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Growth Mindset Vs. Fixed mindset

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Growth Mindset Vs. Fixed Mindset A growth mindset is the belief that intelligence can be developed. Students with a growth mindset understand they can get smarter through hard work, the use of effective strategies, and help from others when needed. It is contrasted with a fixed mindset: the belief that intelligence is a fixed trait that is set in stone at birth. Why does it matter? Students’ beliefs about intelligence have important consequences for how they experience school and how they respond to setbacks and adversity. When students hold a fixed mindset, school can be a threatening place because they may be worried about proving their ability or avoiding “looking dumb.” This can lead students to avoid challenges and give up when they struggle. But when students hold a growth mindset, they may experience school as an exciting place to grow, embracing challenges as opportunities to develop mastery. We started off the lesson by reading: We discussed : Making
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Your brains reaction to big emotions

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This week we continued our work on "the brain" and how our brain reacts to big emotions. Being aware of what is happening in our brain when we feel different emotions, help us gain control of our reactions.  First we looked at a brain using the website:  3-D Brain website  Next we discussed what we know about the brain. This led us into the discussion about, what does the brain actually do? We watched:   Facts about the brain video  Next we discussed the 3 main parts of the brain that play apart in how our brain reacts to emotions.  Pre-frontal Cortex (PFC), Amygdala and our hippocampus.  This video  Flipping your lid video   helps explain this process.  Finally we looked at a replica of the brain that was made out of a gelatin. The kids were fascinated by this!  We ended the lesson by constructing "Brain caps"! All students enjoyed wearing them around school.  Thanks, THE HUB 
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Mindfulness Senses

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Mindfulness is being aware of our thoughts, feelings, body sensation and surrounding environment. Have you ever started eating your snack and suddenly notice that you ate the whole thing already? Or sat down for a lesson about your favourite topic and you suddenly realize the lesson was over and all you remember thinking about was what you did last weekend? Our lives are often go… go…go… all the time not leaving much time for us to enjoy the little things in life or to really focus on a certain task. Using the idea of  “mindfulness” or being “mindful” helps us be present and to focus on what we are currently doing. This week we continued building on the ideas of mindfulness and how it can help us be present and in the "green zone" to help us learn at our best! During our lesson we discussed the idea of mindfulness and how it can help us successfully use our senses to focus and discover new things as well as to really enjoy the moment! We practiced mindfu
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My Social Filter

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My Social Filter  Each class had the opportunity to learn about their "Social Filter and how it works".  We started off the lesson looking at the different types of filters and the purpose of a filter. We then looked a 3-D brain to start our exploration of the brain and how our emotions affect our brains.  We discovered that the Prefrontal Cortex is where our social filter is located.  Next we read the book "I can't believe you said that!  By Julia Cook. Summary of the book:  RJ says what he thinks… no matter how it sounds or makes others feel. His mouth is getting him into a lot of trouble. RJ doesn't realize his words sometimes hurts others. He thinks he's just offering feedback. It's time RJ starts using his social filter when he speaks. With help from his parents, he learns he doesn't have to verbalize every thought that pops into his head.                                                                                  
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Social and Emotional common language

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A goal this school year is to build a common social/emotional language that all students, teachers and parents can utilize to communicate their needs and wants to have a successful day. Common Language: Zones of Regulation: Helps us identify how we/others are feeling. Mindfulness:  Paying close attention to what's happening in the moment (being present)!  Mindfulness breathing: Breathing techniques what help be present in the moment and to be calm.  Self-regulation: Controlling ones behaviour, emotions and thoughts to help us stay calm and learn. Self-regulation tools: things we use to help us regulate (ex. rocking chairs, fidgets, wobble chairs, taking a walk, eating etc. ) Regulated: When a person feels calm (in the green zone, ready to learn). Dysregulated: when a person is not calm, may feel angry or upset about something. Triggers:  Things that make cause us to become upset, not calm anymore (dysregulated). Expected behaviour: Things we do and say t
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Mindfulness

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Mind full or Mindful? Mindful is simple..... an  effective and enjoyable way of taking some time out from the normal, but sometimes demanding, life we tend to live these days.   Mindfulness is taking notice of how your body feels and what you see, smell and taste.  Maybe you even feel emotions in your body, perhaps through a tightness somewhere, or a good sensation. Mindfulness is also noticing what your mind is doing.  When you notice what is happening around you, you focus more deeply, and that attention to your own senses will help you improve in many aspects of your life.  Improved focus can help you achieve at higher levels in sports, school or music.  It will help you score higher on tests, too.  We always do better when we’re able to pay attention to what we’re doing, right? When you notice what is happening around you, it can help you to calm down when you’re sad, angry or frustrated.  Mindfulness helps you deal with tough emotions, and mindfulness can make yo
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My rollercoaster of emotions!

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 Everyone experiences different emotions throughout a day. This week we talked about the importance of being aware of our emotions and gaining control of them so we can learn and live a healthy life! Classes reviewed "The Zones of Regulation" by discussing what emotions we feel in each zone. We  used the following videos to help us identify the emotion(s) the character was feeling and what zone(s) they were in. Crabby Girl: Red zone  My Valentine: Blue zone/yellow zone  Elf: Dancing on the table Yellow zone  We also discussed how our emotions can affect others around us in a positive and negative way (good thoughts about us or uncomfortable thoughts about us).  ex. If I am in the red zone and I start screaming and yelling at a friend, others might start to get a negative feeling or uncomfortable thoughts about me.  After reviewing important social/emotional terms ( Zones of Regulation, self-regulation, self-regulation tools, emotions, expect
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