Mind… full?

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Mindfulness is trendy… there is no doubt about that; but is it worth your time? To “let go” and to “feel your breath”… sounds like a great idea, right? Read more

Balance for Basketball?

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What makes a good basketball player? Is it how much they bench press, overhead press? Is it how high they jump?

Maybe it’s the numbers they put up on the hang clean? Read more

Pot, performance and coordination

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Justin Trudeau might not be crazy about the sound of it but recent research indicates that high-potency cannabis may not be the best thing for your coordination. Read more

Pot, Performance and Coordination

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Justin Trudeau might not be crazy about the sound of it but recent research indicates that high-potency cannabis may not be the best thing for your coordination. Read more

Brain development – Harvard Style

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Recently, the Center on the Developing Child of Harvard University published a summary of the take home points from presentations at the National Symposium on Early Childhood Science and Policy. Read more

The infamous fascia

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the word “fascia” has been on a lot of people’s lips for too long, I believe ! What is it really about this fabric and what about it? Read more

Of Stress and Muscles

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Is it because we are stressed that our muscles stiffen up or is it that our muscles stiffen up, for whatever reason, and then, we feel stress? Read more

Starting school at age 7?

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We may not think about it too much because here in Quebec, school starts at age 5. It’s like this … it’s like that. Only, is it logical? Is it optimal? Read more

The value of play

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It took the toy company Lego to look into the relative value of play in overall children’s development.

Hanne Rasmussen, head of the Lego Foundation, states that pushing children towards numbers and language earlier and earlier means that they miss out on the early play-based learning that helps develop creativity, problem-solving and empathy.

The Lego foundation has been around for 29 years! Its mission is now to challenge the status quo by redefining play and reimagining learning.

Rasmussen grew up in Denmark. She remembers that there was more time to play if only because there were fewer planned activities than there are now.

Lego happens to identify five types of play:

  • Physical;
  • Symbolic;
  • With rules;
  • With objects;

Lego most recently decided to fund research at Cambridge University. The collaboration will lead to a better understanding of play affects learning and wellbeing.

If kids are to begin school at an early age, Rasmussen does not believe that this should exclude the notion of play. Quite the contrary, she believes that both play and content education can be delivered together.

Lego could definitely be on to something. One could think that Piaget, based on his writings, would tend to agree with Lego.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/15/children-learn-play-age-eight-lego?fbclid=IwAR2wevRg75RvwWEStSAP67Y7JBrhFzZ0vKljO2-FB__9ZO18O3OImBH0FCc

Right brain – Left brain

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Since 1865 we have know that the right brain and the left brain are responsible for specific tasks. Read more