brain development – Mindful Miss T.

“I just don’t have the time…”

“How am I supposed to squeeze anything else into my day…?”

Things I hear in Education..

And I get it, Teachers have a lot on their overflowing plates.

They are more than just Teachers – they feed kids when they’re hungry and console them when they’re hurt.

Days become overwhelmed with to-do’s and then suddenly… its JUNE! And we’re cutting it close on deadlines.

But if we invest a little extra time, into the RIGHT things, it is possible to get some teaching time back!

Let’s take a quick peek into our classrooms…

Teacher’s at the front, attempting to get through her math lesson.

Attempting… because we know her lesson is not going according to plan.

We have Johnny in the front, raising his hand every 2 minutes to interject with a concern. Bianca is noisily tapping on her desk, frustrated because she just doesn’t get math. Will snapped his pencil and is this close to flipping his desk if he has to painstakingly sit through another minute of this class…

Classrooms are overrun with interruptions.

Sometimes, as Educators, we feel so short on time, that we push through our lessons and don’t necessarily deal with the underlying issue…

The Disregulation…

The stress, the frustrations and the anger…

And the truth is… Kids aren’t learning if they are not REGULATED.

To understand that, we need to know how our brains work.

When information enters our brain, either from something external (like a lesson) or from our internal emotions (fear, anger), this information travels from the bottom up.

The Brain Stem, into
Our Limbic System (Emotional brain), and then
The NeoCortex (Thinking brain)

But… when students are disregulated, then information cant travel past our brain stem, our primitive brain…

Think of it as electricity flowing in a circuit. If our regulation “switch” is turned off… no electricity is getting to the “light bulb” part of the brain.

The upper parts of their brains aren’t on.

They can’t use their emotional brain to relate to your lesson… And they most definitely can’t use their thinking brain!

So, what’s the point in stressfully pushing through a lesson if our students wont remember or relate to it…?

We Need Regulation!

And how do we do that?

By taking a little bit of time to mindfully teach regulation strategies!

When our kids become disregulated, but are PREPARED in handing it. We can redirect back to our lesson quicker.

The interruptions become minimal…

And we have a more effective lesson…

All because we invested a little bit of time turning our students brains on.

Here Are Some Easy-Peasy Strategies To Get You Started:

#1: Deep Belly Breathing (and more breathing exercises)

#2: Journalling or Creating Art

#3: Gong for a Walk (even better if it’s outdoors!)

Wishing you the best of luck!
(I just know you can do it!)

With love,

Miss T.

The most powerful TED talk I’ve watched, was given by a 7 year old…

Molly Wright makes her way across the TED stage and begins…

“What if I told you a game of peekaboo could change the world…?”
Molly Wright

Molly is not your typical 7 year old.

She is a prime example of what happens when a child’s brain development is nurtured through the early years.

Not only is she a prime example, she’s also an advocate for healthy childhood development.

I learned more from this 7 year old in 7 minutes, than I did reading over 100 books (written by adults) about children and their brains.

When kids are exposed to things like…

Connecting
Talking
Playing
A Healthy Home
A Sense of Community

… it contributes positively to their development.

Connecting with our family and community builds and strengthens relationships, encourages trust, promotes positive mental health, and teaches life skills.

I’m sure we can wait until kids are older to start teaching them these skills though, right?

WRONG!

So… When should we be connecting, playing and talking to our kids?

#1. First 5 Years!

Molly reminds us that these years of a child’s life are the most CRUCIAL years in their development.

Brains grow faster in the first 5 years than they do the rest of our lives. By the time kids are 7 years old, their brains have grown to 90% the size of an adults’ brain.

Do not underestimate those first 5 years…

So… What should we be doing those first 5 years?

#2. Serve and Return!

This is Molly’s scientific way of saying… CONNECT! TALK! PLAY!

Children’s mirror neurons are on alert! They learn through connecting and interacting with the adults they trust. Making eye contact and playing games with your child (yes, like peekaboo), are important for their development and for their learning!

So… How often should we be playing games like peekaboo?