Getting ready to learn
Everyone can agree that learning is impossible without FOCUS and CONCENTRATION.
So, why doesn’t anyone teach us HOW to get our brains to do these things?
Children (and adults) who struggle with learning will often be:
Daydreaming.
Confused because they are overloaded by too many thoughts.
Unbalanced, clumsy and lose coordination.
Fidgety.
Feeling dizzy or experience stressful emotions (flight, fight or freeze symptoms.)
This is what happens when we are distracted or stressed which will make it difficult to learn and retain information.
We can easily teach children TOOLS to help them to be in control of their concentration and focus and as a result they will be READY TO LEARN.
Breathing
Breathing is the first of the two main tools in the ‘GETTING READY TO LEARN’ toolbox.
When we feel stressed, we take shallow, short and quick breaths through our mouths. This type of breathing sends more oxygen out to our arms and legs to prepare us to run fast or react quickly to danger.
BUT breathing this way means our brains are getting less of what they need to work properly and makes it difficult to think clearly.
The tool we must teach children is ‘BALANCED BREATHING’ through the nose. There is a lot of research that tells us why nose breathing helps brains to function better but for now here is a simple technique to get your child going.
Square Breathing
Use the shape of a square to guide your child to complete one full breath. Trace the shapes with your finger as you breathe.
How to:
Trace one side of a square and count, 1, 2, 3, 4,
Pause
On the exhale trace the other side of the square, exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4
Pause
Repeat on for the next half of the square.
Trace the square 3 times using this technique
Grounding
The second tool in the box that children must learn to master is GROUNDING.
Put simply, grounding is the sense that you are IN your body fully and feeling STRONG and CENTRED.
As children develop naturally, they learn how to control their bounciness and become more in control of their bodies being calm. Some do this more easily than others but children need to understand how to use this tool when it comes to learning.
The simple formula for good learning is:
GROUNDED BODIES + ALERT MINDS = the ability to FOCUS and CONCENTRATE
There are many ways to practise grounding but with children, I like to use the following exercise.
Follow these steps after 3 rounds of balanced breathing. Continue to use the breathing all the way through.
How to:
Stand up tall like a tree.
Check how stable you feel.
Bring your attention to the soles of your feet. Imagine you have tree roots growing out of your feet and into the ground.
Breathe in for a count of 4. Imagine the air is coming from the roots and all the way up into your chest.
Relax into your feet and breathe out for a count of 4. Imagine the air is slowly being released all the way through your body, out of the soles of your feet and into the ground.
Do 4-5 rounds of this or until you feel grounded and in your body.
What next?
If you would like to book your child on one of my programmes, please contact me for further information.
“Before I started working with Zoe from My Amazing Mind, I was feeling frustrated with the school system and teaching methods. My son wasn't able to follow what was happening in lessons, or put any of his ideas onto paper.
Since then my son has really progressed with his learning, he is able to use breathing techniques when he finds himself becoming stressed or anxious in class. His concentration has also really improved.“
Parent of Zack, aged 7