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Public Speaking

Today’s BrainWOD: 072915

By | Language, Memory, Public Speaking, Uncategorized, wod | No Comments

Use the following words in an oral story: burglar, envelope, forest, desk lamp. Start the narration as soon as the workout has finished.

Workout:

Hollow Rock to Squat to Pike Jump x 5

Hollow Rock to Squat to Tuck Jump x 5

Hollow Rock to Squat to Missile Lunch x 5

Lateral Plank Walk – 20m

4 rounds.

Speaking while under duress (stress) is a valuable skill that can be built in the gym. Your body doesn’t know the difference between physical stress and mental stress. We can simulate stressful conditions with exercise, and thereby condition ourselves to pressure in the workplace.

Language

By | Blog, Creative Writing, Enrichment, Enrichment for Adults, Games, Ignite! At Home, Ignite! At School, Ignite! In The Workplace, Language, Memory, Public Speaking, Reading, Weekly Challenges, Writing | No Comments

The brain uses two separate processes to piece together language; Encoding and Retrieval.  Encoding starts with letter recognition such as shape and sound which is then used to develop word recognition and ultimately ending in meaning and understanding.  This can also include encoding verbal, non-verbal and body language from others.  Retrieval on the other hand, also termed ‘Expressive language’, is the brain’s ability to express thoughts into words, name things, and execute word finding.

Enhancing Language

Increasing the time spent with words and exposure to a variety of words develops associations and connections within the brain. Individual attention with each process is needed in order to improve one’s language skills.

To improve encoding one should read, learn new words, learn a new language, use mind maps to attach details to a main idea, and play word search puzzles to mention a few.

To improve retrieval skills one should retell a story, name pictures, play crossword puzzles, play categories or any other activity that requires the individual to retrieve previously stored information using associations or free recall.  An example of retrieval using associations would be asking an individual to name or classify a picture seen on a flash card.  For free recall, remove any visual, auditory or kinesthetic clue to help them retrieve the right information.  An example being the verbal fluency activity which asks the individual to name as many items from a particular category.

Try these language puzzles during your workout today.

1.) Encoding Word List

2.) Retrieval: Every minute on the minute, name as many items from each category as possible. 1 point per word, discount repeats and plurals.

1st minute: Farm Animals

2nd minute: Zoo Animals

3rd minute: School Supplies

4th minute: Gym Equipment

5th minute: Food

*Mix in a round of your favorite movement during one or more of the minutes for maximum brain benefits!

Today’s BrainWOD: 071515

By | Enrichment, Ignite! At Home, Ignite! At School, Ignite! In The Workplace, Interventions, Language, Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

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The Tabata Protocol means doing 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. It’s usually done for 8 rounds. CrossFit workouts include “Tabata This” and “Tabata That.”

In “Tabata Talking,” instructors draw a random noun, and students talk about the noun for 20 seconds nonstop. Then they take a 10 second break to gather their thoughts before the next interval. If a student can’t fill the full 20 second interval, they move immediately to the next exercise group.

Exercise Group: Tabata Squats (max squats in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds.)

Talking Group: Draw a noun (max talking in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, up to 8 rounds.)

Exercise Group: Tabata Pushups (max pushups in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds.)

Talking Group: Draw a noun

Exercise Group: Tabata jumping jacks

Talking Group: Draw a noun

Exercise Group: Tabata Situps

Talking Group: Draw a noun.

The objective is to complete all 32 ‘talking’ rounds.

Why You Should Give Your Kid $1000

By | Blog, Enrichment, Public Speaking, Uncategorized | No Comments

With education costs skyrocketing, many parents are considering the value of “higher” education for their teenager. At 18, no one knows enough to make a commitment to one career path; college may not be the best source of the skills necessary to succeed in the next half-century; and alternative educational resources are getting better AND more common. Moreover, it’s no longer necessary to wait until a child is 18 to take advantage of college-level content. Advanced learners (or those merely interested in one specific area) can study high-level content at any age from home…often for free. MIT and other colleges even publish their lectures online for free.

But like every business, universities require paid enrollment to stay viable. What MIT and others now sell is the college experience: networking, interactive learning, and the ability to have your questions answered by a knowledgeable expert in real time. Online courses can’t provide the full college experience, they argue. The many benefits of live enrollment–like club memberships, faculty office hours, tutoring and keggers–must be experienced in person, they say. In short, you really have to be there to get it.

Many experts disagree. While we don’t take an official position at CrossFit Brain (we believe that every opportunity for learning is positive, on balance) we believe that experience is at least as valuable as academic education. What’s the price of experience? In this example, it’s a thousand dollars.

Your child can’t get a job until they’re 15 or 16. But they can start a business anytime. Give them $1000 as “seed money,” and watch them learn.

What Your Child Will Learn From Entrepreneurship:

  • Self-reliance : Who can they count on to show up early, and stay until the work is done? Themselves. Who can stand up to pressure? They can.
  • How to ask for help: When they don’t know the answer, how can they find someone who has already solved the puzzle? What will that help cost?
  • Delayed Gratification: Taking the profits from a dog-walking service and investing them in new leashes will increase future profits without increasing time. OR they can be spent on a new video game…watch this video to see how most kids react when given the choice. Spoiler: it’s not good.
  • Putting others first: There’s a bit of money left over from the cupcake sale, but little brother hasn’t been paid for all his help yet. What choice does a good business owner make?
  • “Good” is usually better than “perfect”: Paralysis by analysis is possibly the largest tripping stone of the new graduate. They’ve done everything in a lab setting; now how do they apply their lessons in the real world? Often, it’s better to act quickly and figure things out as you go. Waiting for ‘perfect’ usually means waiting forever.
  • Learning from “failures” : that no “failure” is ever permanent; that even when they’re wrong, they can still learn very valuable lessons; that short-term losses might can save you from larger mistakes later. Early mistakes aren’t fatal, and might be some of the best investments they can make.
  • How to sell themselves: everybody’s a salesman. Speaking about your ideas with confidence and clarity is one of the most important skills a child can learn…but schools teach public speaking less and less.
  • How to optimize return on time: Most corporations revolve around “return on investment.” But entrepreneurs must carefully consider “return on time”: is the hour spent writing this blog post worth more than an hour spent sleeping?
  • That bad times (and good times) aren’t permanent: that they shouldn’t allow themselves to get too low (or too high) because new opportunities and challenges are always right around the corner.
  • How to manage finances: in perhaps the most obvious example, kids who learn from having “skin in the game” are better at financial self-regulation later.

You don’t have to start with a thousand dollars; start with a hundred, or start with a blank piece of paper. Kids will learn a little, or a lot: either way, mission accomplished and a summer vacation well spent.

What else can kids learn from owning their own business?

Today’s BrainWOD: 123014

By | Public Speaking | No Comments

“Polar Bear”

In two lines facing one another, athletes form temporary “partnerships” before rotating to the next.

First partnership: 3 minutes to complete 30 med ball thrusters total; then 1 minute to answer, “What do we have in common?”

Partners in the first line rotate to the right and form new partnerships with the second line.

Second partnership: 3 minutes to complete 30 burpees total; then 1 minute to answer, “What do we have in common?”

Partners in the first line rotate to the right and form new partnerships with the second line.

Continue until each person in line 1 has finished a partnership with each person in line 2.

The goal is to have kids learn to form quick relationships through ice-breaking questions (hence the name, “Polar Bear.”) This is a necessary skill for collaboration in life.

The game will look like Speed Dating with exercise. That’s natural.

Today’s BrainWOD: 120714

By | Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

Use the following words in an oral story: burglar, envelope, forest, desk lamp. Start the narration as soon as the workout has finished.

Workout:

Hollow Rock to Squat to Pike Jump x 5

Hollow Rock to Squat to Tuck Jump x 5

Hollow Rock to Squat to Missile Lunch x 5

Lateral Plank Walk – 20m

4 rounds.

Speaking while under duress (stress) is a valuable skill that can be built in the gym. Your body doesn’t know the difference between physical stress and mental stress. We can simulate stressful conditions with exercise, and thereby condition ourselves to pressure in the workplace.

 

Today’s BrainWOD: PAO Practice

By | Ignite! At Home, Ignite! At School, Ignite! In The Workplace, Memory, Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

 

Draw three cards.

Row 250m

8 burpees

8 box jumps

Recall the three cards in order.

If successful, continue the next round with four cards.

Repeat and recall the four cards correctly. Continue the next round with five cards.

Goal: correctly recall the maximum number of cards in 20:00.

The PAO system is a mnemonic device to help remember nouns (events, places, or names.) Read more about the strategy here.

Today’s BrainWOD: “Tall Tales”

By | Enrichment, Enrichment for Adults, Games, Ignite! At Home, Ignite! At School, Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

Lesson: How To Tell Tall Tales

5 Things Every Presenter Needs To Know About People from Weinschenk on Vimeo.

Activity:

“Fisherman’s Friend”

In pairs, have one student sit on a mat; the other pushes her to one end of the room, then races back to the start and pulls her in with a tug-of-war rope.

When finished, the “fisherman” recounts a story of their largest catch to the rest of the group. It will be false, of course.

Ages 3-6: One push, one pull, <1 minute speech

Ages 7-10: 2-3 pushes/pulls, <2 minute speech

Ages 11-16: 3+ pushes/pulls, <3 minute speech

Adults: 1 push/pull, 1 minute speaking, 5 rounds.

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Today’s BrainWOD: “Look Who’s Talking”

By | Enrichment, Enrichment for Adults, Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

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With a partner or a team, one student does 20 squats while holding a medicine ball. They must keep up a narrative story while squatting. Then their partner takes their turn while the first student rests. Both students tell different stories. The goal is for both students to achieve 5 rounds for 20 squats while telling their story; if they run out of narrative, they’re out.

To increase difficulty:

  • Hold the ball overhead while squatting
  • Squat on one leg
  • Ban the word ‘and’
  • Increase the number of rounds
  • Use a story created by the students.

 

Today’s BrainWOD: “Tabata Talking”

By | Enrichment, Public Speaking, wod | No Comments

lesnicks

The Tabata Protocol means doing 20 seconds of work, followed by 10 seconds of rest. It’s usually done for 8 rounds. CrossFit workouts include “Tabata This” and “Tabata That.”

In “Tabata Talking,” instructors draw a random noun, and students talk about the noun for 20 seconds nonstop. Then they take a 10 second break to gather their thoughts before the next interval. If a student can’t fill the full 20 second interval, they move immediately to the next exercise group.

Exercise Group: Tabata Squats (max squats in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds.)

Talking Group: Draw a noun (max talking in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, up to 8 rounds.)

Exercise Group: Tabata Pushups (max pushups in 20 seconds, 10 seconds rest, 8 rounds.)

Talking Group: Draw a noun

Exercise Group: Tabata jumping jacks

Talking Group: Draw a noun

Exercise Group: Tabata Situps

Talking Group: Draw a noun.

The objective is to complete all 32 ‘talking’ rounds.

Bonus challenge:

By removing one letter from the mix at each step,
and rearranging the other letters as necessary to form new words,
reduce the word “SANCTION” to the letter “I.”

S A N C T I O N
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _
_ _ _
_ _
I