This week I'm sending you a book called The No-Brainer Brain Explainer.
Wow. I went on the most incredible training course in Milan last week.
And it wasn't just because I got to eat pasta and melanzane parmigiana for three days straight. (But let's be honest: that helped.) It was because I got to sit and listen to the brilliant Dan Siegel talk about kids, the brain, and how we actually build resilience.
One of the things I love from his book The Whole-Brain Child (written with Tina Payne Bryson and published by Robinson) is how it talks about explaining the brain to kids. Helping them understand what's actually happening when they "flip their lid." Learning why we do what we do, and how we can catch ourselves before reacting in certain ways, is genuinely fascinating to me.
But after twelve years of teaching kids about growth mindset, there's something I always come back to: kids love learning the actual science behind it. How the brain works. Why it does what it does.
Which brings me to this week's book:
No-Brainer Brain Explainer (Wide Eyed Editions) by Crab Museum and Bruno Valasse.
Packed with brilliant illustrations, it teaches kids about, among other things:
- How neurons connect
- How feelings work
- The history of the brain — how it developed the way it did, and why it functions the way it does, even when that's not always in ways we'd choose.
It's full of properly cool facts too. Did you know an octopus has nine brains, and its head-brain is shaped like a donut with its throat running straight through the middle? Nope, me either.
It even gets into gut feelings, and why they're genuinely connected to your brain.
If your kid's little, it'll keep them going for years, dipping in and out. If they're towards the end of primary, they won't be able to put it down.
Kids love knowing the big stuff. As I always say: when your brain hurts, that means you've been learning, and it's growing.
Becca x