COVID-19 TEACHING RESOURCES

COVID Teaching and Educator Brain and Body Wellness

Educator Brain & Body Wellness

Weekly videos for Teaching during COVID-19 and Educator brain and body wellness practices. RESOURCES>

Welcome Parents, Families and Educators

This series of resources will help you to understand the science beneath behaviors and emotions that are affected by adversities much like the pandemic we are all experiencing in this time!  Our brains have an ancient system, the brain-stem, that is a grand central station for all of the external and internal experiences we encounter! The brain stem doesn’t tell time and it reacts as if the body feels threatened or unsafe if an event feels unfamiliar! It immediately makes associations to past events or experiences that may be unconscious and then we find ourselves feeling, anxious, panicky, worried or shut down! These are normal responses and it is so healthy to be aware of them! If there is ongoing unpredictability, our stress response systems will change the regulation set points in lower brain regions!

What can we do?

  • Share your feelings!
  • Write them down! Take deep breaths with an extended exhale! 
  • Leave an open space for your children to just “be” with you to feel safe with you! Sometimes words are not necessary! Just taking three deep breaths and a short walk can help calm our nervous systems! You will find some resources that may feel helpful, and we call these practices, Focused Attention Practices! 
  • Connections and relationships are very important in this time, so reaching out through the air waves with a phone call, a face-time, a text, or spending some time with family creating a puzzle, coloring, cooking, reading a book together, or watching a movie… words do not have to be spoken when we are feeling rough! Just being with another, feels soothing at times!

PODCAST

Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning

with Andrea Samati

EPISODE #56 is with Lori Desautels on her NEW book About “Connections Over Compliance, Rewiring Our Perceptions of Discipline.” Stay tuned for this book coming January 2021. I’m so grateful to have educational neuroscience pioneer Lori Desautels back on as a returning guest to talk this new lens of discipline. 

You will learn:

✔︎ Why we must “look under the hood at our own brain state” when we are teaching or relating to others.

✔︎ How we can better understand a regulated vs dysregulated brain state.

✔︎ Why the key to the success of any educational experience is the capacity to ‘get to the cortex’ and what this means.

✔︎ What we can we do immediately to help families in these times of increased stress to bring in the idea that we can be fully regulated.

✔︎ Why an understanding of our brain is so important right now.

»WATCH INTERVIEW ON YOUTUBE 

»LISTEN ON ITUNES

with Kimberly Schonert-Reichl (mentioned in the video) 

ARTICLES

Our Brains in this Time!

Edutopia article about the uncertainty caused by COVID-19 and how to help our children during this time. 

»READ ARTICLE 

What to Say to Help Kids Feel Calm When the World Feels Fragile 

This is a wonderful article to share with families!

»READ ARTICLE

Building a Home for Challenging Times

An article about how a school learned to respond to trauma and how that can apply to our homes now.   

»READ ARTICLE

At-Home Amygdala Station

Below you will find some ideas and pictures of what an amygdala station can look like at home. 

Amygdala Station-Dim pleasant lights
Amygda Station- Small comfortable spaces can provide a sense of safety
Amygdala Station-Writing and Drawing tools
Sensations can help calm the nervous system

VIDEO SERIES

We invite you to listen to Dr. Lori Desautels, Ph.D., as she helps us define what is happening in our brain and develop strategies for self care during this difficult time.

Stress and Our Brains in this time of COVID - 19

Taking Care of Our Brains in This Time of COVID 19 For Parents Students and Educators

Discussion on the power of nonverbal communication in this time of heightened stress and a fun classroom or family activity that teaches us about how brain states through a scavenger hunt!!!

Focused Attention Practices prime the brain for learning while calming our nervous systems. These practices integrate intentional breathing with a longer exhale and can also include a taste, a sound, a visualization but always our breath! We begin with small amounts of time, as this can feel unfamiliar and unsafe to sit quietly and breathe. We always talk about how these practices affect our brains and bodies as we reflect afterwards! Enjoy, have fun and don't forget to take those long deep slow breaths!

Sensations and the Brain

Our Brain and Body Work Together!

Creating some closure in the midst of adversity

Week Seven of COVID -19/ Just Say it! Draw it! or Write it!

Week Who is Your Wise Self? ( Touch Points)

My Brain's Garden

EDUCATIONAL GRAPHICS

Teacher Survey for the beginning of the School year! 

Click here for full PDF 

Lori Desautels