“The children through enjoyment of their work, are concentrating and the quiet just happens. Through these lessons students become aware of how their brain processes stress and information around them More awareness is brought on by specific breathing exercises, journaling, and other short writing assignments to focus to the topic taught and talked about that day. When we’re calm and peaceful, the filter is wide open and information flows to the prefrontal cortex, where the brains so called executive functions take place.” (MindUP pg.9 ) The amygdala serves as an information filter regulated by our emotional state. “The brain’s response to stress is linked to the function of the amygdala, a small, almond- shaped clump of neurons deep in the center of our brain. In MindUP students are first taught about how the human brain works at a very simple level and how we react to stress. Through these lessons and through repetition, s/he works in a state of mindfulness or is meditative in their actions. The child is receiving joy from the learning, but is also developing a self-awareness in the actions of the work. The calm and focused child is actively engaged in their work and is joyous, repeating an activity numerous times. In the ideal environment, the student, as part of the calm and peacefulness, develops a focused attention. This brings the child’s attention to the movement and making them mindful of it and focusing them into the present moment. The child copies this exaggerated slowness and emphasis of each movement. The lessons given by the director/directress, in their slow and meticulous nature bring about an awareness of one’s body movements and bring attention to this for the child. In the Montessori Preschool environment mindfulness is a part of the teaching method, but not always called this or even recognized as such. The MindUp curriculum defines mindfulness as attention centered on conscious awareness of the present moment: by focusing our attention and controlling our breath, we can learn to reduce stress and optimize the learning capacity of our brains.(MindUP Curriculum pg.8) What is Mindfulness? The dictionary defines it as the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other training.
It is an exploration in learning about our self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. The MindUP program is a way to bring back more of this practice of deep focus. Even though we benefit greatly from the Montessori materials and lessons, the intense stage of absorption and the desire to repeat work that we see in Preschool changes in older Montessori age groupings. In the Upper Elementary classroom, we are exploring the MindUP curriculum.
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