Ragni Trotta is a successful marketing and media professional with over 30 years of experience in media and hospitality. Based in London, Ragni is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she earned her MSc in Media, Communication, and Development. With a lifelong passion for communication and learning, Ragni is multilingual and fluent in English, Norwegian, Spanish, and Italian. She also speaks excellent Swedish, Danish, German and French. Her strong communication skills have helped Ragni travel all over the world to places such as Spain, Jamaica, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and the UK.
A Norwegian native, Ragni Trotta, grew up just north of the Arctic Circle, and traveling became a part of her life from a young age. After running out of money while backpacking through various countries, Ragni began working in marketing in The Canary Island, Spain. Her career started by painting promotional billboards and creating different marketing material for Scandinavian real estate buyers.
Soon after her entrance into the marketing industry, Ragni Trotta began her media career with the CIA Media Network in London in 1997. During her time there, Ragni worked as a Business Development Executive in the international department. She also successfully launched the CIA Media Network’s 25th Anniversary Campaign with TIME Magazine and Ad Age. The TIME Magazine and Ad Age campaign was so successful it was nominated for the “Best Corporate Advertising Campaign” at the M&M Global Advertising Awards in 2000.
After experiencing her success in media at the CIA Media Network, in 2001, Ragni Trotta returned to the resort development and hospitality industry, where she initially began her professional journey. She continued her marketing and media career and managed all PR, marketing, and corporate communications for a luxury resort in Jamaica. In addition to her success as a marketing and media professional, Ragni has a strong passion for giving back and helping others in need. She has had heavy involvement in her late husband’s non-profit organization Books4Kids Jamaica, a charity that focuses on education and provides materials and resources to Jamaican children between the ages of 4 and 5. Books4Kids Jamaica has helped more than 85,000 children in 150 schools by providing over 250,000 books and resources. Ragni Trotta views Books4Kids Jamaica as one of her greatest accomplishments.
When Ragni isn’t involved in a marketing project or volunteering her time, she enjoys a healthy lifestyle and focusing on improving her overall health and wellness. She is an avid dancer and loves spending time and being active outdoors.
Ragni Trotta on the Importance of Sensory Learning in Early Childhood Development
From infancy to early childhood, there are various ways to encourage learning and development. The early years are a critical time for learning, and keeping children engaged in different activities is essential. Sensory play is an excellent way to promote brain development and help children better understand their surroundings by using their fives senses.
So, what is sensory play?
A common misconception surrounding sensory development and learning is that it has everything to do with physical touch or is only beneficial for children struggling with sensory processing. However, the truth surrounding sensory learning is that it involves multiple facets of a child’s continuously developing senses and directly contributes to other milestones like language and motor skill development. Sensory play can come in different forms and is important for all age groups, as well. For small infants, sensory play has a lot to do with touch and sound, like hearing the crinkle of a piece of paper, or feeling the textures of different toys and objects. While for a toddler or pre-school aged child, playing with musical instruments, kinetic sand, or reading a descriptive book can all be examples of participating in sensory activities.
The Benefits
Language and Social Skills
Encouraging sensory play has a multitude of benefits for children, like improving language development and enhancing the ability to play well with others and increase social skills. For older children, sensory play and language development go hand-in-hand. Using descriptive words and phrases to explain different textures, smells, and tastes is a great way to do this and help children improve their language comprehension.
Fine Motor Skills
According to Very Well Family, sensory play also has a large role in improving fine motor skills. “Fine motor skills are those that require the ability to use and coordinate small muscle groups and are important for writing, shoe-tying, buttoning, and zipping, among other things. Sensory play often involves using and building fine motor skills by exploring things using pinching, pouring, and lacing movements.”
Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
Sensory learning also improves critical thinking and creativity, as it prompts children to use their imagination to discover new ways to solve problems. “Sensory activities, in addition to being fun and interesting for babies and young children, encourage children to explore and investigate. Furthermore, these activities support children to use the ‘scientific method’ of observing, forming a hypothesis, experimenting, and making conclusions.” Additionally, as children engage in sensory play, they’ll work on refining the way they process information and build stronger nerve connections in the brain.
