Mix & Match the Way You Learn

We build more neural pathways, or brain connections, when we learn things through multiple modalities rather than just one. Mixing and matching our learning behaviors can activate lots of areas of the brain at once, which builds stronger, larger connections across the brain.Here are some great examples of ways to mix and match learning for your child:

• Play Pictionary with new vocabulary words so your child can learn through play, writing, drawing, and speaking.

• When your child is studying for a test, record a video of her teaching the lesson to solidify the information in her head. The next night, have her watch her own lesson review. Many children benefit from learning through visual as well as auditory modalities, and movie making can be a fun way to engage visual learning centers in addition to traditional test review.

• Make reading fun by acting out parts of a book or using voices to differentiate the characters. Often, it’s less important that your child understand every word on the page than it is for him to understand the general idea and the details that support it.

• Turn just about any learning topic into sensory play. Fill a large storage container with a combination of dry rice and pasta to serve as your sensory box filler. Then, add play items that correspond to the topic your child is learning. If he is working on letter sounds, fill the box with items that begin with a new letter sound each day. If he’s working on ecosystems, have him create a 3-D version of the ecosystem in the sensory box. Sensory play engages the left and right hemispheres of the brain at the same time, which is great for long-term learning.

• Practice math concepts during cooking activities. Instead of pre-measuring all of the ingredients, task your child with adding ¼ cup x 4 of flour to the bowl, or 1 1/8 teaspoons of cocoa to the mixture. Cooking provides opportunities to see, hear, touch, and smell math concepts. Plus, the finished product is delicious!