Academics and More Brain breaks make a big difference RIVERDALE GRADE SCHOOL – Have you ever wondered what is happening in your child’s brain when, for example, they have a temper tantrum or get stuck on a negative emotion? Well, they do, too. That’s why our young students are exploring their brains and learning to build more adaptive ways of handling big emotions.
How my brain works Our 2nd graders just wrapped up their study of the human brain. "We sang, we researched, we made a model of the brain using clay," say job-share teachers Michelle Sager and Alison Barron. "We shared stories from our hippocampus, and heard from brain experts in the real world. All this work laid the foundation for students to understand what is happening in our bodies when we have an emotional response." Their studies prompted one student to tell her mom she could no longer have a nightlight in her room because it would diminish
exercises that get the left side of the brain talking to the right side of the body and vice versa. In 2nd grade classrooms, students falling out of the green zone can ask to spend The Zones of Regulation three minutes at a brain Teachers are also break table where they introducing the Zones of choose a strategy — clay, Regulation to help children stretches, breathing and get in touch with their more — to help them regain emotions and use selftheir focus and return to control. It’s often hard for classwork. Mrs. Sager says students to verbalize big that all students use the table feelings but they can use the and there is no judgment. colors to identify which of the In fact, she says the practice four zones they are in: green boosts self-awareness and – happy and calm; blue – sad; empathy, as students are yellow – excited, nervous recognizing when to give or frustrated; red – angry or friends space and when to “flipping your lid.” check on them. From kindergarten through 4th grade, students What a difference have been given a toolbox Thanks to these efforts, of strategies to bring their teachers, students and bodies into the green zone parents are noticing a big — the optimal zone for difference — from better learning. These include brain coping skills to a different break practices for using tone at the dinner table. their prefrontal cortex to "Even my mom saw a calm down their amygdala difference. She said the first — such as yoga, meditation, day I started meditation that square breathing and mindful I did not talk about the bad coloring. Me Moves are stuff in my day, only the good her brain’s production of melatonin, and led another student to say, "What you just said made me pull a file from my hippocampus, the place where I remember things."
Classroom meditation time helps students remain calm and focused.
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stuff in my day. It taught me to stay calm and be in the present," says 4th grader Cea B., who even started to meditate at home with her sister. Students are guided through child-friendly meditations using the Calm app, made free for teachers to use in class. Many grades make time for this practice after lunch, and teachers have been amazed at how tranquil and focused students are for the rest of the afternoon. "Mrs. Hutchinson introduced me into the wonderful world of meditation," says 4th grader Harry S. "My experience with meditation started out rough but one day it just clicked. Now meditation awakens my soul. It’s super cool. When I am done with meditation it feels like a whole other day. The past is the past and there is nothing I can do about that. And the future is the future and there is nothing I can do about that. It has been a great helpful skill to have up my sleeve."
Clay brains help 2nd graders understand their emotional responses. Riverdale Review
