Kincheloe Elementary School held its fifth annual Parent Fair on March 22 with more than 400 students, staff and parents in attendance.
Students and parents were served pizza, heard a presenter and then sang country songs rewritten by Christa Siegel, Title I teacher, according to Principal Dawn Conner.
Highlights from the presenter, Ken Horn, adjunct professor for Grand Valley State University, included the following:
• The brain grows from back to front.
• The pre-frontal lobe takes the longest to develop and is most impacted by stress chemicals.
• Drinking water is best for the growing and developing brain.
• Eight- to 12-year-olds need love, acceptance, peer approval, bonding and rituals.
• Color in our environment has a major role in establishing our emotional mood. Red, orange and yellow are brain stem colors (anxiety and stress). Blue, green, purple and rose are cerebral cortex colors (calming effect).
• Learning is influenced by emotions. Emotions drive attention, which drives learning, memory and problem-solving.
• Giving children choices helps reduce stress. Children who are given choices have three times greater dendrite growth than children who have little or no choice.
• Movement and music have been shown to allow for quick modification of emotions, promote physical and emotional healing and prolong the mind’s state of awareness: “attention span.”