Activate: to make active, cause to function or act

What does it mean to activate’ your brain? Is our brain not ‘activated’? Why do we need to ‘activate’ it? And how do you know when your brain is ‘activated’? For starters, did you know an average person only utilises less than 10% of the brain’s potential? That means have 90% of latent potential waiting to be untapped!

We are probably more familiar with the terms ‘left brain’, ‘right brain’, and the characteristics related to each side of the brain. But did you know that we can use both sides of the brain interchangeably? Whole Brain Activation Academy (WBA) helps your child to do just that: tapping into both hemispheres of the brain.

Besides unleashing the potential of your child’s brain, one of the other missions of the Academy is to inculcate in children a strong sense of self-belief and confidence.

Cultivating A Generation Of Happy And Confident Children

Confidence is defined as doing or believing in something with faith or trust. Synonymous with terms such as happiness, it takes time to develop. During our childhood years, our self-confidence takes root and begins to grow. In turn, such experiences shape how we perceive and view ourselves today.

How can you tell a confident child? To put it simply, a confident child demonstrates self-trust in his or her abilities. When they trust their abilities and are able to perform certain tasks successfully, this success breeds more self-confidence which will gradually affect their behaviour and relationships with the people around them in positive ways. That is why WBA places a strong emphasis on developing self-confidence and adopts motivational techniques in their program as well.

Bridging the Left and Right Brain

Ivy, the speaker during the preview, was able to explain the program concisely in layman terms, and included a few technical but important jargons. She also added her own personal experiences, on how she saw her own children benefiting from the program.

Catered for children aged 5 to 12 years old, children will be exposed to brain-stimulating activities such as music therapy, technology and games. As the brain is being exposed to stimulating activities, it undergoes a process known as hemispheric synchronisation, where the whole brain is activated and stimulated. This means the potential on both sides of the brain is utilised and ‘activated’.

Ivy adds, “Once your child’s brain has been activated, it will remain activated. It is like, cycling or swimming. Once you have picked up the skill, it remains with you forever. But if you do not practice, your skills will become rusty and will probably need some time to pick them up again. That is why we also have complimentary maintenance sessions for our students.”

‘Seeing’ Through Touch, Taste, and Sound

After the presentation, the audience was treated to a live demonstration where graduates from the program came to show us what they could do. One girl was able to identify different coloured balls and number cards. Another boy was able to identify picture cards and sort the same number cards into groups. He was also able to read off someone’s IC number on the spot. Remember, all these tasks were performed without their sense of sight.

Performing tasks with a blindfold on is a way to show and prove how a child’s brain has been activated; that they are able to ‘see’ using their other senses to identify the objects around them. With this activation, a child is able to focus better and learn faster. There has also been much feedback from parents on how their children are able to learn a new skill faster, and how their coordination and gross motor skills have become more accurate.

Richard, a father, was so touched that his 6-year-old daughter could do something that he could not do. “It only goes to show how powerful our minds are. After the program, my daughter has managed to pick up piano skills more easily. She is also more confident and willing to try new things. She’s always asking me when she can come by to see the trainers and her friends again!”

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