3.2. Learn Like a Child and Play

Posted on 19 April 2023 by Smudge

Learning occurs when children play with blocks, paint a picture or play make-believe.

During play children try new things. They solve problems, invent, create, test ideas and explore. Children need unstructured, creative playtime; in other words, children need time to learn through their play.

Through make-believe games of imagination children can be anyone they wish to be and go anywhere they want. To a child there is nothing such as a complex problem.

Only how interesting it is matters.

Left and Right Brain Connectivity

The right brain and the left brain work best for you when they are working together via the Corpus Callosum, the bridge between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Left hemisphere

• Responds to verbal instructions
• Problem solves by logically and sequentially looking at the parts of things
• Looks at differences
• Is planned and structured
• Prefers established, certain information
• Prefers talking and writing
• Prefers multiple choice tests
• Controls feelings
• Prefers ranked authority structures

Right hemisphere

• Responds to demonstrated instructions
• Problem solves with hunches, looking for patterns and configurations
• Looks at similarities
• Is fluid and spontaneous
• Prefers elusive, uncertain information
• Prefers drawing and manipulating objects
• Prefers open ended questions
• Free with feelings
• Prefers collegial authority structures

Research has shown that that the more we learn how to stimulate left-right brain activity, the better learners we become and what better place to start than childhood.

The Adaptable Brain

Your brain’s ability to adapt to damage means that it has tremendous plasticity. Furthermore, your brain has tremendous capacity for development and the ability to make new connections.

What we are born with is not set in stone.

On the surface, the brain appears to have neat and separate compartments, but increasingly research shows that unlocking brain functionality lies not in understanding its different regions but rather in its plasticity and the way the connections are made.

The Heart-Brain Connection

It may be scientifically true that if your heart isn’t in it then you don’t find it easy to learn. Traditionally, the heart and mind have been divided across the fields of science. An interesting finding has been made in the fields of heart surgery and brain science. The finding is that within your heart are a small cluster of neurons, the very same that are in your brain.

Your heart has a mini-brain.

Therefore, the most effective learning occurs when you are enjoying ourselves and your heart is in it.

Be like a child, have fun and play when you learn.

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^{Image from www.thechildrenoftomorrow.com}

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