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F2F Huddle, April 23-25, San Francisco
Campaign for Grade Level Reading
Background
Advances in neuroscience confirm what many of us have long known: the first five years of
life are critically important to children’s future learning and success. Every time we connect
with young children, it’s not just their eyes that light up—it’s their brains too. In these
moments, half a million neurons fire at once, taking in all the things we say and do. Inspired
by this compelling research, the Bezos Family Foundation has worked with scientists,
community leaders, families, and product makers to create Vroom—a new initiative
empowering parents and caregivers to play a proactive role in their children’s early brain
development.
Vroom makes it easy for parents and caregivers to have a positive impact on their children’s
brain development by turning routine, shared moments into brain building moments.
Whether it’s mealtime, bathtime, or anytime in between, there are always ways to nurture
our children’s growing minds. Our goal is to support parents throughout their daily journey
with affirming, reinforcing brain building messages by leveraging the people and networks
that surround them and the products they use everyday.
Roll-Out
After a four month regional pilot project in 2014, the Bezos Family Foundation is launching
Vroom nationally, in partnership with cities, communities, states, and national non-profits.
In communities where Vroom takes hold, brain building prompts will be found in the home,
in the neighborhood, on-the-go, and through trusted networks such as community-based
organizations, religious institutions, and social-service agencies. As Vroom gains momentum
and the brand becomes ubiquitous, we hope the name and logo alone will become a trigger
for brain building interactions.
Vroom was designed to be owned, adopted, and driven by others. Many of the tools are
readily available open-source: they can be downloaded for free, reproduced inexpensively,
or purchased at-cost from our distributor. The goal is to enable anyone to activate Vroom
and use the tools. For direct-service providers, local community-based organizations, or
government-funded national programs, Vroom can layer onto existing outreach or service
models. Based on the pilot, we know the greatest potential for impact exists through a
comprehensive integration of Vroom tools that ensures a “surround” approach—reaching
families in the moments they already share with their children. These tactics might include
investing in physical materials to share with families, using the free digital tools, training for
staff, and creating connections with other programs and community resources.
In addition to our continued funding of early brain research, our commitment is to provide
beautifully designed materials that have been vetted by families. We will continue to build
national partnerships that individual providers will be able to leverage, and we will share
best practices from the field, as well as provide ongoing thought leadership and support.
Ultimately, we will look to partners, the true experts on the families and communities they
serve, to drive and oversee the integration.
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www.joinvroom.org
Vroom Materials
Across all Vroom mediums and materials, content is designed to promote language
development, executive function skills, and “serve and return” interactions between children
and adults in their lives—the kinds of interactions we now know develop a young brain and
create a strong foundation by building brain architecture.
Vroom Tip Cards
The Vroom Tip Cards provide parents and caregivers with
fun, simple activities for engaging with their children. Each
tip includes a Brainy Background, which explains how the
interaction supports brain development.
Daily Vroom app
The app sends parents daily, personalized, age-appropriate Vroom
Tips. Parents can also pick a Vroom Tip based on location or activity.
The multi-child option can be used by parents and providers with
children in different age groups. Users earn badges, level up, and
unlock new features with repeated and continued use. Daily Vroom is
available on Android, iOS, and Fire Phones.
Brain Building Basics
find out more
Brain Building Basics
joinvroom.org
5 things to remember
for building your child’s brain
1. Look
2. Chat
Make eye contact so you and your child
are looking at each other.
Talk about the things you see, hear and do
together, and explain what’s happening A Brand New Brain
Every baby is born with a brain that
around you.
contains hundreds of billions of neurons.
Ready For Anything
3. Follow
4. Stretch
5. Take Turns
Take your child's lead by responding to their
sounds and actions, even before they are old
enough to talk. When they do start talking,
ask follow up questions like “What do you
think...?” or “Why did you like that?”"
From day one, those neurons connect–
and the brain begins to get wired for life.
Learning Like Lightning
The brain is wired to grow–in the first five
years, it makes 700 neural connections
every single second!
The Brain Story
There
no time
life when
Make eachismoment
longerin
by building
upon the
what
yourdevelops
child does andmore
says.
brain
rapidly than
during the first five years. Here’s
a glimpse at all that’s taking place
inside your baby’s brain!
The Brain Building Basics (Look, Chat, Follow, Stretch, and Take
Turns) are a distillation of the science behind Vroom. They turn
the science into actionable ways for parents and caregivers to
interact with their children.
Communication Is Key
Above all, there’s one thing that
helps young brains grow strong:
adult-child relationships.
Hi, Baby
Even kids that can’t yet talk are
looking, listening and relating to you
non-stop.
With sounds, words, faces and actions, go
back and forth to create a conversation
or a game.
You Are A Brain Builder
Every time you interact with a child
you’re doing something major: shaping
a growing mind.
Nurture Future Greatness
The first five years are when the brain builds
its foundation–so kids can thrive as adults.
Vroom!
We know this for sure: learning doesn’t
start at school… it begins at birth.
It Begins With You
© 2014 Vroom All Rights Reserved
Visit joinvroom.org to learn how
you can be a brain builder.
Brain Story
This illustration condenses the science behind Vroom into an
easy to understand and visual way.
Vroom Videos
We’ve developed a suite of videos to support and reinforce
brain building behavior and messages.
Vroom Digital
JoinVroom.org serves as a portal for everyone involved in
Vroom, highlighting the science behind Vroom, the materials and
activities available, and the team that worked to bring Vroom to
life. Our social media channels build community among parents
and caregivers. Our digital platforms also allow for parent
submitted tips. Once a parent submits a tip, Vroom adds the
Brainy Background before sharing it with other parents and
caregivers via the Daily Vroom app and other digital channels.
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www.joinvroom.org