Did you know a child’s brain grows more in the first five years of life than at any other time? During this time, the brain is connecting to one another and developing skills that impact how a child thinks, learns and interacts with the world. Knowing more about brain development preschool is one of the best things a parent or educator can do.
The earliest years are often called the “building blocks of life” because intelligence, feelings, and behaviours are being shaped. If the environment is nourishing, the care is loving, and the brain stimulating experiences are fun and engaging, we can help the child reach their full potential.
This blog is intended to be a parent handbook to a growing child’s brain, describing how the brain grows, what can affect it, and the ways that our actions (over and over and over again) can have an impact on cognitive development preschoolers.
Why Early Years Are Important to Grow the Brain?
Rapid Growth of the Brain
By birth, a baby’s brain is roughly 25% the size of an adult brain.
By age 3, that brain is approximately 80% the size of an adult brain.
By age 5, that brain is nearly 90% the size of an adult brain.
This shows just how important brain growth early childhood is. Every experience the child has helps them build new relationships—songs, stories, hugs, conversations—and the brain grows so much!
Windows of Opportunity
The brain is always growing, but the early years have a significant and sensitive time to develop the brain. Think about learning language, and taking turns, and using multiple solutions to problems.
The Science of Early Brain Development
Neurons and Connections
The brain has billions of neurons.The first few years of a child’s life see neurons create trillions of connections (synapse). Things like play, interactions, and explorations enrich those connections.
“Use it or lose it”
Connections that are frequently used will be developed; while connections that are not used will weaken, and die. That is why active engagement in preschool brain learning matters.
The Role of Caregivers
Parents, educators, and caregivers help create a culture that supports children in brain growth and development. Warm relationships; consistent routines; and stimulating activities; allow children to flourish.
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Key Influencers of Brain Development
Nutrition
A balanced diet rich in protein, healthy fats, and vitamins provides the necessary fuel for developmental brain growth. Memory and learning development is supported by regular consumption of eggs, milk, leafy greens and nuts.
Sleep
Rest is when a brain has the opportunity to process and organize what children have learned during the day. Children in the preschool age range require 10–13 hours of sleep per day to support healthy cognitive growth.
Play
Play is never “just fun” — play is brain work. Pretending, building with blocks, and exploring outside all stimulate learning pathways.
Relationships
Secure attachments with parents and educators provide the safety and trust that underpin lifelong learning.
Brain Development Activities that Kids Like
Kids love to learn when they are engaged, curious, and active.Below is a list of brain development activities children can complete each day:
| Activities | Skills Developed |
| Singing rhymes | Language, memory, rhythm |
| Storytelling & Reading | Imagination, vocabulary, listening |
| Sorting shapes & colours | Math readiness, problem solving |
| Outdoor Play | Motor skills, observation, creativity |
| Puzzle Solving | Logic, patience, critical thinking |
| Drawing & Painting | Expression, fine motor coordination |
These are brain learning activities that make learning fun while developing skills for life.
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Parent’s Guide for Child Brain Development
Provide a Stimulating Environment
Fill your child’s environment with books, colours, music, and interactive toys.
Ask open-ended questions like, “What do you think will happen if…?”
Talk and Listen
Having conversations builds a child’s vocabulary and helps them practice communicating. In fact, talking about your daily routine, or describing what you are doing is part of early childhood education brain science.
Encourage Exploration
Instead of providing short answers, support the child in exploring the question more thoroughly. If children want to know why the moon is the shape of a ball, try drawing it or seeing it together.
Model Positive Behaviours
Children learn by mirroring adults. When you model kindness, patience, and how to problem solve, you are providing children with emotional intelligence.
Provide a Balance of Structure and Freedom
Children benefit from structure and routines to provide them with a sense of security; however, when they are given free time, creativity can flourish. They both benefit the child’s brain development.
Brain Development Early Feeding and Early Childhood Programs in Preschools.
Preschools and early childhood programs are a key component of child development and a major part of teaching young minds. Here is how:
Structured Learning Program and set up to play
All preschool play based learning activities are purposeful every day. Through play all preschool children are able to develop literacy, numeracy, and social skills in activities they enjoy.
Safe and Stimulating Environments
A safe preschool learning environment that is colorful, dynamic, and full of materials that can be manipulated, invites children to examine their world.
Social Interaction
Interacting with their peers teaches children to cooperate, show empathy, and resolve conflict, which are all important processes of cognitive growth for preschoolers.
Teacher Support
Educators that are trained in early education brain science know how to facilitate children’s curiosity, address typical behaviors in a gentle manner with techniques, and support children’s problem solving skills.
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How Learning at Home and Preschool Can Work Together
At Home and Preschool:
- Reading stories at bedtime Stories in groups
- Play counting games using toys Math based moments
- Nature walks for exploring Science corner with living plants
- Drawing or crafting Art projects, exhibits
- Teach them to share with their siblings Peer group activities
This balance creates a consistent and supportive experience for children’s development across both places.
Common Myths about Brain Growth in Children
Myth 1: “Only expensive toys will make you smarter.”
Fact: Some of our best educational learning will come from a common household item like a spoon, cup, or cardboard box.
Myth 2: “The kids will learn, so they don’t need to be guided.”
Fact: Children are innately curious, and as they explore their curiosity grows their brains! The fact that children are engaged in exploration, along with adult guidance while preschool children are developing their brains in play mode, increases curiosity, and thickens brain pathways.
Myth 3: “The amount of pressure to be academic will make them smarter.”
Fact: Pressure of any kind will create some level of stress and too much pressure creates stress in children. Children are ideally advancing their own development by stimulating brain growth in a balancing way where practice and play are more infused into each day and where social play and imitation are primary rather than tool box / academic drills.
Obstacle Parents Face
Screen Time:
While there are screen-related tools to help with learning goals, excessive exposure can retard their social and emotional growth. Monitor and limit your child’s overall screen time so that healthy child brain growth can occur.
Busy Life Style:
Parents often have difficulty in getting enough interactive time with their children. Even a few minutes a day of familiar things (eating together for example) can help support early brain development preschool.
Comparing Children:
Children all develop at their own rate, and that rate is never identical. Instead of comparing your child to another child, you want to foster your child’s curiosity and capabilities.
Consequences of Early Learning Brain Science: Long-Term
Academic Success:
The links that show the relationship of preschool and child brain development supports improved language, maths, and problem-solving abilities later in life.
Emotional Intelligence:
Children that are raised in nurturing contexts will learn empathy, resiliency, and self-regulation.
Social Dynamics:
Early experiences with children builds social preparedness to engage with others, lead and sustain healthy relationships with others.
Curiosity:
When children have the opportunity to build and practice habits of curiosity, exploration, confidence, and experience, they are inventors and lifelong learners.
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Conclusion
The first five years of life lay the foundation for brain development during early childhood. Children, with genuine play and love, nutrition and stimulation, have the foundations of life-long learning.
Parents and educators are learning partners. When we implement simple age-appropriate brain growth players, like those that children already enjoy and learn from through play, and children are encouraged to wonder and combine knowledge gained through play, while in perfect and supported play spaces, children have the greatest chances for success.
Understanding brain science related to early childhood education is not really about memorizing information: It’s about understanding how important early years of life are for child development and growth. Child development is complex, unpredictable, but when we are more curious today, we can help nourish that creative curiosity in the future thinkers, doers and creators.
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