This year we have been implementing the MindUp Curriculum across all of our classrooms. MindUp is an evidenced-based social emotional curriculum designed for students in PreKindergarten through Grade 8. Over the course of the 15 lessons, students study four components: learning about their brain, learning how to quiet their mind, being mindful of their senses, and learning about their place in the world.
Not surprisingly, children who are less stressed are happier. Happier children do better in school, can solve more complex problems, have more motivation and are more empathetic. Students learn how to regulate their physiology, notice various stimuli and choose their responses.
Throughout the day, students across the school take mindful moments and practice quieting their minds. Ask your child about the different parts of their brain and how they function. Ask him/her about strategies for calming our amygdala so we can access our pre-frontal cortex for making choices. (Even our three year olds have been using this vocabulary.)
For more information, be sure to check out Goldie Hawn’s book, 10 Mindful Minutes, Dr. Daniel Siegel’s The Whole-Brain Child. Both are available through the Lane Library or to borrow from Nancy.
Here is an article about research showing the connection between self-regulation and academic success.