Students learn brain health through CSU Extension program

Colorado State University Extension's Family and Consumer Science Department recently worked with Haxtun Elementary School's third and fourth grade students to encourage them to take a proactive approach to brain health. Recent neuroscience studies have shown that teaching children how the brain works and fostering a growth mindset can improve their motivation to learn, ability to process information and retain knowledge. Studies have also shown that engaging in art and music can promote cognitive, social, and emotional development.

The program was part of CSU Extension's Love Your Brain Campaign, which worked to engage Phillips County residents in brain health activities such as Trick or Trot for Dementia, the 30-Day Brain Health Challenge, Brain Education for Children and the eight-week Dementia Alzheimer's Wellbeing Network also known as the DAWN Method training series for families and caregivers.

The school program began with a pre-assessment to gather a general sense of knowledge, followed by a short video that focused on how sleep, physical activity, healthy eating and wearing a helmet all impact brain health. The students were given a coloring and activity workbook from the National Institute of Mental Health that engaged them in learning about the different parts of the brain through puzzles, art, nutrition and fun brain facts.  The program included engaging demonstrations such as touching the Jello Brain and an Egg demo, which revealed how delicate the human brain is and highlighted the importance of wearing a helmet to prevent head injuries. 

During the session, the students learned about neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize itself throughout life in response to learning and experiences. The students were asked to identify school subjects they found challenging and to share what they had once found difficult but had become easier through repeated practice. The students identified math, spelling and reading as challenging subjects. Swimming, riding a bike and playing football were things they struggled with initially but became easier with practice. It was then emphasized to the students that being challenged through hard subjects like math and spelling can make our brains grow and create more neurons. Through practice, those challenging subjects can help create new pathways in our brains, making them stronger and smarter. The children were also amazed to learn that our brains have about 100 billion neurons, which is approximately the same number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

Third and fourth graders then applied what they learned in their classrooms by participating in a friendly art competition. They drew, colored, or wrote down what they learned inside of a brain template during art class. The artwork was displayed at Pi Kappa Cino Coffee Shop in Haxtun throughout December, where the community had an opportunity to view the artwork and vote for their favorite photo from each of the three classes. All students did a fantastic job and improved their knowledge from pre- to post-assessment scores. The winners of the art competition were Lincoln Bowers (third grade), Rebekah Myers (fourth grade) and Delany Pruitt (fourth grade), who all received a gift certificate from Pi Kappa Cino Coffee Shop and had their artwork turned into stickers for the entire class thanks to Vine Print Studios.

CSU Extension's Family and Consumer Science Specialists have been working to provide more health and well-being resources to communities on the Eastern Plains. This includes an eight-week training series with DAWN Dementia specialist Jill Couch, aimed at helping caregivers and families with loved ones affected by dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

For more information, please get in touch with Stephanie Starkebaum at the Phillips County Extension Office by calling (970) 854-3616 or emailing [email protected]. Colorado State University Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.