THE MINDFUL CLASSROOM
MINDFULNESS, THE BRAIN & THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
|
Mindfulness gives children knowledge about three important players in their brains, the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Mindfulness teaches children skills they will have for life to quieten the amygdala stress and reaction responses and to engage the executive and memory functions of the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. We teach children to build their 'Mindfulness Muscles' with frequent short Mindfulness practices. Each practice re-sets the nervous system - from modern life's habitual sympathetic stress-arousal state - to parasympathetic relax-and-chill state. This gives over-taxed young nervous system a pleasant break. 'Building the Mindfulness Muscle' is our way of describing the positive neuroplastic changes in the brain that occur over time, with repetitions of mindfulness. During the "Mindfulness for Primary School Classroom Teachers" training day, you will learn to use three animals - we use puppets, but soft toys can substitute - to teach children about three key players in their brain, and how Mindfulness makes their brains their best friend! CHILDREN LOVE LEARNING ABOUT THEIR BRAINS
|