Pair up with a friend and see who gets the most. It doesn’t just make us feel good; it actually improves your mood and can reduce stress. Your smile doesn’t have to be real, so you can fake it and still get the same results. A study from Penn State University found that people who smile appear to be more likeable, courteous. and even more knowledgeable. The brain also releases more positive neurotransmitters needed for learning when smiling, so teach with a smile.
When you smile, your brain is aware of the activity and actually keeps track of it. The more you smile, the more effective you are at breaking the brain’s natural tendency to think negatively. If you smile often enough, you rewire your brain to make positive patterns more often than negative ones.
We have added some quick activities for your class below that will help make them smile. You can even watch a video on the science of smiling as a greater opener and to get your class smiling and talking.
3 simple activities for smiling and happiness
1. What is happiness?
- Talking about issues without blame
- Being totally honest about why decision are made
- Discuss what makes us feel happy.
- How do we know when someone is happy?
- What could we do to make a person feel happy?
- Divide a work area into two and put a simple 'happy face' in one area and a 'sad face' in the other.
- The children should then draw or gather images of the things that prompt both emotions. They can place them accordingly.
2. Smile on a stick
- Get some straws or lolly sticks
- Using paper plates cut out a smile and colour it in red for lips
- Stick the smile to a stick and hold it up to your face
3. Happy Standing
- When you stand in a positive way it can tell your brain you feel happy
- Practice standing in a happy way
- Practice standing in a sad way
- Do you feel different when you stand in these ways?
- Standing in a positive way or ‘power posing’ can help you feel better
- Practice happy standing to help you and others feel better
Check out the science on this – it really works
Stephanie Davies
