Feet in the Dirt

 

Part 2:  Celebrating our Place with Feet in the Dirt 

This BLOG Post is a follow on from last week's blog post that was inspired

by our workshop with Kathryn Berkett. The great outdoors and the role this plays

in helping develop young brains also featured in the key messaging.  We were able to

make links to our Pos Ed workshops in Term 1 where John and Rose shared

the importance of getting out and about and the effect that nature can have

on our wellbeing. 

As I listened,  Kathryn posed some pretty simple questions to us:   

• How often do you see a child playing roly poly down the grassy hills or sand dunes ?  

• How often do you see a young person on a device, gaming, engaging

• with social media, and watching tiktoks?  

• Which one are you more likely to see these days ? 

Many of these simple physical games and skills help developing brains learn more

about their body through movement.  This aspect is definitely something we will be

exploring more of as a staff ! 

As Kathryn described her childhood and growing up we were able to make those

generational links (well some of us of a similar age and stage) to the fun we had,

where time was no barrier, weather meant fun in the mud and puddles and times

where you may have been raised by ‘the village’ rather than 1 parent or 2.  

I was very aware that times have changed in a number of ways.  Expectations and

safety being 2 reasons. The most alarming change over time has been around

access to devices and screen time for our kids and the massive impact it is having on

developing brains.  

There are many pros and cons for screens but in reality screens rob our young

developing brains of opportunities to experience faces, people and their world. 

They miss life happening, they miss playing and taking turns, they miss faces and

they miss opportunities to develop their knowledge of social cues and their sense of

safe and unsafe etc.  Screens mean less fun times out and about. Our kids shared

some things they love to do when out and about.

We are fortunate to be surrounded by like minds at WBS that value the importance

of being barefoot in the mud, sand or grass and the grounding effect that this has on

our bodies and minds.  Kathryn Berkett spoke about how screens have become an

easier way to manage behaviour, fill in time or entertain kids in a busy ever changing

world and the kids are only getting younger. 

Learning in nature and ‘Tolerable Stress’ went hand in hand in lots of ways.  The

importance of letting children explore independently, walking to school, playing

unsupervised, or visiting parks and outdoor spaces to promote resilience was a key message.  

All these nature-based experiences offer challenges that count as tolerable stress,

helping children learn coping skills in safe, supported ways - teaching them about their

bodies and what they can do.  

Modelling coping skills, maintaining secure relationships and having solid relational

trust is our role as adults in helping children build resilience.  We need to be allowing

safe challenges and having the expectation that kids can do a lot for themselves

including in play and outdoors.  A simple analogy came to mind.  Think of a  ‘lawn mower’

that is clearing the way so that there are no obstacles or prickles stood on in the grass. 

Once you have experienced prickles you are not going to walk in that same spot or go

without shoes next time, right ?   

This really was a workshop that got me pondering long into the night about what

safe risks  our kids are taking and where and how we can support them to push

and go a little further.  What challenges them and helps them learn in other environments. 

Do safe risks look the same at school and at home and if so, why ? if not, why not ? Fascinating.  I wondered how we can work together,  sharing more between home and school ? 

We would love to know how your children are risk takers, question askers and inquirers at home ?

Are we doing too much ?  What are they curious about ? What does play look like ?

What interests and passions do they pursue ?  What does tolerable stress look like at

home ? maybe its taking turns or sharing with younger siblings ?  is it achieving mastery on the trampoline ? 

How are we making the best use of our outdoor classroom - the beach, the bush,

the community, the parks and reserves.  How are kids challenged outside ?  With the

many demands of the curriculum we need to ensure that this is seen as valuable and

part of our philosophy.   This key messaging also sits very much front and centre within our Whetukairangi document.  

I felt very fortunate to be part of a school that has a philosophy based on the science

of Wellbeing and a solid Positive Education foundation.  I am certainly inspired to keep

learning. 

Kathryn Berkett has many webinars and podcasts and she speaks with some important

messages for our adolescents too.  If you get a chance or are just as inspired as us, check out: 

https://www.engagetraining.co.nz/

Part 1 of 2 - Helping Us Understand Children’s Developing Brains with Kathryn Berkett

 

Some of our teachers were lucky enough to go to some professional learning on Thursday night with Kathryn Berkett and we came away with so many gems worth sharing.  

We made plenty of links to our Positive Education Programme and Kathryn’s work around the developing brain.  We took away key messages around supporting our students with big emotions, building tools for resilience and responding to different types of stress.

Kathryn Berkett is a Wellington-based expert in neuroscience and child development.  She shared her insights with our NZEI and ECE, Primary sector colleagues. With over 20 years of experience and a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology, she specialises in helping educators and parents understand how young children’s brains develop.  In particular how they manage emotions, respond to stress, and build resilience. Her work is grounded in science and delivered in a way that’s relatable, practical, and easy to apply at school and home. 

It's always the way when you go to these learning opportunities - your mind races with all the things you can do better, to be better for all students and whānau. The sudden realisation that the more you know the more you don’t know also occurred more than once. Some concepts were new and some of the learning gave us confidence that we are on the right track, already implementing what we know as best practice for these young brains we are helping to develop.  

We all know how important the early years are. Kathryn’s presentation offered a real-world view with strategies to support emotional regulation and positive behaviour, while helping us better understand what’s going on beneath the surface. This was also something we talked about as a Tautoru Team at our POS Ed Workshop in Term 1 so super relevant and worthwhile to add to our Positive Education Kete and far to good not to share.   

Regulation and Emotional Development: Children learn to manage big emotions with adult support. Kathryn talked about what we can do to support this process. She emphasised the importance of co-regulation, where calm, connected adults help children develop their own ability to stay calm and focused.

The Impact of Stress and Trauma looks different for individuals based on a variety of factors.  Adverse experiences (even everyday stress) affect brain development and behaviour. She talked about how to identify signs of dysregulation and how to respond with empathy and consistency.

Experiences and connections help our children develop into healthy aware adolescents and adults who can regulate themselves in a range of ways and who can understand their bodies and what they need.  This all happens by the simple things in life that are unfortunately becoming less and less frequent as times change and life becomes busier.  

The concept of tolerable stress comes from the field of developmental neuroscience, introduced by researchers at Harvard University.  Tolerable Stress is so important and not something to be avoided. 

Tolerable Stress was developed as part of the three levels of stress response model:

1. Positive stress

2. Tolerable stress

3. Toxic stress

This got us thinking about all the things we do as teachers and parents that have our children’s best interests at heart.  We focused on stress that is most relevant from a teaching perspective. 

The concept of Tolerable stress helps clarify that not all stress is harmful—in fact, with strong adult support, challenging experiences can help build resilience, not damage it.  We spend a lot of time creating ‘safe spaces’, spaces free of perceived triggers that elicit particular behaviours that are often hard for adults to deal with,  therefore twice as hard for our kids to understand and deal with !  By removing these triggers, barriers and challenges we take away learning opportunities that our kids really need to develop. 

At times our instincts are to shield children from all stress  It is natural to want to protect children from discomfort but not all stress is harmful.  Allowing children to experience tolerable stress, with the right support, is essential for healthy development.  Adult Support is Key and that is our role. 

Tolerable Stress defined as stress that can cause a significant distress response, it's characterised by the ability to return to a baseline state after the stressor is removed, especially with the help of a supportive environment.  We know that it is tolerable stress when a the duration and intensity lessens over time.  For example:  A distressed child starting school for the first time and not wanting to let a parent go. Crying and screaming at the door.  Over a week, every day they recover quicker and quicker until they are happy for Mum or Dad to leave.  They are supported through this with a teacher but so important for Mum or Dad to be consistent and brave at drop off.  It’s possibly the hardest way to start the day as a parent but 99% of the time,  once Mum or Dad have reached the gate,  the crying has stopped and things are ok. 

So why encourage and ride through ‘Tolerable stress’ ?

• It helps children build resilience and the ability to cope, adapt, and recover from challenges.

• It strengthens the brain’s self-regulation systems, teaching children how to manage big emotions and stay calm under pressure.

• It builds confidence and problem-solving skills, showing kids that they can get through tough situations with support.

Children should never have to face stress alone. With calm, caring adults beside them, tolerable stress becomes a learning experience, not a damaging one.

In practical terms, this looks like:  

• learning to wait their turn

• trying something new and difficult

• losing a game or making a mistake

• being nervous about a performance or school event

• adults walking alongside them through the challenges and the tolerable stress.

This all sounded very familiar - GRIT, Growth Mindset, Dialling up Character Strengths, Learning how to be a good learner, a good friend, mindfulness strategies, breathing and our Science to Action Planning and Wellbeing Strategy - just a few connections were made.  

The most important learning for us was the emphasis placed on allowing children to sit with big emotions, allowing them to experience mistakes and allowing them to experience the word ‘No’.  Her work empowered us to continue to respond calmly, building secure connections, and supporting healthy development.  The earlier we can learn to do this the better.  So it really got me thinking about all the things we do for students and all the things I do as a parent and there are a variety of reasons why.  Is this really supporting them ? 

I believe our challenge is to be able to sit with the uncomfortable more, nurture that tolerable stress carefully and skilfully, because we know our kids well.  We have to be ok to sit with the big emotions and maximise these as learning opportunities.  How will we know we have done a good job ?  When we see a student that is experiencing some Positive Accomplishment when once there 'go to' may have been to give up or blow up.  When recovery becomes faster and they are able to regulate their emotions.  We can shine the light on all the small steps, highlighting the moments where students have been able to overcome a 'tolerably stressful moment'.

Maria Montessori also once said

"Do not do for a child what they can do for themselves."

Term 3 Anthropologists !

Teaching our students about culture and identity through the arts is important and something we are striving to improve this year. It builds respect and appreciation for diversity—an essential part of living in our place and something we want to really celebrate. 

We have launched our new inquiry and we are currently in the tuning in phase.   This is the phase where we want to excite, inspire and spark curiosity.  When we sit down to plan we brainstorm all of the possibilities.  We are never locked into 'a plan' because it evolves with students interests, passions and learning needs.  They often drive our inquiry with teacher guidance of course. 

Here are some of the potential experiences we might be having throughout our Inquiry cycle. 

We are explorers of our world. This term we are ‘Anthropologists’ we will be studying identity and culture specifically through the arts. 

We kicked the term off with an exciting hook in experience where we studied different items across some of our class cultures.  We explored patterns, colours, signs and symbols thinking carefully about why they are included in particular artefacts. We looked at the materials used to make different artefacts.  We had some rich discussion about how and why resources are used in particular parts of the world.