Thank you to NEARI's Smoothies for the Brain author Penny Cuninggim for providing this article to share.Shannon Chabot, NEARI's coordinator and school consultant in the areas of sensory integration and reflex and motor development, hosts this blog and explains the importance of sensory development and learning. He built the list below that both provides teachers with some useful sensory tools and shares their impact on areas of learning readiness.Our nervous systems begin the process of … [Read more...]
Does the Seating Arrangement Matter
As I share new evidence-based tools for increasing calm, focus and achievement in school, I also look for any research on more traditional approaches. Recently, I focused on the traditional practice of sitting in rows. Here is what I turned up: "Seating Arrangements That Promote Positive Academic and Behavioral Outcomes: A Review of Empirical Research," by Rachel Wannarka & Kathy Ruhl. Support For Learning, 2008 "There is no single classroom seating arrangement that promotes positive … [Read more...]
When Children are Unable to Regulate their Behaviors and Emotions
During this winter season when I am confronted with an unhappy student who can't easily or is unwilling to follow directions, I find it helpful to pause and remember some important principles of behavior management. Here are some thoughts to remember when children are unable or unwilling to regulate their behaviors and emotions: You can't control another person's behavior, only your own response. No matter what it seems, students do not want to be in control of the … [Read more...]
The Boy Education Crisis
All educators can attest to the behavioral and learning challenges that many, many boys in their classrooms exhibit. These challenges are leading boys to fall behind educationally, and leading teachers to grapple with productive ways in which to bolster their self-confidence and allow them to focus in class.At INSPIRE 2014, Anthony Rao, Ph.D., a psychologist and noted author, led a session on “The Boy Education Crisis” that helped attendees understand how boys think, develop and learn. After … [Read more...]
Social and Emotional Development for Girls
Many teachers face their students every day knowing that some of the girls are struggling with feelings of self-doubt, self-consciousness and fear. Reaching out to those girls’ specific needs, while maintaining focus on whole classroom, can be complicated.At INSPIRE 2014, Rachel J. Kramer, Ph.D., a pediatric psychologist in Concord, Massachusetts, led a session on “Supporting Girls’ Social and Emotional Development in the Classroom” that helped attendees explore strategies for teaching girls … [Read more...]
School Practices that Downshift Students
A well-known term in the brain-based world is "downshifting." According to Renate and Geoffrey Caine who first coined the term, downshifting is "the psychophysiological response to threat, accompanied by a sense of helplessness or fatigue. The downshifted person experiences a sense of fear or anxiety, not the excitement of a challenge. Downshifting is accompanied by a feeling that you cannot access your own ability to deal with the situation. Downshifting can result from very drastic conditions … [Read more...]
Introducing Zentangles
The following article is contributed by Penny Cunninggim, co-founder of NEARI. Peggy will also be speaking at our INSPIRE 2014 conference.A teacher recently told me about this wonderful multipurpose activity for creating structured patterns that she used as part of student journaling: it is called zentangles. The website she found is: What Do We Do All Day. This activity blew me away. Thank you, Liz!I think this is the perfect, light, enjoyable, and easy yet creative technique to … [Read more...]
Mindfulness in the 4th Grade Classroom
Contributed by Kate Clark. Kate is an elementary school principal on the North Shore of Massachusetts, and has used mindfulness practice in a variety of classroom situations over the course of her 30-year career as an educator. Kate will be a speaker at INSPIRE 2014, and her session is titled Theory into Practice: Preventative Strategies for Students with Anxiety.Fifteen quiet minutes...time for our fourth grade students to breathe, to hold off on all thoughts of the future or the past. … [Read more...]
Flying Below the Teachers’ ADHD Radar Screen
The following blog post is contributed by Dr. Anthony Rao a nationally known expert in child psychology, and author of The Way of Boys. Dr. Rao will be a speaker at the INSPIRE 2014 Conference in October 2014.Getting noticed or standing out is usually a good thing, but not for American boys in school. Their diagnoses for ADHD continue to be too high. What drives this? In my practice, it seems to be coming from teachers. They don't realize it, but over the last few years they have been … [Read more...]
The Impact of Nutrition on Learning and Behavior: A No Brainer
This post focuses on the impact of good nutrition on behavior and learning. After spending only an hour researching the topic I found hundreds of studies and articles focused on the positive connections between well-fed students and their abilities to focus, self regulate and succeed in school. Given the volumes of evidence, it is astounding to me that most students are still given foods that are high in simple carbohydrates and filled with chemicals.Well, maybe not astounding. It makes sense. … [Read more...]
