I remember Goldie Hawn from the 70′s as the ditzy blonde comedian who made us laugh. I recently saw her on TV talking about The Hawn Foundation and how it’s promoting a program in the schools called “MindUP“.  In my opinion, MindUP is a solid answer to many of our students’ problems. Watch this video to better understand the positive changes that can be taught to children.

In  Goldie Hawn’s book, 10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Children–and Ourselves–the Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happy Lives there are many creative ideas you can use with your children to begin teaching them awareness. I liked this idea from her book:

“Whenever you pass by someone on the street or in another car, play a game with your children that starts with, “I wonder what that person is feeling?” Be as creative and inventive as you like. Does the person look happy or sad? Is the person frowning or smiling? Label those emotions: anger, joy, sadness . . . Talk about how we can tell what someone’s feeling just by looking at them. Explain that sensing what someone else is feeling is empathy. Encourage your kids to share their feelings, too.”

I would love to hear your comments.

I recently found the most amazing book Mapping the World by Heart by David J. Smith, that teaches students (5th grade through college) how to learn the names and locations of 190 countries in the world. And if that isn’t enough, the student is able to draw and label all the countries including rivers, mountains and major cities, starting from a blank sheet of paper!

“How is this possible?” you ask. Well, the brain remembers information, not in words, but in pictures. By drawing the shape of Africa and remembering where some of the major rivers run; students are able to begin drawing the borders of the countries and using mnemonics they remember the country’s name.

“Why is that important?” you say. Understanding the world, the countries and the people, make our children globally minded.  We need to begin thinking of our world as a village. There may be a variety of people, religions and economic differences but we are all human with the same needs and desires for our life.

“The brain remembers information, not in words, but in pictures.”

Begin with the U.S., learning to draw the outline, adding the Mississippi River and mountain ranges. Add the state boundaries and capitals. Using Memorize States & Capitals makes the process easier. But don’t stop there. Move on to the other countries in North America, Central America and South America. Hmmm…maybe I need to think of some mnemonics for remembering these countries. (This is how the seed of an idea is planted in the brain!)

I love the idea of learning and remembering with pictures. Students who draw their own maps remember 100 times better than those who only read about the location. Try it. What a great family project to do together.

Have you ever had someone ask you the name of a movie you recently viewed, and suddenly a thought passes through your head, “Oh no, I don’t think I remember!” And of course you can’t remember it!  Negative thoughts or remarks are memory killers. It’s like we suddenly tell our brain, “Don’t  recall the information.” The same thing happens with children when you use phrases like; “Why can’t you remember?” or “How could you have forgotten that already?”  They begin to believe there is something wrong with their brain and memory.

Try using the positive approach. If your child is learning to read and for the umpteenth time doesn’t remember one of the words, relax and say, “Take your time.  You have a great memory and it will come to you,” or any type of positive reassuring. Also remember that children learn differently. Suggest breaking the word up into phonetic syllables. Use colored markers and write each syllable in a different color. This works well for memorizing spelling words too. Draw pictures or make associations with other things to strengthen memorization. Audio learners benefit from hearing the word spoken, emphasizing each syllable.

The process of remembering anything, is simple.  Let’s say you want to remember a person’s name. The key is focus. Listen to the name. If it’s unusual, ask how it’s spelled.  Make a funny association with the name and the person. Whenever I meet someone new, I repeat their name and look for something in their appearance to make an association.  Recently I met a person named “Lorraine”. I broke her name into 2 parts, low and rain and visualized a very low hanging cloud over her head, with rain falling all over her face. Since I’m a visual learner, it worked for me.

Sum it up -
1. Positive statements about your memory or your child’s.
2. Use a memory key based on the person’s learning style.
3. Believe you will remember. Teach your child to believe in their amazing memory abilities!