MindUp at Resica Elem ent ary School:

A Parent 's Guide - Unit 1: Lesson 1

What is MindUp? The MindUP curriculum contains 15 teacher-led lessons that focus on Social-Emotional Learning by linking brain science, positive psychology, and mindful awareness. MindUp is a research-based program , specifically developed for students in Pre-K - 8th grade, to help students learn strategies that will help them to focus their attention, improve self-regulation skills, build resilience to stress, and develop a positive mindset in both school and life.

Although MindUp was developed specifically for students, the strategies, skills, and time devoted to training one's brain to quiet down is equally beneficial to adults! Many schools that have implemented MindUp school-wide report that students and adults alike do a much better job at truly listening to one another, slowing down and taking more time become more intensional in their actions, rather than just simply "going through the motions" of everyday tasks.

We began implementing MindUp at Resica during the 2015-16 school year. The MindUp program is split into 4 units which are broken down into lessons. In addition to the lessons, the students and adults take a minimum of 3 brain breaks a day in order to refocus and calm their minds to prepare for navigating through daily stressors and to prepare their brains to learn.

Unit 1 is com pr ised of 3 lessons:

Lesson 1: How Our Brains Work

Lesson 2: Mindful Awareness

Lesson 3: Focused Awareness: The Core Practice

Unit 2 is com pr ised of 6 lessons:

Lesson 4: Mindful Listening

Lesson 5: Mindful Seeing

Lesson 6: Mindful Smelling

Lesson 7: Mindful Tasting

Lesson 8: Mindful Movement 1

Lesson 9: Mindful Movement 2

Unit 3 is com pr ised of 3 lessons:

Lesson 10: Perspective Talking

Lesson 11: Choosing Optimism

Lesson 12: Appreciating Happiness

Unit e 4 is com pr ised of 3 lessons:

Lesson 13: Expressing Gratitude

Lesson 14: Performing acts of Kindness

Unit 1 Whether you are a student in the classroom, a teacher, or a parent, understanding how behavior and the brain are linked is truly enlightening! When children can identify the parts of their brain that are being activated, it helps to take the mystery and frustration out of what they may be feeling. As adults, it not only helps us to better understand ourselves, but also enables us to more objectively view a child's behavior as we can now put it into a biological context. Understanding your child's developing brain can help to decrease parental frustration and actually increase the effectiveness of your response to your child's actions. Believe it or not, simply learning a few key facts about the developing brain can enable you to more effectively help your child to navigate the bumpy and often rough roads of childhood and become successful adults.

In the MindUp curriculum, the first thing the students learn about are the four main parts of the brain: the Amygdala, the Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC), the Hippocampus, and the Reticular Activating System (RAS). By teaching the students the names of these key areas and the job of each of these areas, the students are able to connect abstract feelings with concrete areas of the brain.

What exact ly is t he job of each of t hese four m ain par t s of t he brain?

To bet t er help your child underst and t he job of each par t , let 's m ake som e analogies!

Am ygdala: This is like the guard dog, fire alarm or offensive lineman! The amygdala is is the part of the brain that determines emotional responses by classifying stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, and movements) as either pleasurable or threatening. The amygdala does not make the actual distinction between a perceived threat and an actual danger. It can sometimes trigger a "false alarm" resulting in a potentially problematic behavior. This is why it is so important that we learn how to slow the mind down to give time for the action to be processed by the pre-frontal cortex. When the brain has time to think about a response, we are able to make a "conscious response" rather than a "reactive response". When we let our amygdala determine our responses, we often see the result being a "fight, flight, or freeze" response.

Pre-Front al Cor t ex (PFC): This is like the wise owl, teacher, or quarterback. This is the part of our brain that regulates our emotions and executive functions (the ability to self-regulate, utilize working memory, and demonstrate cognitive flexibility - allowing children to shift their thinking). When we are in a heightened state of emotion or stress, the PFC cannot effectively function and often results in allowing our amygdala to determine how we respond to a situation.

Hippocam pus: This is like a hippo, library, or offensive coach. The hippocampus is the area of the brain that not only assists with storage of long-term memories, but it is also responsible for the memory of location of objects and people. Without the Hippocampus we would not remember how to get home!

Ret icular Act ivat ing Syst em (RAS): The RAS is a piece of the brain that starts close to the top of the spinal column and extends upwards approximately 2 inches. The RAS is the approximate thickness of a pencil. With the exception of smell (which is wired to the brain's emotional center), all emotions are wired directly to this bundle of neurons. RAS is like a filter, as it is a gatekeeper for what information gets through to your brain. Although most information is filtered out through the RAS, things such as your name, danger to a loved one, etc. get past RAS as the brain considers this highly important.

MindUP? Fam ily Act ivit y Ideas: Ages 4-6: Conquer ing t he Am ygdala Hijack- Feeling Fact ory

Help young children identify what they are feeling and how to describe it. Very often, behavior difficulties (amygdala hijacks) are a result of a young child not having the words to describe what they are feeling and being overwhelmed.

- Practice by acting out faces and guessing each other?s feelings so that when the situation is charged with emotion, identifying feelings seems more familiar.

- Move beyond happy, sad and mad. Try frustrated, embarrassed, overwhelmed, jealous, cranky, silly, loving, excited, surprised, and joyful.

Ages 7-10: Conquer ing t he Am ygdala Hijack- Set t le Your Glit t er

- Take a small jar with a screw on lid and fill it almost to the top with water. Add 1 tablespoon of glitter glue. Add another tablespoon or two of fine glitter. Screw the lid on tight and shake!

- Talk with your child about how the jar is like your brain. Notice how hard it is to see clearly when the glitter is spinning. Compare it to when her amygdala is in charge and it?s hard to think clearly and make good decisions. When the glitter has settled, compare it to what it?s like when her amygdala is calm and she can access her pre-frontal cortex to make good decisions.

Ages 11-14: Conquer ing t he Am ygdala Hijack

- Have your teenager get familiar with the things they can do to counter the flood of emotion that is so common during this developmental period. Talk about it when he is feeling calm and centered in his pre-frontal cortex.

Some ideas that might surface, include:

- Exercise

- Journaling

- Being outside

- Spending time with certain friends or relatives . .

Hawn Foundation. (nd). Parent Workbook Activity 1: The MindUP? Brain. Retrieved from http://www.bchd.org/docs/ys/mindup/MindUP_parent_workbook-MindUP_Brain.pdf

Suggest ed Reading and Resources

Hawn Foundation. (nd). Parent Workbook Activity 1: The MindUP? Brain. Retrieved from http://www.bchd.org/docs/ys/mindup/MindUP_parent_workbook-MindUP_Brain.pdf

Parents Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

By: Carol S. Dweck Ph. D.

Ages 4-6 A Walk in the Rain with a Brain

By: Edward M. Hallowell, MD

Think, Think, Think

By: Pamela Nettleton and Becky Shipe

Ages 7-10 Your Fantastic Elastic Brain

By: JoAnn Deak, Ph.D

How Does Your Brain Work?

By: Don Curry

Ages 11-14 The Teen Brain: Who and What are You?

By: Dale Carlson