Here at St. Ben’s we like talking about and teaching kids about self-regulation (aka- calming down). Self-regulation is a skill that all people eventually need to develop to calm the stress response and/or intense emotions of any kind. To support us in teaching the skills to kids, we utilize a program called MindUP. “MindUP is a comprehensive, classroom-tested, evidence-based curriculum framed around 15 easily implemented lessons that foster social and emotional awareness, enhance psychological well-being, and promote academic success” (2011, The Hawn Foundation, p. 6). The program is based on neuroscience, teachable and relevant for any age, and creates language the students can understand and practical strategies to address emotional escalation. This blog post will give an introduction to MindUP based on The Hawn Foundation’s program.
The start of the MindUP curriculum discusses three areas of the brain, namely the prefrontal cortex, the amygdala, and the hippocampus. They are all part of the limbic system which is responsible for emotions and motivations, including the stress response. The amygdala controls emotions and the stress response and is designated as the “guard dog” for our brain to sense danger and help us respond to the danger (2011, The Hawn Foundation, p. 27). The prefrontal cortex (or “wise owl”) is the thinking and reasoning part of our brain which can sometimes be hijacked by the amygdala or guard dog if there is real or perceived danger (2011, The Hawn Foundation, p. 35). This means we react without thinking about it unless we make a practiced habit of calming down or regulating, such as through controlled breathing (2011, The Hawn Foundation, p. 43) The practice ensures the habit is stored in our hippocampus [also known as our Happy Hippo] (2011, The Hawn Foundation, p. 27) where the practice can be accessed even when the amygdala or guard dog has taken control.
The next part of MindUP is dedicated towards teaching kids strategies to calm down by reviewing various strategies of controlled breathing. If you are interested in learning more about the strategies we teach to the students, please feel free to attend a MindUP and Conflict Resolution session that will be presented by St. Ben’s FSLW and Phys-Ed teacher on October 21, 2019 at 6:30PM. If you are unable to attend and would like more information, please feel free to contact the FSLW, Laurie Hamm: laurie.hamm@starcatholic.ab.ca
Thanks for reading,
Laurie Hamm
References:
The Hawn Foundation. 2011. The MindUP Curriculum: Grades Pre-K-2. New York, NY:
Scholastic.