The A Child’s Song team is pleased to facilitate The Brain Architecture Game with groups of parents, social workers, counsellors, teachers and school staff as well as other service providers who require an understanding of how a child’s early experiences may impact later development. This experience offers participants an excellent foundation of learning for any of our other workshops related to child development, early trauma and attachment.

The Brain Architecture Game (2015) is an experiential activity that builds understanding of the powerful role of experiences on early brain development– what promotes it, what derails it, with what consequences for society. The goal is to build a brain that is as tall as possible, which represents functionality, and as sturdy as possible, which represents the ability to withstand stresses. After the initial period of early childhood brain development, weights must be hung from the structure of the brain when life hands out stressors. Will the foundation withstand these weights, or will it collapse? Afterward, groups use the notes in their Life Journals to discuss the experiences that strengthened, or weakened, the architecture of their developing brains.

Our trained facilitators will engage participants in discussion around the theoretical understanding of this experiential exercise as well as practical application strategies for effective intervention.