Mindfulness

"Minute to Win it!"
Before Dr. Brain arrived, we reviewed the executive function of time management by competing in two different "Minute to Win it" challenges. Tables selected one team member to participate in each challenge. The first challenge was called "Breakfast Scramble" and students had to put the front of a cereal box "puzzle" together in one minute. No one was able to successfully meet the challenge, but we will definitely be revisiting this challenge! The second challenge was called "Cookie Face" and students had to attempt to get a cookie from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands. The video footage below provides pure entertainment! Jacob Harmon was able to successfully meet and conquer this "Cookie Face" challenge! Congratulations Jacob! 

QR [Quieting Response]
Dr. Brain started off by reviewing the function of our amygdala (the emotion center of our brain). He explained how our amygdala wants to make sure everything is okay with our brain and body (AKA recognizes when stress is present). If there is stress in our body, our amygdala does not allow new information to come into the brain. When our bodies are stressed we have physical reactions (breathing rate changes, sweaty palms, etc.). We have to learn to relax our bodies and control our stress. The first thing we do when we have stress in our body is change our breathing patterns. Dr. Brain taught us how to do a QR (or "Quieting Response") to teach the body the opposite of stress. A QR is a simple breathing technique that takes only six seconds and changes breathing, therefore relaxing muscles in our body. The video footage covers Dr. Brain leading students through a couple of QR practices. The basic QR flow is: inhale, hold, hold, exhale, relax your forehead, your jaw, and your shoulders. The benefits of being stress free are wonderful, and when our body is relaxed we are better able to learn.

Progressive Relaxation
In today's world we have more stress than in the past. Our fast-paced society, rush from carpool, to soccer practice, to dance, and never-ending "to do" lists add stress to our lives, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Dr. Brain transitioned students from a "QR" to a whole body progressive relaxation exercise. 

Meditation 
Our brains never really get rest...we go from thinking all day to dreaming at night. Dr. Brain gave us a visual demonstration of the three different types of waves that are typically received on an EEG. Our goal is to create Alpha waves for just 8-10 minutes...that is the equivalent of 24 hours of sleep for our brains! Crazy! We learned about how some artists/athletes are able to create Alpha waves when they are "in the zone", also known as an altered state of consciousness. We practiced using "modules" (one-syllable words/sounds) in order to quiet our minds during meditation. 

Wrapping it Up
To end the lesson on mindfulness, Dr. Brain led students through a relaxation exercise, combining all three strategies we learned about. We started with a QR (to change our breathing patterns), then led into Progressive Relaxation (to relax all of our muscles), and ended with some Meditation. The connection between this whole process and practicing yoga on a weekly basis is setting our students here at Bradford up for success in the future! I have just recently learned about meditation and relaxation through the practice of yoga and from sessions with Dr. Brain. If only I had learned these things 20 years ago! 

You can see some snippets from Lesson 6 by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/hsn9xV1yy9k

Time Management

Dr. Brain came in last Friday to talk about time management. He started by showing a simple model of the brain and talking about grey matter and the two hemispheres of the brain. We talked about how the left hemisphere controls the right side of the body and vice versa. 

Time Management
Dr. Brain discussed why it was important to understand time as the students get older. We talked about how time is consistent, even though our perceptions of time may be different. We got to experience how one minute can seem to "fly by" or "drag on" depending on the activity!

"Minute to Win it!"
We started off by competing in two different "Minute to Win it" challenges. Tables selected one team member to participate in the challenge. The first challenge was called "Suck it Up" and students had to use a straw to try and suck up Skittles, moving them one-by-one from one bowl to another. The video footage is hilarious! The second challenge was called "Scoop it Up" and students had to use a spoon (with the handle side in their mouth) to transfer 6 ping pong balls from one bowl to another without using their hands!

Ab Exercises
While the "Minute to Win it" challenges seemed to fly by, the ab exercise seemed to last forever! The minute definitely didn't feel the same. But as we all know, a minute is 60 seconds, no matter how it's spent! There is some good video footage of this as well! Many students gave up before the minute was over!

Five Minute Challenge
We wanted to show students the difference between one minute and five minutes. Students worked in teams to put together a human anatomy brain model. This model includes 31 pieces including the cerebellum, frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital lobes, corpus callosum, brain stem, hippocampus, ventricles, insula, corpus striatum, internal capsule, and lentiform nucleus! Needless to say, students did not meet the challenge, but they worked hard and worked cooperatively on it! We will try this challenge again, giving students 10 minutes!

Materials
We found some GREAT visual sand timers at Lakeshore Learning in Matthews: http://www.lakeshorelearning.com/

You can see some snippets from Lesson 5 by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/3pszB9hDzdQ

Classroom Setting: Brain Based Strategies & Environment

We are SO GRATEFUL to be in our classroom. It's been just about 6 weeks since we've moved in, and it definitely feels like "home". I'm going to briefly talk about some of the unique aspects of our classroom and how it relates to Brain Based Learning and affects our Executive Functions. 

New Environment, New Furniture, New Chairs

We went from standing desks (having no chairs) while we were at Elevation to yoga ball chairs and spin chairs. Our vestibular joints are now adapted to spinning and balancing in our new environment. When you are balancing, it activates the reticular activating system (or attention center). It provides kinesthetic awareness that helps you to focus. These chairs are proprioceptive, meaning that the kids are unconsciously using the cues inside their body to balance. 

Natural Lighting

Artificial lighting is a stressor, meaning our bodies and eyes have to adapt, spending adaptive energy. We only have so much adaptive energy, and if we're spending it on light and/or noise, there is a limited amount left to spend on other things. I'll use the train analogy to explain further: think about if you lived or worked near a train. Every day this train goes by twice a day, at the exact same time. Eventually you habituate (get used to the train), but your brain still has to deal with the train, spending adaptive energy. While you may be less distracted by the train and not even necessarily notice the train, your brain is still working to block that train out. 

In our classroom we have some lamps, lava lamps, and Christmas lights on at all times. We rarely, if ever, have the overhead fluorescent lights on. In fact, our music teacher Ms. Young came in after our first week in the building and asked for the lights to be turned on for an activity she was doing. The kids eyes shot straight up to the ceiling and said, "Wow! Ms. Poling, did you know we had 12 lights on the ceiling????" Haha! We love the natural light we get from our three large windows. Natural light has been proven to affect mood. It's calming, and not stressful. The sunshine is our friend! :) 

*Disclaimer, you may see some ceiling lights on in these pictures because I was trying to get a good picture on my phone and couldn't without more lighting due to the sun! 

Comfy Space

You’re able to concentrate better if your body is comfortable and balanced. You're able to concentrate better because your body isn’t inconvenienced or working to meet other needs like temperature, comfort, distractions, etc. In addition to being comfortable, allowing our brains to concentrate, our discriminative cues (discriminate between what's going on here vs. there) are enforced by the different spaces in our classroom. 

For example, in our library area, our mindset is to read and be relaxed. 

At our guided reading table, students know what to expect; the visual cue being the teacher sitting in the middle. They know exactly what will happen and what is expected of them. This can be explained better using the red light analogy. When you see a red light, you automatically know, I need to stop. When students see me sitting at the guided reading table, they know they need to bring their novel study materials back, get a pencil and a word tracker, and be ready to discuss or read. 

Another way my students get "comfy" is by having the ability to take their shoes off throughout the day. When you take your shoes off at your front door, it means your house is special, and you don't want to bring unwanted things (i.e., mud, rain water, dirt, leaves) into your space. The same is true in our classroom, except for the fact that students do not HAVE to take their shoes off...it's a choice. UNLESS they are going to be in "the nest" (our large multi-person beanbag), then they have to. They know the expectation because that was a very expensive beanbag that another teacher is letting us borrow. We understand that it is special and we don't want to ruin it. Another reason we take off our shoes is because it creates this "safe zone" feeling. Just like the gesture of taking your coat off at a guest's house; you know you're welcome, they want you to come in and relax. Also, think about when you've had a hard day...what's the first thing you want to do? For me it's take off my shoes! 

Above you see our morning meeting area. This is another cue for students. Whoever is sitting in the rocking chair is important and should be tracked/focus on. When students come to morning meeting, we all sit on the floor and students know it is a safe place to share ideas, worries, stories, feelings, and celebrations. They are comfortable with one another! 

You'll also see our essential oil diffuser on the end table. I am a HUGE fan of and believer in essential oils and use them constantly in my classroom. We use Lavender for calming/relaxing, we use Peppermint for focus, we use Thieves or OnGuard to kill germs, we use Purification to neutralize smells (because of our stinky sock feet of course!), we use Joy or Cheer to lighten the mood. The diffuser activates our olfactory senses, which allows students to aromatically get the benefits of the different oils. Once again, it's comforting after they get used to it. Think of how you feel when you smell fresh baked bread! Ahhhh..... 

Anyway, that's all for now! I'm sure I'm missing some, but this is a snapshot of the environment we spend our days in! 

Dr. Brain visited us this morning to teach about time management. Look for another post soon involving "Minute to Win it" challenges! 

Working Memory

Once again, I'm posting this a couple weeks after the actual lesson...but last weekend was MOVE IN WEEKEND! We are FINALLY in our new classroom and LOVING it. It's been quite the crazy [but wonderful] past week. I survived Open House...so now I'm taking some time (in my quiet and cozy classroom) on Saturday afternoon to reflect!

During his latest visit, Dr. Brain focused on Working Memory. He talked about the importance of working memory in school and following directions. We also learned that our working [short term] memory typically transfers into long term memory [located in our hippocampus] during our 7th hour of sleep...so now we know why sleep is so important!

Our experiment used the simple, well-known game of "telephone". We had two groups, one that just passed the message ear-to-ear and the other that held hands and focused on watching the messenger's lips while they were speaking (AKA lip reading). Then we did another experiment, boys vs. girls, with BOTH groups using the eye contact/touch technique. The results were interesting!

We learned that it is important to look at the person who is speaking, watch his/her lips, and make physical contact, if possible. The more our emotional part of our brain [our amygdala] is involved, the more apt we are to remember things! Involving more senses (touch, sound, sight) creates more emotional connection. 

You can see some snippets from Lesson 4 by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/3kUNQKMOvug

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In other news...we are THRIVING in our new setting. We have so many great brain-based learning strategies in place. I can't wait to blog about our new environment and post some pictures very soon! 

Goal Setting, Scales, and Handstands!

So I'm a bit later than normal in posting this time around...I think my brain must have still been trying to recover from the snow and ice...or at least that is what I'm blaming my procrastination on! :)

First off, I was so happy to receive some home video footage of scale practice from Micah and Sydney!! They requested I put their videos on the blog - I love their courage and confidence!! Visit the following link to watch their hard work: https://youtu.be/waNIkctuchY

Dr. Brain came back in to review Lesson 2: Goal Setting. We talked about setting simple goals and working our way toward big/complex goals. We reviewed the home goal setting exercise and heard about some of the non-academic goals the students set. Most goals had to do with physical activity - which we LOVE! 

After reviewing goal setting, the kiddos got to practice their scales. Ladies first (always...right gentlemen?!) and then the boys. Then the "winner" from each practice tried to make it 40 seconds and they both achieved the goal, which surpassed the original goal of 30 seconds! Way to go Karoline & Branson!! 

After practicing their scales, the kids were ready to try some HANDSTANDS! There are some fun video clips of these...visit the link below! 

While we didn't necessarily introduce a new Executive Function this time around, we talked a lot about vestibular input. We learned about the role of vestibular input in our ability to move/balance.

You can see some snippets from Lesson 3 by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/bXICZ3Vkers

Goal Setting

Happy New Year!!

First, an update on our Marshmallow Theory with Skittles and M&M's. I've heard the students talking about their different methods of choosing candy each morning. Some pick their least favorite Skittles flavor so they aren't as tempted, while others pick their favorite so they can eat all their favorite at the end of the year. So interesting! They constantly ask how many Skittles they will have if they wait until the end of the year. They seem to be very focused on that long term goal. I'm excited to see how long it lasts! We had one student decide to eat his Skittles on Day 3. That means 19 out of 20 are still participating, and have gotten 11 pieces of candy so far!

When I asked students about their experience so far, these are some of the responses I got:
"The candy looks breakable and makes me want to eat it before they all break apart."
"It's very tempting to try not to eat it."
"I think it might get old so I kinda want to eat it before it gets old."
"I have M&M's and when they chip I can see the chocolate inside and it makes it even more tempting."
"It's very tempting because not many kids get candy at school and it's tempting. It's just chocolate."
"It's hard to find a place to hide it so I'm not tempted."
"It's not that tempting once you get it in the container. The lid makes it hard to get the candy."
"The most tempting part is getting a new Skittle each day. It makes me want to eat it right then."

When I asked them about strategies they are using to stay focused on the end goal, these are some of the responses I got:
"I put it on the cart so I can't see it when I'm working."
"When I'm working I turn my container around so I can't see my name and I don't know whose it is. It might be another student's so I don't want to eat it as much."
"I try to ignore it by not looking at it."
"I pretend it's not there."
"I focus on my school work."
"I just do my work and don't think about it. It's just there and I barely even know it!"

Now, onto Friday's lesson with Dr. Brain! We focused on motivation and goal setting. Students learned what different things in our bodies and in our world are motivators. I am attaching some video snippets of Dr. Brain's lesson. We practiced a balancing scale (gymnastics skill) for 10 seconds in class (quite challenging in such a small space!). Students decided to set a final goal of 30 seconds. They were asked to go home and practice a scale each day. We learned that the more we practice, the thicker our neural pathways become, which means the easier the skill gets! We also learned that we need to set intermediate goals before we can reach a final goal. There are smaller steps that need to be taken in order to be successful at reaching our goal. We decided if we can balance for 10 seconds, we should try 15. Once we mastered 15 seconds we would try for 20. So on and so forth until we reach our final goal of 30 seconds! We encouraged students to have you videotape them at home, showing how long they can successfully hold a scale. I've already received one student video! So neat! I would love to be able to post some student videos of at home practice, so if you don't mind, please send some my way!!

In addition to the mini lesson from Dr. Brain, I introduced a Goal Setting activity for students to complete with you at home. These surveys are coming home in your child's red BPS folder today. Please take a minute to look the sheet over, and have your child complete the STUDENT Survey side. Once your child has "assessed" his/her skills, please guide him/her through the short written portion at the bottom of the page. The student side will focus on a SCHOOL (academic) goal. Then comes time for parent homework! :) On the Parent Survey side, please rate your child on the 10 survey statements. Once you've completed the survey portion and identified what you think your child's strengths/weaknesses are, please collaborate with your child to set a goal for him/her at home. This should NOT be an academic goal of any kind. It can be a behavior, a chore, or anything else that doesn't have to do with school! You'll also need to discuss some intermediate goals/steps to helping your child reach his/her goal. Please return these surveys to school by Friday, January 15th!

Thank you for your cooperation and participation! I look forward to seeing some more student videos!

You can see some snippets from our goal setting lesson by visiting the following link: https://youtu.be/bDOqnCUwQd0