Here’s a great lesson to teach your child about the words that they use. Remind them to THINK before they speak and teach them what this means using this acronym for the word THINK. Before you speak, THINK T– is it True? H– is it Helpful? I– is it Inspiring? N– is it Necessary? K– […]
Ratey points out that with the amount of information doubling every few years, it’s easy for anyone to suffer from information overload and get distracted. He says that our brain is designed to make sense of the surrounding environment as it existed 10,000 years ago. Since we live in an age of instant cyber solutions, our
Exercise Increases Attention Span Read More »
This past week I was reminded of the old saying, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” Fortunately, it wasn’t trying to shovel snow off my driveway in Michigan that brought this to mind. I was in Fort Worth, TX at a special meeting convened by Mayor Betsy Price. Her purpose was to invite several
Eating an Elephant Read More »
I would strongly recommend that you read Chapters 4 & 5 of Ratey’s book if you want documentation of how exercise reduces anxiety and depression. His conclusions include: 1. Psychotherapy and medication remain the two main treatments for anxiety and depression. 2. The chemicals activated in the brain when taking anti depressant medication are the
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Stress can interfere with learning, and sadly, there are many children who deal with stress on a daily basis. Experts say EXCERCISE will help reduce stress in a child. As a mentor, how can you include exercise in your hour? If you have access to the gym at your school spend a few minutes in
Since brain researchers like Ratey are often accused of looking at the physical aspects of our being at the expense of environmental conditioning, Ratey takes time this week to share research done in the 1960’s that resulted in the formation of head start to overcome environmental delays in children raised in poverty. Research has consistently
Nature vs. Nurture Read More »
If you have enjoyed playing the card game Go Fish, you will love playing GO APE! It’s basically played the same way as Go Fish, but instead of asking “Do you have a card?”, you ask for cards by mimicking the action that is on your card. For example, if the monkey’s hands are up
Help a child learn how to build words by playing WORD PIRATES together. It’s a fun game that is quick and simple to play! The best part…if you can build a word that has 4 letters or more you get to wear a pirate patch! That is pretty motivating when you are a young student!
A recent article in our local newspaper had this headline, “Strong body, strong mind. Kids who exercise do better in school.” That is the Ratey’s point this week as he says, “When we exercise, we’re also exercising the areas of the brain involved in the full suite of cognitive functions.” Ratey points out that our
Growing Brain Cells Read More »
Have you ever done a Google search on someone before meeting them? After hearing the words “In preparation for our meeting, I googled your name” from the head of a large school system, curiosity drove me immediately from the meeting to my computer. Here’s what I found: Drew Peirce the Special Effects genius. “Mastermind Drew Peirce and
“I googled your name.” Read More »
