It’s hard to know how much schoolwork we should be pushing our kids to complete right now. If you are like me, you are probably wondering what school activities should be prioritised. Whether the quantity of activities completed is important or which activities will support them to academic success in the long run.
And, the biggest question,
“”Will they fall behind if I miss activities? Or even take a day off? “
As I look through the work set for the week it does make me think back on what I know about the brain.
While we often think of the brain as one organ it was described by Paul Maclean, in the 1960’s as having three evolutionary layers. It is useful to be aware of these layers as it can shed light on how and why we do the things we do. More importantly, it also helps us see what we can do to get the most out of our brains.
The Three Evolutionary Layers of the Brain
1. The bottom brain -The reptile brain
Sometimes also called the ancient brain, the reptile brain is responsible for functions such as heart rate and body temperature. It drives us to complete actions such as drink, eat and sleep. It is the part of our brain that often acts automatically and without having to think. It is often rigid and impulsive. This part of our brain does everything it thinks we need to survive.
2. The Limbic Brain
Also sometimes called our mammal brain, the limbic brain is seen as being responsible for emotions in humans and our social need for connection. This part of our brain wants to be with others.
3. The neocortex
The Neocortex, sometimes referred to as the human brain, is the layer responsible for activities like problem solving, planning and reasoning. This is the brain that learns new information and works out what to do with it. The neocortex of our brain is happy doing school work and learning new things.
Each part of the brain works together, however, it can sometimes be seen as a hierarchy where one level of the brain leads to opening (or closing) the door to the abilities of the next.
Schools are wanting children to be using their human brain, the last part of the brain to develop. There is one problem with this right now, in the middle of events that are causing the brain stress that top level is much harder to use. Access to this level of the brain requires a person to feel a sense of safety and security in the lower levels of the brain.
To help children keep their thinking brains turned on we first need to focus on the needs of the lower levels of the brain. Psychiatrist Dr Bruce Perry talks about the needs of the evolutionary levels of the brain in terms of the three R’s.
What Each Layer of the Brain Needs- the 3R's
- Regulate
The reptile brain needs to feel regulated and in control. A regulated state is achieved when your child is physically and emotionally settled.
Approaches for working on regulation include: Belly breathing, moving our bodies – dance, walks, runs- anyway they feel like moving, sipping cold water, laughing, taking a break or applying deep pressure to parts of our bodies.
For more information on regulation keep an eye on the blog and the resources section of our website.
- Relate
Our brains want to Relate to others. For our brain to be working at it’s best it needs to feel connected.
Approaches for working on connection include: Letting kids know you understand what they are feeling by making statements like the work feels really hard right now, you don’t think you can do it, you don’t want to do it, it doesn’t seem important to you. Sit with them, give hugs and high fives, checking-in regularly on what they are doing, playing games, singing, making something together and finding ways for them to connect with friends, teachers and anyone else important in their lives.
- Reason
When the brain feels safe, regulated and connected it is ready to apply itself and reason. When the lower levels of the brain are content and comfortable the learning brain really switches on!
Doing the most learning activities is not the answer to getting kids to learn more right now. At least it should not be the first priority on the precious amount of time people have. The first priority is to make sure children’s brains feel safe, regulated and connected. This is the key to ensuring that when your child does complete work their learning brain will thrive!
