You know I’m a
sucker for anything about the brain.
If the word “brain” is in the title of a book or magazine article, I’m
all over it. Why? The brain is where learning takes
place. The more we know about the
brain, the more effective we can be as educators. (I’m smiling because the more I read about the brain the
more I realize a lot of this is common sense.) However, brain research validates best practices that good
teachers have always employed.
So, this week
when I was working out I noticed the latest READER’S DIGEST on the shelf. Ah! Another article about the brain – “Build a Better
Brain.” You might want to read it
yourself, but I’ll give you a synopsis just in case.
The
Importance of Short Term Memory
Initial research
seems to indicate that memory training can actually boost IQ. Eric Kandel of Columbia University
shared, “If you really work on memory by, for instance, memorizing poetry…” I shouldn’t take this out of context,
but it makes sense that finger plays, songs, chants, and nursery rhymes are the
essence of this in pre-K and kindergarten.
Pay
Attention, Get Smart
Attention is
another brain element that you can train.
Hocus, pocus, everybody focus!
Aerobic
Exercise
Exercise for the
body and exercise for the brain.
You learn on your feet, not on your seat. Do I sound like a broken record?
Naps
Now we’re
getting down to the point of this blog.
I called it napper snappers because many of you have administrators who
have banned rest time. Researchers
have found “that a midday nap may not merely restore brain power but also raise
it.” Children need a quiet time
every day. You don’t have to put
out cots or mats, but 10-15 minutes with the lights off and peaceful music
would be like a breath of fresh air for those little brains that are working so
hard.
Downtime
Let the brain
idle because brain rest supports creativity.
A Second
Language
“The workout the
prefrontal cortex gets in bilingualism carries over to other functions…” That is really good news for children
who have different languages in their home and school!
I’ll skip the
“Caffeine” and “Foods and Spices” because that doesn’t really relate to the
classroom.
Six Ways to
Get Smarter Instantly
- Take Tae Kwon Do or dance. (Love to dance even though I’m not
good at it.)
- Download the TED App (Technology, Entertainment, Design
– I have no idea about this, but I plan to check it out.)
- Build a memory palace. (Technique for remembering.)
- Write by hand. (Swiping across the screen will never replace picking up a pencil.)
- Delay gratification. (More about this when I focus on the executive function in November.)
- Write reviews online. (How this relates to the brain I have no idea???)
If I’ve sparked
some interest, check out the October issue of READER’S DIGEST and learn more.