This toolkit is specific enough for new teachers and flexible enough for experienced teachers."
Nurturing joy in the classroom begins with the brain. Why? Research shows children's brains develop the best when they have secure, responsive caregivers. Teachers use EGG to encourage healthy brain development in two key areas: executive function and emotional regulation. These cognitive skills help children listen to instructions, follow through on activities, reflect on their behavior, and manage their emotions.
While every child is born with the ability to develop executive function and self-regulation skills, they need the opportunity to learn. EGG helps children build their skills for focus and resilience in the following ways:
Children learn and use words to describe how they feel and what they think, also known as "internal state language."
Example: "I'm feeling sad."
Children use storytelling to talk about what they experience, called "narrative." Narratives help children to think about what to do next time.
Example: "First I shared my toy. Next, my friend smiled."
Children use mindfulness skills to "re-set" and focus during stressful situations.
Example: When a child feels stressed, they take a deep breath instead of throwing a toy.
Evaluation of our pilot programs show that EGG Toolkit increases executive function skills.
These results are especially significant for children who have experienced household or systemic trauma.
Brain science research shows that Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) disrupt the development of executive function and self-regulation skills. Children with higher rates of ACEs may experience worse outcomes in school and face greater risks as adults that include heart disease, depression, and substance abuse.
EGG helps to buffer children against the harmful impacts of ACEs, closing opportunity gaps in childhood and supporting a lifetime of better outcomes for physical, mental, and behavioral health.
The Center for Early Education and Development at the University of Minnesota found that EGG demonstrated a significant impact on emotional descriptive language, positive age-appropriate behavior, and personal narration—all highly correlated with executive function skills.
Language sample analysis by Salt Software determined the complexity of children’s narratives increased after using the EGG toolkit.
“I heard the kids using more vocabulary and being more in-tune with how they felt.”
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For more information on EGG Toolkit, contact John Everett Till, EGG Enterprise Manager and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at The Family Partnership.
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