At Self Development Academy, our philosophy emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, self knowledge, and self-acceptance. This development, in part, depends on the prefrontal cortex, which controls emotional regulation and executive function.
While the prefrontal cortex doesn’t fully develop until around age 25, the earlier you can be intentional about your child’s self-regulation, the better. According to the George Lucas Educational Foundation, “Preschoolers who exhibit self-regulatory behaviors go on to experience more success in school and are more likely to avoid risky behaviors in adolescence than their peers who have a hard time with self-control.”
Children of any age will benefit from parenting that helps them flex those prefrontal cortex muscles, so to speak, through self-reflection and self-regulation. Try these tips for engaging the prefrontal cortex and mindfulness.
BE CURIOUS
When your child exhibits strong negative emotions or erratic behavior, don’t let your response end with correction and discipline. Go several steps further with him. Help your child be curious: Where is this emotion coming from? Do I feel it in my body? What triggered my response? When have I felt this way before? What need do I have that’s not being met?
BREATHE DEEPLY
A lot can be said for taking a deep breath. It helps your child slow down, focus inward, increase blood flow, and according to Harvard Medical School, reduce overall stress. Even taking 20 to 30 seconds to breathe deeply throughout the day and not just in times of stress can be very beneficial.
PRACTICE GRATITUDE
It can be all too easy to focus on goals, devices, future plans, past regrets, and any number of things just beyond our reach. But making a list of things for which your child is grateful helps to bring her into the present moment. It ushers in contentment and peace not found in the hustle of a life without gratitude.
MOVE THE BODY
The mind’s connection to the body can’t be ignored. Encourage your child to listen to his body and get the kind of exercise and movement that he most enjoys. Whether it’s a slow, meandering walk or a sprint, dancing to music or lifting weights, stretching at night before bed or playing soccer, the best movement is the kind that your child wants to do.
A mindfulness program is not the only area of focus in our early childhood and K-8 programs. Research confirms that children who attend pre-K programs with a more academically based curriculum are much more likely to succeed in school than pre-K with more tepid programs.
The studies have found that children who attend these preschools outperform peers who attended less rigorous preschools on both literacy and math.
High-quality early childhood education programs, like the one at Self Development Preschool, are examples of academically focused preschools. Self Development Preschool serves as a feeder school to Self Development Academy, a top-ranking school whose students perform at grade levels one to two years ahead. The educators at Self Development Academy have found that students who attend Self Development Preschool first have a vastly greater likelihood of success in their studies than students that have not attended the preschool.
Self Development Preschool and Self Development Academy-Mesa has been proudly serving the Mesa community for decades.
Currently, Self Development Preschool and K-8 Academy are enrolling for the school year 2022-2023. Limited space is available.
Contact us at (480) 641-2640 or (480) 396-3522 to get more information about our highly recognized preschool and K-8 nationally awarded charter school of excellence with an advanced learning curriculum.