Mind UP. - ppt download

What is Mind Up? Researched based activities and learning to improve our mental health and well being
Researched based activities and learning to improve our mental health and well being.
Felt that children are exposed to lots of stresses – some that we are not even aware of. Such as impact of seeing an accident, parents arguing, not understanding inequality, not being able to control emptions, early attachment issues. Start with the children but eventually impact all members of the team. Getting Focussed. Sharpening your senses. Its all about Attitude. Taking Action Mindfully. Brain function and core practice. Mindfulness. Perspective, Optimism and appreciation. Expressing gratitude, acts of kindness and Mindful action.
Close your eyes or look down at your palms…to be respectful of others in the room. Take calm, slow breaths. Gently breathe in and out. Keep your shoulders relaxed. When you hear the chime, listen to the sound as long as you can (hit chime – wait until you cannot hear the chime) Bring your attention to your breath (pause for 10 seconds) If your mind wanders, that’s ok, just try to bring your focus back to your breath (pause for 10 seconds) Feel your tummy rising and falling (pause for 10 seconds) Feel the air coming into your body and going out again (pause for 10 seconds) When you hear the chime again, listen as long as you can. When you can’t hear the sound any longer, slowly, gently open your eyes and look to the front of the room (hit chime)
Pre-Frontal Cortex. Wise Owl. Amygdala. Guard Dog. Hippocampus. Hippo. It is at the front of our brain and it helps us to think and make good choices. This protects you when you are afraid or nervous or in danger, it only lets in the happy feelings. We have two of them behind our ears. They store our learning and send to pre frontal cortex. They store our memories and send them to the Amygdala.
Glitter Bottle Sometimes our ‘Guard Dog’ starts barking……..this is when we can use our glitter bottle.
Mindful tasting - appreciate the food we eat. Mindful listening – hearing others. Mindful seeing – seeing joy in the little things. Mindful smelling – sharpens our memory. Mindful movement – our body and brain are partners.

The Mind Up Curriculum was made for students with social emotional learning needs. It is a great way to teach students about the brain, calming