Yes, There’s a Chest of Drawers in Your Brain!
My last blog post entitled “Wait! I have a Chest of Drawers in My Head?” explained how I help lessen children’s frustration and fear when they feel as if they don’t have control over their own learning.
I start by talking about our amazing brains and what they do for us every day. Together we explore our five senses as I guide them to the realization that their senses and their brain work together.
At this point, I introduce my analogy of the “chest of drawers in their brain”. This analogy is fun and silly and activates all parts of their brain with the use of imagination, story and drawing. It gives them a “tangible, seeable” way to understand how their brain naturally works, and they begin to “see” how they actually have control of their learning.
I begin by asking my kiddos to imagine the memory part of their brain being divided into drawers much like the chest of drawers in their bedroom. I have them draw their chest of drawers and share what‘s inside each drawer.
We then spend time imagining how each letter sound has its drawer in the chest of drawers in their brain. Each combination of letters making a special sound(s) has its drawer. Each word has its drawer. Each phonics rule has its drawer. We draw and label lots and lots of drawers!
We image all the drawers our brains would have and laugh at our silly images and drawings.
Suddenly the realization of the enormous task their brain is required to do, and does daily, in order for them to remember what they’re learning bursts into their consciousness. I begin to see fear creep into their eyes.
This is when I assure each child that THEY are in control of ALL those drawers just like they’re in control of where they put their socks. I assure them that the drawers are not random and stacked in the crazy ways we’ve been drawing them.
I remind them that it’s natural for their brain to find commonalities and patterns, to sequence, to draw conclusions, to analyze, to synthesize, and to evaluate and that their brain has been doing this since before they were born which means THEY have been organizing the “drawers” in their brain all along.
I assure them that since they are an expert at finding commonalities and patterns, at drawing conclusions, at sequencing, at analyzing, at synthesizing, and at evaluating, they have been and will continue to choose the perfect “drawer” for everything every time.
Further, since THEY are choosing the perfect “drawers”, it’s easy for them to remember whatever they want when they want it. I assure them they know where everything is.
Together we imagine how their brain has organized their “chest of drawers” and has been putting all their learning in the perfect places (drawers). We draw this organized chest of drawers.
This drawing helps me emphasize that since THEY alone have been using their five senses, collecting information and storing it, THEY ALONE are in control of their brain.
We laugh and have fun imagining someone like their parents, teachers or friends trying to put things in their brain.
To support their feelings of “ownership” of their learning, I share that they may get excited, nervous or worried and feel like they can’t remember an answer or concept, but the truth is always there – they always have been and still are in control of where they stored that answer or concept and they stored it in the perfect most logical place.
To strengthen their understanding and feeling of control, we continue by talking about how they can have greater control over their five senses and how that would give them even greater control of their learning.
We talk about how we wonderful humans have the control to truly focus on what we see, what we hear, what we smell, what we taste, what we touch!
We explore that TRULY FOCUSING means putting their WHOLE attention to what they are learning or doing. We practice truly focusing so they begin to feel how, when they do truly focus, their mind slows down, they relax, they breathe comfortably and they really observe (hear, taste, smell, see, touch – think about) what they are focusing on.
As they practice, they relax even further and begin to feel how natural it is for their senses and brain to work together. We talk about how when they truly focus their mind stays on subject and naturally begins to make connections. We practice noticing this.
I encourage them to practice TRULY FOCUSING at home and school and to share their successes when they are with me.
They soon realize that when they truly focus, they remember what they are learning.
As we continue working in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”, I frequently stop in the middle of lessons to reinforce that they are truly focusing. I ask them what they’ve just learned and how it connects with what they’ve already learned. I ask them questions that help them realize that they are the learner and they are in control.
Questions like, “Where did you put this new sound? Does it go beside the drawers with the consonants sounds or the sound a cow makes?” They laugh and explain, because they know.
I’ve taught this lesson to children for years. It’s a fun, silly way that guides them to understand they are in control of their learning.
I LOVE watching them relax as we play with the chest of drawer analogy. I notice the shift in how they hold their head, how they walk in the door. I smile as they approach a new concept with confidence, a feeling of control.
My chest of drawer analogy has been very successful, but thanks to my dear friend Sayra, I have a new analogy that sets their imagination playing with a whole new image. My kids love it.
You will, too! I’ll share it in my next blog post.
If you are questioning whether someone in your life is dyslexic and you’re not sure what to do, feel free to contact us.