In this short video, Dr. Bruce Perry, psychiatrist and expert on the long-term effects of childhood trauma on the brain, talks about how each year the next generation of preschoolers and kindergarteners begin their lifelong journey of learning. Here, he shares his opinion on the real goal of education, which is “not to pass a test in third grade, but to create children who are productive, curious, capable of continuing to learn throughout their whole lifetime, and becoming positive and contributing members of our culture.”
As Dr. Perry points out, most of education is self-motivated, and when children are first introduced to formal learning, it’s vital to instill the connection, and association, between fun and learning. In his words, “we need to make sure that children see that learning a topic can be exciting, it can be gratifying, make you feel more competent and comfortable—and that all of these things lead to a sense of accomplishment and a sense of joy in learning that will be much more important in the long run than the fact that they were able to identify a rectangle versus a triangle when they were four.”
In the spirit of joyful learning, the I Create What I Believe! (ICWIB) Program offers young children fun, and simple-to-use tools for self-regulation and placing their minds in a learning-ready state. We believe that every child has greatness to bring to this world and we offer the ICWIB! activities as a means for empowering life-long learners to create a world for themselves full of happiness, wonder, and joy.
With this in mind, we invite you to explore some of the ICWIB! art activities and videos for FREE.