I promised a follow up post to something that I wanted to improve/increase awareness for parents and teachers (or anyone dealing with children and young adults) based on changing our mindset about mental fitness:
Today I want to talk about some of the observations and experiences that has led me to the development of some strategies & methods that I have adapted for adult workshops relating to mindfulness that I hope can also be adopted for children. I don't claim to have specific experiences in early childhood education but I have been exposed to settings and environments through teaching origami where I have seen parents interacting with children where I believe a focus on mental fitness has led to less behavioural problems.
The first example is something that I have experience as a volunteer and instructor running origami based activities/workshops for the general public. Often I see two different scenarios that play out in children that demonstrate how mental fitness can be broken down into different components that address their specific needs. The first scenario which I see commonly are the ones that are unable to focus their attention for any lengths of time (this is similar to the attribute of endurance when it comes to physical fitness), and sometimes this is due to the fact that they are not interested in the activity at all. The fact that their parents are trying to get their attention or interest when they are disinterested is a separate issue so we won't deal with it here. What I am referring to are children who attempt the activity because they show interest, but become frustrated because they are unable to focus and deal with the complexity of the task in a calm and resilient manner. A variation of this inability to focus can be caused by the exact opposite, where their disinterest comes from boredom because the task is too simple for them and therefore they don't see the point of participating when they can invest their energy somewhere else.
The second scenario comes from the lack of creativity in the way they apply themselves to the task (this is similar to the attribute of power/strength in physical fitness), and often this is due to the fact that they have not been given the creative license to do so, or they do not have the information or knowledge to act on it. In combination this deprives them of the curiosity and creativity that we should be encouraging in children.
I am not an expert with children and their developmental psychology, but I have noticed that there are sometimes ways to train their mental fitness in both scenarios (keeping in mind you have to try different things with different children). The best way to train their focus is of course to do something that they enjoy (as long as it is not to their detriment like staring at an iPad for prolonged periods of time). Take origami as an example, even if children don't show particular interest the activity, when you show then an origami model that moves (we call it an action model) it seldom fails to spark their imagination and wonder about how something made from paper can move. If you start with simple action models (like a flapping bird) then they are willing to invest time and energy because their interest is piqued. There is a certain method required to teaching origami that applies to both adults and children, but none of it matters if they are not interested.
In the scenario where they are not frustrated but simply bored (you would be surprised how many children I know that attended workshops that make new models without instructions), I think there are also a number of ways to engage them and keep their focus in the activity. The first example is to let them teach other children, because in teaching they gain a new perspective about how other people understand the same process/activity, which I think is highly beneficial for their learning and social development. But if that fails to work then I will show them things that require a higher or different level of skills as a challenge for them, and the common techniques I use are miniature model folding or blind folding. In miniature model folding you are helping to develop their fine motor skills to complement their already highly attuned visual and mental processing skills by folding smaller versions of models they can already do. In blind folding you are unlocking other ways for them to connect their senses by removing the visual cues and letting them connect their mental processing with their sense of touch.
Personally I have experienced the benefits of these activities while doing origami, but while attending a calligraphy workshop I have also come to realize how you can apply very similar techniques in any type of activity because the principles are exactly the same. In calligraphy you can train young children in their mental fitness using an activity that builds on core skills and techniques, but which you can introduce variations to adapt to their particular interest and strengths. I for one find writing names or quotes more interesting than repeating the same letters, and when I attempt to write words in larger sizes (this works in an opposite way to origami) you need better motor skills to control the writing implement. But in writing blindfolded you are developing the same connections as you would in making origami models blindfolded.
So I would encourage you to explore your own ideas about mental fitness and see how it can be combined with physical fitness for a more holistic way to improve your children's well-being. I'd love to hear about more examples or ideas that you have, as well as any comments or feedback you have about what I have written :)