Classroom Practice

In this pioneering, practical book for parents, neuroscientist Daniel J. Siegel and parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson explain the new science of how a child's brain is wired and how it matures. Different parts of a child's brain develop at different speeds and understanding these differences can help you turn any outburst, argument, or fear into a chance to integrate your child's brain and raise calmer, happier children.

Featuring clear explanations, age-appropriate strategies and illustrations that will help you explain these concepts to your child, The Whole-Brain Child will help your children to lead balanced, meaningful, and connected lives using twelve key strategies, including:

Name It to Tame It: Corral raging right-brain behavior through left-brain storytelling, appealing to the left brain's affinity for words and reasoning to calm emotional storms and bodily tension.
Engage, Don't Enrage: Keep your child thinking and listening, instead of purely reacting.
Move It or Lose It: Use physical activities to shift your child's emotional state.
Let the Clouds of Emotion Roll By: Guide your children when they are stuck on a negative emotion, and help them understand that feelings come and go.
SIFT: Help children pay attention to the Sensations, Images, Feelings, and Thoughts within them so that they can make better decisions and be more flexible.
Connect Through Conflict: Use discord to encourage empathy and greater social success.

With accessible strategies grounded in trauma-informed education and positive psychology, this book equips teachers to support all students, particularly the most vulnerable.

Key Messages:

Trauma-informed, strengths-based classrooms are built upon three core aims: to support children to build their self-regulatory capacities, to build a sense of relatedness and belonging at school, and to integrate wellbeing principles that nurture growth and identify strengths.

This book also includes comprehensive case studies, learning points and opportunities for self-reflection, fully supporting teachers to implement these strategies within the classroom.

We really enjoy reading this book! Although it discusses behaviour, its main point aligns with Motional's philosophy - that the environment and relationships greatly affect the outcome. Moreover, it emphasises that it falls on the adults to make the necessary changes to facilitate this positive change.

Key messages:

• Be creative and be kind – ask yourself if punishment is really the best course of action.
• It’s all about the culture you create - your behaviour influences the students’ behaviour, so be polite, friendly and helpful and the students will follow.
• Consistency is key!
• Non-verbal behaviour cues are very important – exercise authoritative body language and be expressive with your face and eyes rather than with your mouth
• Greet students at the door and in the corridors where possible – friendliness goes a long way!
• Repetition is key!