What Is Mindfulness And How Does It Help In Studies?

In recent times, we have been hearing a lot about mindfulness. Although this technique has been with us for more than 2,500 years, it is gaining popularity now. Mindfulness is a routine where you tune your mind to concentrate fully on whatever is happening around you, the space you are in, and the tasks you are performing. What happens often is that we veer from tasks we are doing and try to focus on multiple things at a time and soon there is a lot on our minds. 

 

It also plagues youngsters where they start worrying about their exams, the future, things they are supposed to do, so on and so forth. This only leads to overthinking and anxiety. But, mindfulness can help out youngsters and even adults with overthinking and anxiety by pulling us back into the present and helping us only concentrate on that very task at hand. 

 

How to practice mindfulness?

 

• First, take a seat. You can choose to take a seat where it is calm and quiet. 
• You can set a time limit, where you choose 5 or 10 minutes 
• Now, concentrate on your breathing where you feel the breath go in and out.
• Then, try to make a note of five things you see, five things you hear, and three things you can touch. 
• Finally, concentrate on breathing till the time is up.

 

 

How can students use mindfulness for studying better?

Now that you know what mindfulness is and how it can be practised. See how it can help your children.

 

Breathing

 

Practising mindful breathing is always necessary when it comes to dealing with stress. It can occur during a lesson or while your child is studying. Taking just one minute to practice mindfulness can offer clarity and calm them down. If merely breathing doesn’t help your child, they can close their eyes and visit the happy place. We all have a happy place, which brings us joy. It can be playing video games or relaxing on the couch watching TV. Thinking about our happy place while breathing mindfully can help students discard any stress, and ensure they can concentrate better on their studies.

 

Meditation

 

Every day before studying, your child can practice mindfulness meditation, where they do the ‘checks’ while breathing. Five things they can hear, five things they can see, and three things they can touch. They will ground them and help them focus better. This technique can be used multiple times whenever the child feels the focus is deteriorating. 

 

Mindful Studying

 

Mindful studying is a method, where your child first follows the above-mentioned methods then sets a timer for the study session. Your child can always start slow. The first-timer can be set for 15 minutes where he studies without any distractions and then a five minutes break to let him relax. Now, let’s say, you have planned a 2-hour study session for your child, you can follow the same structure where your child studies for 15-20 minutes and then a break. This is very helpful in avoiding distractions and helps your child grasp more as they are in a distraction-free environment.

 

Help get rid of the pain 

 

The body scan is a technique where you slowly mentally visit each part of the body from head to toe to understand if there is any discomfort or pain. After a day at school or after studying, doing the scan can help your child check if there is any pain or muscle soreness and also help appreciate parts that are not in any pain.

 

Mindfulness is a wonderful technique that can help us relax and rejuvenate our minds. Tell your children to try it out. For more insightful content, you can visit www.chrysalishigh.com/blogs

Why It Is Important For Students To Read Every day

 Why It Is Important For Students To Read Every day

Inculcating reading skills in children is exceptionally vital as it not only helps them succeed in school but also helps stretch their imagination. It can be a newspaper or a magazine, your child doesn’t have to pick a novel as their first read. They can start slow and read books that make them happy. That’s the key to ensuring your child reads. It can be a ‘Harry Potter’ series or maybe comics, let them read. If you think it interferes with their studies, you can set some time aside just for reading. In this article, you will find out all the important reasons why students should read every day.

 

 

How To Develop Reading Habits in Children?

 

• Let them choose their favourite books.
• Make reading a part of your child’s routine and be consistent. For instance, you can start with 15-30 minutes of reading every day. 
• In young children, it is important to make reading fun for them to develop this habit. You can start with books that have colourful pictures.
• Have bedtime stories, where you read out books to them

 

Benefits of Reading Every Day 

 

Strengthens Reading And Writing Skills

 

When your child starts reading daily, it will automatically improve their reading and writing skills. Reading enables your child to explore various styles of writing. The mechanisms of each book help us take control of our writing skills. It also enables us to read grammar in context, improving our hold on the language even more. 

 

Source of General Knowledge 

 

When we see reading, it is not limited to fiction or comics. Reading can include anything and everything. For instance, reading non-fictional books and newspapers every day is a great source of general knowledge. Your child can learn pieces of history and things that have taken place with non-fiction while newspapers keep them informed about the day-to-day happenings around us. 

 

Builds Your Critical Thinking Skills 

 

In essence, the critical thinking skills we possess helps us think clearly and logically when the situation demands. When your child picks up the habit of reading, this brain function gets enhanced because they keep coming across a plethora of scenarios as they keep reading books after books. This, in a way, prepares them for life and also helps them keep calm in any situation. 

 

Improves Vocabulary 

 

One of the direct advantages of reading books and newspapers is that it improves your child’s vocabulary. Right from learning new words to helping them frame their sentences better, it enhances their language skills. 

 

Makes Them A Good Speaker 

 

Aforementioned, reading enriches your child’s vocabulary and when your child reads out loud, it improves their articulation. This makes them good speakers as they will be able to speak more fluently, clearly, and eloquently. 

 

Reading is beneficial. It makes your child think and helps them see different perspectives, broadening their viewpoints. As the school is still operating virtually, Chrysalis High is offering an extensive virtual library, where kids can borrow fiction and non-fiction books to aid their reading habits.

Benefits Of Martial Arts For Children

Students spend most of their time studying and learning, which means, they are sitting most of the time. Regular physical activity is vital for a child. It helps improve cardiorespiratory fitness, enables strong bones, helps avoid obesity, provides emotional balance, and reduces the risks of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Instead of normal exercises, walking or jogging, martial arts can be a wise choice as it doesn’t become mundane. But, that’s not it. Martial arts can also bring in a whole set of other benefits. Read ahead to know more. 

 

It Teaches Respect and Discipline

 

A dojo (a place where martial arts is taught and learned) is a sacred place. It is a place of honour, respect, and absolute focus. The students practising martial arts should not only honour their instructor, but also their peers. The ethos of obedience and respect quickly gets instilled in the child’s life. Also, with martial arts, a level of discipline becomes mandatory as it helps set goals and build a strong focus. 

 

It Installs A Strong Determination in Children 

 

Martial arts offer a system of ranking where children receive a different coloured belt after completing each level. This fuels determination in them to do better and achieve what they have set for themselves, and this quality also penetrates into their day-to-day activities, helping them succeed and accomplish more. This determination also helps children learn how to set goals and improve themselves along the way. 

 

Encourages Teamwork 

 

Teamwork is one quality that should be encouraged from a very young age. With martial arts, that’s possible. Although it is practised individually, a lot of teamwork is involved in the activity. It also builds strong friendships and a sense of community and belonging in children. 

 

Teaches Conflict Resolution

 

Although it feels like martial arts is all about fighting, it is so much more than just that. Several forms of martial arts only focus on self-defence and don’t even allow fighting between students. In fact, in martial arts, it is taught to use non-violent methods to resolve any conflict and to always don a calm and cool attitude. This quality is developed in children and becomes a part of their life.

 

Helps Release Any Extra Energy 

 

Martial arts help kids get out their extra energy, which means it keeps them calm. The physical energy that goes into this art form, will also help with the emotional health of a child as it involves lots of anger and frustration. 

 

Martial arts are excellent and help children enhance self-esteem, learning healthy habits, and become physically fit. This is why at Chrysalis High, we offer martial arts. Even now that our base is temporarily virtual, we have martial art classes as a part of our CHAMPS program. 

Easy Tips To Build A Healthy Online Routine

 

Easy Tips To Build A Healthy Online Routine 

 

With the spread of COVID-19, schools have shifted their base to virtual premises. Although with the vaccinations in place, things are starting to get better. Schools are still functioning online and will continue to do so for a few more months now. Therefore, in this article, we tell you about all the tips and tricks you can use to establish a healthy online learning routine. 

 

Treat Online Classes As Actual School 

 

When we say actual school, we mean treat online classes just like you would treat going to in-person classes. So, hypothetically if the classes are set to start at 8:30 AM in the morning, make sure your child showers, eats his breakfast and gets ready for school. While they are attending their classes, make sure you don’t interfere unless your child or the teacher ask you for some help. Once they are done with their online classes, let them take a break and you can start with the homework and studies for that particular day. 

 

A Timetable Can Be Very Helpful 

 

A timetable or a plan is great. It can provide the necessary structure and routine, which is necessary during online classes. A plan can incorporate several things including when your child needs to wake up, his bedtime, free time, and more. Even if it is not followed to the T, it helps your child understand what is expected of them on that particular day. 

 

Teach Your Child About Cyber Security 

 

Since your child spends a lot of time on computers or iPads due to the online classes, they must understand cybersecurity. Let them understand the pros and cons of the internet and how they can ensure safety. 

 

Make Sure Your Child Remains Motivated 

 

Children are stuck at home for more than a year now and it can get quite upsetting at times. Therefore, it becomes your responsibility to keep the motivation on and do fun things at home. Just starting the day with positive affirmations or spending time with children playing board games in the evening can be relaxing and can help keep the motivation on. 

 

Monitor The Progress 

 

Since classes are online, monitoring your child’s progress isn’t as easy as before. Before, you could just take a look at your child’s school diary or notebooks to see what’s happening. Now, you have to talk to their teachers and see what’s happening. Online classes can make children feel like they are not real classes, which can lead to neglect. Therefore, when you check their progress regularly, they will also start to take things seriously. 

 

Finish Everyday’s Work 

 

Don’t let homework and studies pile up. Make sure you help your child finish his homework and studies every day. You can always give them long breaks on weekends, but weekdays are for school. 

 

Get Creative With Online Classes 

 

When we talk about getting creative with classes, we are talking about the pre-school routine you can have for your kids before the online classes commence because teachers are responsible for making online classes fun. Like at Chrysalis High, for our virtual classes, we have a plethora of weekly activities and more to make it enjoyable for students. But at home, you can have a pre-school routine, where you prepare your child for the rest of the classes. It can be a simple pep talk or anything that makes your child feel good.