I'll be posting my thoughts on the book "Calm, Alert, and Learning" by Stuart Shanker.
My school is currently focused on self-regulation and at first I was resistant. Is this a new fad? Can this actually be helpful? Or am I just about to be bogged down in a bunch of new ideas that I just can't cram in my brain. So, at the last pro d day I ran across this book and decided to give it a whirl.
So far I can fully relate to it. Talking about the states of the mind and how our SNS and PNS systems of the nervous system help to get us geared up and geared back down in times of stress. And how these two systems can also get out of control. Boy do I know that well!
I'm now aware of the difference between a hypo vs. hyper child. One being almost sleepy and switched off, the other being way to switched on. The goal of self-regulation in learning is to teach these two types of children how to recognize their states and either gear up or down into a calm and relaxed state of being. But as an adult who doesn't reside in the calm and relaxed zone, I'm going to be looking to help myself in this too!
And wouldn't you know it, the first scenario talks about the visual of your room. From this blog you will know that I have changed my room completely. I have no paper up on the walls, I went with a bare look. I have a set of black risers and a set of yellow. I also have wood coloured tables. The bright spot in my room are the two carpets, both burgundy and silver. So the question is....do kids get overstimulated in my room? I'm hoping not..but I do have many kids who are in the hyper state quite frequently. They move around the room like bees. They are the ones I ask to sit down while I'm talking or stop tapping the pencil.
I look forward to finding new effective ways of helping my kids regulate themselves, and a long the way I hope I also find a calm place!
My school is currently focused on self-regulation and at first I was resistant. Is this a new fad? Can this actually be helpful? Or am I just about to be bogged down in a bunch of new ideas that I just can't cram in my brain. So, at the last pro d day I ran across this book and decided to give it a whirl.
So far I can fully relate to it. Talking about the states of the mind and how our SNS and PNS systems of the nervous system help to get us geared up and geared back down in times of stress. And how these two systems can also get out of control. Boy do I know that well!
I'm now aware of the difference between a hypo vs. hyper child. One being almost sleepy and switched off, the other being way to switched on. The goal of self-regulation in learning is to teach these two types of children how to recognize their states and either gear up or down into a calm and relaxed state of being. But as an adult who doesn't reside in the calm and relaxed zone, I'm going to be looking to help myself in this too!
And wouldn't you know it, the first scenario talks about the visual of your room. From this blog you will know that I have changed my room completely. I have no paper up on the walls, I went with a bare look. I have a set of black risers and a set of yellow. I also have wood coloured tables. The bright spot in my room are the two carpets, both burgundy and silver. So the question is....do kids get overstimulated in my room? I'm hoping not..but I do have many kids who are in the hyper state quite frequently. They move around the room like bees. They are the ones I ask to sit down while I'm talking or stop tapping the pencil.
I look forward to finding new effective ways of helping my kids regulate themselves, and a long the way I hope I also find a calm place!
