MindUp!

One thing I know for sure: if children feel calm and safe, they will learn more and retain it longer.

I heard about the MindUp program a few years ago when the Vancouver School Board began offering training for teachers.  MindUp comes from the Hahn Foundation, whose founder, Goldie, wanted to find a a way to help children gain "the skills they need to live smarter, healthier, and happier lives."  She worked with smart, Canadian researchers and educators to prepare a program for kindergarten to grade eight.  A few of my friends from Valleycliffe went to be trained and I was most envious. Finally, last July, I got into a training session and came away with a new appreciation for how we can help even the squirreliest of kids calm their minds and prepare to engage.

MindUp is a research-based series of 15 lessons that teach students about their brain and how it works.  They learn that the prefrontal cortex is like a wise leader, that the hippocampus is the keeper of memories, and that the amygdala is the brain's security guard.  When a person is stressed or fearful, the amygdala is alerted (fight,  flight, or freeze).  It blocks higher level thinking and good decision-making.
Students learn that they can calm the amygdala with measured breathing and focused awareness.

In MindUp the students learn about their senses.  They become better at filtering-out sensory information that is distracting and takes away from attention to learning.  We know that professional athletes, musicians, artists and other "focused" people have trained their minds in this way, in order to succeed in their professions.

Optimism and altruism are the topics of the final six lessons in MindUp.  The happy brain is a brain that  is primed for learning.  Research has shown that "the dopamine pleasure surge is highest when students are fully engaged with their learning ...with an overall sense of well-being." 

I've been teaching MindUp in two classes for the past month or so.  The other day, a kindergarten student told me about something responsible he had done, cleaning up a mess that was not his.  I said, "Thank you so much!  That was very thoughtful."  He ran away but five seconds later he was back.  He said, "My prefrontal cortex told me to do it!'  That's great, I thought.  My work is done!