trying to keep smiling: quick trick--brain kiss

Mmmmmuahhhh!

Give your brain a kiss.

I learned so, so much from Maddy's incredible preschool teachers when I parent-aided in her first classroom.

She was only there two mornings a week, and I was there a few times a month, but these women were amazing, patient, and seriously skilled at with working with the teeniest of teeny two-year-olds.

So today's Quick Trick is from them. Just like arm circles and a lot of the Conscious Discipline that they demonstrated, this is something that we've used for quite some time and have had much success with.

• Brain Kisses: Whenever Maddy, Owen, or Cora show us that they're really thinking--really using their growing brains to figure something out, remember something, or to share something they learned with us--we say,
  

Give your brain a kiss! Your brain is really working hard today. Or,

How did you figure that out? . . . Give your brain a kiss. Or,

Did you really remember that? Oh my gosh, your brain is working so hard. Give it a kiss.

And then that person kisses his or her hand and then puts the kiss on the top of his or her head.

It might sound strange or quirky or weird to some (and it is a little funny. . .), but it's really normal for us around here to talk about brains and the hard work our brains do to help us learn and grow.

Teachers talk with their students about metacognition--thinking about thinking--so why not start here at home? By giving our brains a little love now and again, we're helping our kiddos to become more aware of their own processes of learning and developing.

Sometimes, if we see Maddy, Owen, or Cora doing something especially loving towards one another or someone else, we say, Give your heart a kiss. I love it.

A lot of discipline techniques do sound different before they become norms for households, and this is certainly one of them; believe me, I know.

Brain--and heart--kisses reflect the idea behind noticing--or sharing with children the times when we observe them demonstrating positive behaviors in hopes of having them repeat those behaviors independently. We're all about celebrating little successes, kind of like the big ole Special Plate, letting them make some choices, or looking at things through a positive lens.

Here's to a weekend full of brain kisses and getting-smarter-(and kinder)-everyday kiddos!