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The ideas hub.

A child's brain is a remarkable little creature forming more than a million neural connections every second when activated. Babies learn through spending time with their parents and other special people in their life. Here are some ideas to help create meaningful moments with your child. These meaningful moments, especially if they occur early in a child’s life and often, build strong brains, providing a strong foundation for their life.

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Icon Attention and focus

Icon Responding to emotions

Icon Relationships and communication

Icon Planning and routines

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AGE GROUP

3-5

Trolley Companion

Relationships and communication

When you're grocery shopping with your child, hand them some of the items before you put them into the trolley. As they check it out, tell them its name and talk about what you plan to use it for. Make sure it’s a conversation, where they're adding their ideas!

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3-5

Trolley Companion

Relationships and communication

When you're grocery shopping with your child, hand them some of the items before you put them into the trolley. As they check it out, tell them its name and talk about what you plan to use it for. Make sure it’s a conversation, where they're adding their ideas!

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Holding the object in front of your child as you say its name helps them learn new vocabulary. And every time you have a back and forth conversation that extends their knowledge, you're building a brain!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Shopping Search

Attention and focus

When shopping for groceries (or anything really), call out something you’re looking for on the shelf and have your child help you find it. Give them a clue: "It's in a red box." Can you do five in a row before you reach the end of the aisle?

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4-5

Shopping Search

Attention and focus

When shopping for groceries (or anything really), call out something you’re looking for on the shelf and have your child help you find it. Give them a clue: "It's in a red box." Can you do five in a row before you reach the end of the aisle?

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Helping your child pay attention and follow your clues improves their focus and self-control.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

List Master

Planning and routines

When you’re out running errands, put your child in charge of the list. Have them help list out a few things you both have to do that day. When you finish each task, cross it off the list together!

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4-5

List Master

Planning and routines

When you’re out running errands, put your child in charge of the list. Have them help list out a few things you both have to do that day. When you finish each task, cross it off the list together!

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you make a list and cross things off the list together, it helps your child learn that written words represent real-world activities.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-4

Letter Shapes

Attention and focus

Encourage your child to point out letters on signs around them. Help describe the shapes of the letters, like, “Look. The letter A is pointy, like a triangle. What about the letter O?” See if you and your child can find all the letters of the alphabet and describe their Letter Shapes.

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3-4

Letter Shapes

Attention and focus

Encourage your child to point out letters on signs around them. Help describe the shapes of the letters, like, “Look. The letter A is pointy, like a triangle. What about the letter O?” See if you and your child can find all the letters of the alphabet and describe their Letter Shapes.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Your child is using focus to find letters, self-control to keep playing the game, and memory to use what they know about letters and shapes to make new connections. When you have fun with language and shapes, you help them enjoy learning.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Pick a Hand

Taking on challenges

Play a game by hiding something small in your hand behind your back. First, show your child the object, like a coin or a pen, in your hand. Put it behind your back and change hands or leave it in the same. Ask them to guess which hand the object is in. Let them hide the object and you guess.

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4-5

Pick a Hand

Taking on challenges

Play a game by hiding something small in your hand behind your back. First, show your child the object, like a coin or a pen, in your hand. Put it behind your back and change hands or leave it in the same. Ask them to guess which hand the object is in. Let them hide the object and you guess.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When your child guesses which hand the object is in, they're focusing, looking for clues, and making predictions. This game helps build an understanding of math concepts. And taking turns is important!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-5

Silent Game

Attention and focus

While waiting, challenge your child to see how long both of you can be silent. Let them be the timer. You can use facial expressions and body movements to communicate. Whoever stays silent the longest wins!

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3-5

Silent Game

Attention and focus

While waiting, challenge your child to see how long both of you can be silent. Let them be the timer. You can use facial expressions and body movements to communicate. Whoever stays silent the longest wins!

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When your child is challenged not to talk, they're focusing on their goal and using self-control to stay silent. Focus and self-control are important life skills in learning new things.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-4

Hot Potato

Planning and routines

You and your child can play this game anywhere you are. Find a small item to pass back and forth and sing a song as you do. As the song ends, whoever has the object does something special or silly, like blink three times or jump up and down. Take turns.

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3-4

Hot Potato

Planning and routines

You and your child can play this game anywhere you are. Find a small item to pass back and forth and sing a song as you do. As the song ends, whoever has the object does something special or silly, like blink three times or jump up and down. Take turns.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

Playing Hot Potato gives your child practice in following the rules and taking turns. It also gives them practice with self-control, a skill that helps them to stick with something long enough to meet their goals.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

3-4

Finger Marker

Attention and focus

While waiting, draw a shape (like a circle or a wiggly line), using your fingertip on your child’s open palm. Can they name it? Repeat the same shape until they can guess what it is. Take turns back and forth, drawing and guessing shapes.

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3-4

Finger Marker

Attention and focus

While waiting, draw a shape (like a circle or a wiggly line), using your fingertip on your child’s open palm. Can they name it? Repeat the same shape until they can guess what it is. Take turns back and forth, drawing and guessing shapes.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you play a Finger Marker, you give your child a chance to put together what they know about how shapes look with how shapes feel. It's a new and fun way to learn shapes through the sense of touch!

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

4-5

Faces and Feelings

Responding to emotions

Next time you’re stuck in a waiting room with your child, pick up a magazine. Point out a face in one of the pictures and have them copy it. Ask them what they think the person is feeling. Discuss with them when both of you might have felt this way too.

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4-5

Faces and Feelings

Responding to emotions

Next time you’re stuck in a waiting room with your child, pick up a magazine. Point out a face in one of the pictures and have them copy it. Ask them what they think the person is feeling. Discuss with them when both of you might have felt this way too.

BRAINY BACKGROUND

When you talk about your own and others’ feelings you’re helping your child learn to take a new perspective, which is helpful in getting along with others.

Vroom | Brain Building Moments

Brainy Background™

Every time we connect with young children, it’s not just their eyes that light up—it’s their brains, too. A global program of the Bezos Family Foundation, Vroom(R) helps parents boost their child’s learning during the time they already spend together. Vroom believes all parents want what’s best for their children. So we joined with scientists, researchers, and parents to take the science out of the lab and put it in the hands of caregivers. Vroom provides science-based tips and tools to inspire families to turn shared, everyday moments into Brain Building Moments(TM). Since 2015, Vroom has grown to impact nearly 1,500,000 families in 37 US states and 6 countries around the world. Learn more at Vroom.org.

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