young child’s brain can be thought of being split into two “stories,” like a house that is under construction: the upstairs brain, and the downstairs brain.

The upstairs brain is responsible for more sophisticated and complex thinking. It houses skills such as empathy, executive functioning, impulse control, morality, and cognitive flexibility.


The downstairs brain is much more primitive, as it’s responsible for our most fundamental neural operations: strong emotions, survival instincts, and basic functions such as breathing, sleep and wake cycles, and digestion.


Dysregulation happens when a child’s “upstairs brain” is taken over by their “downstairs brain.” Their receptive abilities have gone offline, leaving their reactive instincts in control.


So, when a child’s downstairs brain has taken over, how do we help them move back into a regulated state?


Connecting first with the child is a fundamentally loving way to respond. This enables them to “feel felt,” which is the inner sense of being understood. This transforms chaos into calm, and isolation into connection. Essentially, connection integrates the brain, acting as a “staircase of the brain,” helping to strengthen the connective fibers so that the upstairs brain can regain control over the downstairs brain.


Siegel, Daniel J., and Bryson, Tina Payne. No-Drama Discipline: The whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind. Scribe, 2021.


BOOKS AND RESOURCES ABOUT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT


If you're interesting in taking a deep dive into learning about brain development, here are some books and resources our team recommends exploring:




LINK TO NAEYC CODE OF ETHICS

Core values for professional practice with children:

  • Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable part of the human life cycle.

  • Base professional practice on up-to-date and accurate knowledge of how children develop and learn.

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