Unit 7 · Mind and Body

Think about the moment before a spelling test. Your heart may beat fast. Your hands may feel sweaty. That is your body reacting to a feeling. The feeling started in your brain.

Your brain is the control center of your body. It sits inside your skull. It helps you think, move and remember. It also makes your emotions. Emotions are feelings like happy, sad, scared, angry and excited.

Every feeling is a kind of signal. Fear can tell you to be careful. Sadness can tell you that you miss someone. Happiness can tell you that something is good for you. No feeling is bad to have. What matters is what you do with it.

When you scrape your knee, you clean it and put on a bandage. You take care of your body. Your mind needs care too. How you think, feel and get along with others is called mental health.

Everyone has mental health, just like everyone has body health. Some days it feels strong. Some days it feels shaky. That is normal. A hard day does not mean something is wrong with you.

Doctors and scientists agree that mind and body are connected. The World Health Organization says health means doing well in body, mind and with other people. Taking care of your feelings is part of taking care of your whole self. This is called well-being.

Picture a boy named Theo. He stomps into the house after soccer. His mom asks what is wrong. At first he says, "Nothing!" Then he stops and says, "I feel embarrassed. I missed the goal."

Theo just did something helpful. He named his feeling. Saying "I feel embarrassed" is clearer than stomping. Now his mom knows how to help. Theo knows too.

Scientists who study the brain have found that putting feelings into words can help calm strong feelings. A list of feeling words is sometimes called a feelings vocabulary. The more words you know, the better you can say what is going on inside. Words like frustrated, nervous, proud and lonely are good ones to learn.

Imagine it is the morning of the school play. Your stomach flutters. Your mouth feels dry. You keep going over your lines. This is stress. Stress is how your body and mind react to a challenge.

When you feel stress, your body makes chemicals called hormones. One is adrenaline. It makes your heart beat faster and your breathing speed up. Long ago, this helped people run from danger. Today it can help you focus for a play or a race.

A little stress can help you do your best. Too much stress for too long can make you feel tired, grumpy or sick to your stomach. It can make it hard to sleep. The good news is that there are many ways to help your body calm down.

Ms. Bell taught Maya to breathe in slowly while counting to four. Then she breathed out slowly while counting to six. After a few breaths, Maya’s shoulders dropped. Her tight stomach eased a little.

Slow breathing sends a message to your body that you are safe. Your heart can slow down. This is sometimes called belly breathing, because your belly rises as you breathe in. You can do it anywhere, even at your desk.

Moving your body also helps. Running, dancing, biking or walking the dog can burn off stress. Health experts say exercise can improve mood. Many people find that moving outside helps even more. Even a short walk can help you feel calmer.

Maya felt better after she told Ms. Bell her worry. That is common. Sharing a problem with a trusted adult can make it feel smaller. A trusted adult is a grown-up who keeps you safe and listens, like a parent, teacher or coach.

Sleep matters too. While you sleep, your brain sorts out the day. It stores what you learned. It also helps you handle feelings. When you are tired, small problems can feel huge.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says children ages 6 to 12 need about 9 to 12 hours of sleep each night. Going to bed at the same time each night helps. A quiet, dark room helps too. A calm bedtime routine, like reading a book, tells your body it is time to rest.

Everyone feels worried sometimes. Everyone feels sad sometimes. A pet dies. A friend moves away. A test is coming. These feelings are a normal part of life. They usually pass after a while.

Sometimes a worry or sadness stays for weeks. It may get in the way of school, play or sleep. When worry is strong and lasts a long time, doctors may call it anxiety. When sadness is deep and lasts a long time, doctors may call it depression.

These are real health conditions, like asthma is. They are nobody’s fault. The CDC reports that anxiety and depression are among the most common mental health conditions in children. Many kids get better with help, such as talking with a counselor. Telling a trusted adult is the first step.

Many schools have a school counselor, like Ms. Bell. A counselor helps students with feelings, friendships and school problems. You can ask your teacher to visit the counselor. Some schools also have a school social worker who helps students and families.

A psychologist is someone who has studied the mind for many years. Psychologists talk with people and teach them skills to handle worry, sadness or anger. Some work in schools. Others work in clinics or hospitals.

Doctors help too. A family doctor or pediatrician checks both body and mind at a checkup. A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who focuses on mental health. Asking for help is a strong and smart choice, just like seeing a doctor for a broken arm.

In Mr. Ortiz’s class, Leo remembers every fact about trains. Zara draws amazing comics. Sam learns best by moving around. Nia needs quiet to focus. Each brain works in its own way.

Scientists use the word neurodiversity to describe how brains naturally differ. Some people are autistic. Some have ADHD, which can affect focus and energy. Some have dyslexia, which affects how the brain handles written words. These are different ways of learning and feeling.

What helps is finding the right tools. A student with dyslexia might use audiobooks. A student with ADHD might take movement breaks. Headphones can help someone who notices sounds strongly. Tools like these are called supports. Every mind has strengths to grow.

At recess, a new student named Hana stood alone by the fence. Diego walked over and asked, "Want to play four square?" Hana smiled. By the end of the week, she had three new friends.

Feeling left out can hurt. Feeling included helps people feel safe and happy. Including someone means inviting them in, listening and making room. Small acts count, like saving a seat or saying hello.

Kindness helps the helper too. Studies have found that doing kind things can lift your own mood. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is called empathy. When you notice how someone feels and act kindly, you make your whole school a healthier place.

It is 9:30 at night. Jordan is in bed playing a game on a tablet. One more level, he thinks. Then one more. At 10:45 he finally puts it down. The next morning he is tired and cranky.

Screens like phones, tablets and TVs give off bright light. Some of this is blue light. Bright light at night can tell your brain it is still daytime. Your body makes a sleep hormone called melatonin when it gets dark. Bright screens can delay it.

Games and videos also keep your brain busy and excited. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests keeping screens out of the bedroom at night. It also suggests turning them off 30 to 60 minutes before bed. A book, a bath or quiet music can help you wind down instead.

After her talk with Ms. Bell, Maya made a card. On it she wrote: breathe four in, six out. Squeeze a smooth stone. Draw. Talk to Mom or Ms. Bell. She kept the card in her backpack.

Maya made a calm-down plan. It is a short list of things that help you when feelings get big. Having it written down helps, because strong feelings can make it hard to think of ideas.

Every plan is different. Some people like music. Some like to stretch or hug a pet. Some need a quiet corner. The best plan always includes at least one trusted adult to talk to. Practicing your tools on calm days makes them easier to use on hard days. This is called coping.

Luis grew almost three inches in one year. Ben grew only a little. Both are normal. Most school-age children grow about 2 inches a year. But growth does not always come at a steady pace.

Sometimes the body grows fast for a while. This is called a growth spurt. During a growth spurt, your shoes may suddenly feel tight. Your pants may look too short. Some kids feel achy legs at night. People call these growing pains, but they may not come from growing itself.

How do bones get longer? Near the ends of long bones, like the ones in your legs, are areas called growth plates. New bone forms there as you grow. When a person is fully grown, the growth plates close and turn into solid bone.

Have you ever eaten a big dinner and been hungry again before bed? When you are growing fast, that can happen. Your body is building new bone, muscle and skin. Building takes energy.

Food gives your body energy and building blocks called nutrients. Protein from beans, eggs, fish or meat helps build muscles. Calcium from milk, yogurt, cheese or leafy greens helps build strong bones. Fruits, vegetables and whole grains give you vitamins and steady energy.

Sleep is fuel too. During deep sleep, your body releases a growth hormone that helps you grow. Kids need more sleep than adults. Drinking water helps every part of your body work well. If you notice you are extra hungry or tired, talk to a parent or doctor about what your body needs.

Look at any fourth-grade class photo. Some kids are tall. Some are short. Some have lost many baby teeth. Some have lost only a few. They are all the same age, and they are all growing normally.

Your genes help decide how tall you may be and when you will grow. Genes are instructions you get from your birth parents. They are like a recipe your body follows. Food, sleep and exercise help your body follow that recipe well.

Doctors track growth at checkups. They measure your height and weight and mark them on a growth chart. A doctor looks at whether you are growing steadily along your own path. They do not expect you to match your friends. Ben and Luis are both on their own paths.

Ben wiggled his front tooth with his tongue all through math class. At lunch it finally came out. There was a small gap, and underneath, a new tooth was already pushing through.

Children have 20 baby teeth, also called primary teeth. Most kids start losing them around age 6. An adult tooth, also called a permanent tooth, grows in to take each one’s place. Adults can have up to 32 teeth, including four wisdom teeth in the back.

Adult teeth have to last the rest of your life. The American Dental Association says to brush twice a day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is a mineral that helps make teeth harder to damage. Flossing, cutting back on sugary drinks and dentist checkups help too.

Luis kept squinting at the board. The words looked fuzzy from his desk in the back. Up close, his book looked fine. The school nurse did a vision screening. She suggested his family visit an eye doctor.

The eye doctor found that Luis was nearsighted. That means he sees close things clearly, but far things look blurry. It happens when the eye’s shape makes light focus in front of the right spot. Being farsighted is the opposite. Far things are clearer than close things.

Glasses use curved clear pieces called lenses. Lenses bend light so it focuses in the right spot. Luis got glasses, and the board looked sharp. Eyes can change as kids grow. Regular eye checks help. Many eye doctors also suggest time outdoors and breaks from close-up screens.

At a fireworks show, Ben covered his ears. The booms made his chest thump. His grandpa handed him a pair of soft foam earplugs. The fireworks still looked great, and the sound felt much better.

Sound travels as waves in the air. Your ear catches the waves. Deep inside is a tiny snail-shaped part called the cochlea. It holds thousands of tiny hair cells. They turn sound into signals your brain can understand.

Loudness is measured in decibels. A normal talk is about 60 decibels. Health agencies say long or repeated time around sounds of 85 decibels or more can harm hearing. Damaged hair cells do not grow back. Earplugs, turning the volume down and taking breaks from noise help protect your ears.

In September, Ben could hang from the monkey bars for five seconds. He practiced at recess every day. By spring, he could swing across all ten bars. His arms had gotten stronger.

Your body has more than 600 muscles. Muscles pull on bones to make you move. When you use muscles again and again, they get stronger. Your bones get stronger too when you run, jump and climb.

Your heart is a muscle as well. Running, swimming or biking makes it pump hard. Over time it gets stronger. Exercise that makes your heart and lungs work hard is called aerobic exercise. It helps your heart pump blood well.

Count up Luis’s day. He bikes to school for 15 minutes. He plays tag at recess for 20 minutes. After school, he shoots baskets for 30 minutes. That adds up to more than an hour of moving.

The CDC says children ages 6 to 17 need at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Most of it should make them breathe harder. Some of it should build muscles, like climbing. Some should build bones, like jumping.

It does not have to be a sport. Dancing, walking a dog, raking leaves and playing at the park all count. Moving also helps your mood and your sleep. Bodies of every size and shape can find ways to move that feel good.

One day, Ben noticed his feet had grown two sizes in a year. He also noticed his voice cracked once in a while. He had questions. He was not sure whom to ask.

In the years ahead, bodies go through many changes as children grow toward being adults. This time of growing up is called puberty. It starts at different ages for different people. Everyone goes through it on their own clock.

Having questions is normal. The best people to ask are a parent, the school nurse or your doctor. They can give you true answers. Doctors also talk about growing at yearly checkups. You can write your questions down before a visit so you remember them.