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Five Ways to Spice Up Your Daily Walks
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Apr 30, 2020 | Motor Skills
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Motor Skills
No School Brain Fuel! 4 Mom-Approved Activities
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Mar 18, 2020 | Reading
Kids may rejoice when school’s out of session, but as a mom, you may be wondering how you can balance their day’s activities between guilty pleasures (hello, screen time!) and wholesome activities. Whether your kiddo is under the weather, or you’re stay-cationing this Spring Break, here are 4 mom-approved activities that feed your child’s brain AND are easy to do when you’re staying in.
Fine Motor Foto Fun
Are your kiddo’s scissor skills just OK? Here’s a fun way to practice the fine motor movements that help them make the cut, with the added benefit of puzzle play that enhances critical thinking and problem solving.Here’s how:
- Find a collection of photos from magazines or family snapshots, or even by printing images from your computer. If you wish, glue the photos to cardstock or laminate them for extra durability.
- Help your child draw guide lines on the photos to divide them into two or more large pieces, depending on their age and skill level. Lines can be freehanded or traced using stencils, like those included in our Trace Ace Scissor Skills Set.
- Have your child cut the pieces out using child-safe scissors, practicing following the guidelines.
- Have fun playing with your new puzzles. The more photos in your collection, the more of a challenge it will be to put each individual puzzle together!
(Photo Credit: Lina Awshee)
Letter Look and Learn
Reinforce letter recognition and sounds while building critical thinking skills with a letter scavenger hunt around the house. Plus, this activity will get them up and moving!Here’s how:
- Give your child a set of letters A-Z. Use Letter Blocks, Magnetic Letters or DIY your own set by writing each letter on an index card.
- Set your child loose inside the house to find items that start with each letter of the alphabet and mark them with the corresponding letter.
- Have your child take you or another family member on a tour of their letter hunt as they collect up their letters from A to Z.
- If you have more than one child to play, challenge them to complete their letter hunt first. Once an item has been marked with a letter, it can’t be used again, so they’ll have to find another item for that letter!
- To make the activity a little more challenging if your child is ready, have them carry a notebook and write out the name of the items they find to practice handwriting and spelling skills. Then, ask them to use each word to write a complete sentence or create a story using all of the words!
Dual Dice Duel
Everyone’s played the card game War – time to give it a math-tastic twist. If you have four dice around the house, you can have yourself a math duel. Here’s how to play:
- Give each player two dice – or for extra fun, try using one Jumbo Dice In Diceper player instead!
- Depending on the player’s math skill level, decide if you’ll be practicing number recognition/value, addition or multiplication.
- Each player rolls their dice.
- If playing for number recognition and value, each player calls out their number rolled from left to right. For example, if you roll a 4 and a 5, your number for that round is 45. The player with the higher number wins that round.
- If playing for addition or multiplication, add or multiply your two dice together. The player with the higher total wins that round.
- The first player to get 10 points wins!
- Add more dice to the game to make it even more of a challenge!
- Try Polyhedral Dice with 8, 10 or more sides for more complex challenges!
- Use multi-colored dice, and assign each color a function – Add your red dice number, subtract your blue dice number, and so on, to get your total for the round.
Magnet Match
While the kids are circling the kitchen for their fourth round of snacks, put them to work at the fridge with Magnetic Uppercase & Lowercase Letters and a homemade worksheet! Here’s how:
- Using a blank sheet of construction paper, write the alphabet A-Z in marker. Create one sheet with the letters in order and another jumbling them up at random. You can also create and print this out on your computer!
- Attach the paper to your fridge using a magnet, clip or removable tape.
- Using magnetic letters, have your child match the letter to a magnet, covering the letter on the paper with the corresponding letter magnet.
- Ready to learn upper and lower case letters? Mix in both cases using our Magnetic Uppercase and Lowercase Letter set.
- Take the game to the next level by creating additional sheets spelling out short words, or print out photos of words and have your child spell them in letter magnets.
No School Brain Fuel! 4 Mom-Approved Activities
READ MORE
Kids may rejoice when school’s out of session, but as a mom, you may be wondering how you can balance their day’s activities between guilty pleasures (hello, screen time!) and wholesome activities. Whether your kiddo is under the weather, or you’re stay-cationing this Spring Break, here are 4 mom-approved activities that feed your child’s brain AND are easy to do when you’re staying in.
Fine Motor Foto Fun
Are your kiddo’s scissor skills just OK? Here’s a fun way to practice the fine motor movements that help them make the cut, with the added benefit of puzzle play that enhances critical thinking and problem solving.Here’s how:
- Find a collection of photos from magazines or family snapshots, or even by printing images from your computer. If you wish, glue the photos to cardstock or laminate them for extra durability.
- Help your child draw guide lines on the photos to divide them into two or more large pieces, depending on their age and skill level. Lines can be freehanded or traced using stencils, like those included in our Trace Ace Scissor Skills Set.
- Have your child cut the pieces out using child-safe scissors, practicing following the guidelines.
- Have fun playing with your new puzzles. The more photos in your collection, the more of a challenge it will be to put each individual puzzle together!
(Photo Credit: Lina Awshee)
Letter Look and Learn
Reinforce letter recognition and sounds while building critical thinking skills with a letter scavenger hunt around the house. Plus, this activity will get them up and moving!Here’s how:
- Give your child a set of letters A-Z. Use Letter Blocks, Magnetic Letters or DIY your own set by writing each letter on an index card.
- Set your child loose inside the house to find items that start with each letter of the alphabet and mark them with the corresponding letter.
- Have your child take you or another family member on a tour of their letter hunt as they collect up their letters from A to Z.
- If you have more than one child to play, challenge them to complete their letter hunt first. Once an item has been marked with a letter, it can’t be used again, so they’ll have to find another item for that letter!
- To make the activity a little more challenging if your child is ready, have them carry a notebook and write out the name of the items they find to practice handwriting and spelling skills. Then, ask them to use each word to write a complete sentence or create a story using all of the words!
Dual Dice Duel
Everyone’s played the card game War – time to give it a math-tastic twist. If you have four dice around the house, you can have yourself a math duel. Here’s how to play:
- Give each player two dice – or for extra fun, try using one Jumbo Dice In Diceper player instead!
- Depending on the player’s math skill level, decide if you’ll be practicing number recognition/value, addition or multiplication.
- Each player rolls their dice.
- If playing for number recognition and value, each player calls out their number rolled from left to right. For example, if you roll a 4 and a 5, your number for that round is 45. The player with the higher number wins that round.
- If playing for addition or multiplication, add or multiply your two dice together. The player with the higher total wins that round.
- The first player to get 10 points wins!
- Add more dice to the game to make it even more of a challenge!
- Try Polyhedral Dice with 8, 10 or more sides for more complex challenges!
- Use multi-colored dice, and assign each color a function – Add your red dice number, subtract your blue dice number, and so on, to get your total for the round.
Magnet Match
While the kids are circling the kitchen for their fourth round of snacks, put them to work at the fridge with Magnetic Uppercase & Lowercase Letters and a homemade worksheet! Here’s how:
- Using a blank sheet of construction paper, write the alphabet A-Z in marker. Create one sheet with the letters in order and another jumbling them up at random. You can also create and print this out on your computer!
- Attach the paper to your fridge using a magnet, clip or removable tape.
- Using magnetic letters, have your child match the letter to a magnet, covering the letter on the paper with the corresponding letter magnet.
- Ready to learn upper and lower case letters? Mix in both cases using our Magnetic Uppercase and Lowercase Letter set.
- Take the game to the next level by creating additional sheets spelling out short words, or print out photos of words and have your child spell them in letter magnets.
Scissor Skills for Tiny Tots!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Feb 19, 2020 | Motor Skills
“Be Careful! Scissors are DANGEROUS!” or something along those lines is what parents usually shout when they see their little ones holding scissors in their hands. While I don’t disagree with the statement by any means, I want to share all of the ways scissor skills are so important for development, as well as all of the fun ways we can incorporate underlying scissor skills into everyday play…even for the youngest of our learners!
Using scissors efficiently requires a lot of motor planning, coordination, and dexterity. Before a student can successfully use scissors, there are many underlying skills that can be worked on and strengthened so that we can set up the student for optimal success. There are so many ways that we can interact and play with our kiddo’s to help develop the many different motor control areas!
Grasp/Release:
Activities that promote opening and closing of the hands and fingers such as using tongs, tweezers, clips, squeezing, etc.Two-handed Coordination:
Activities that promote the use of both hands together such as tearing paper and peeling and sticking stickers.Hand and Finger Strengthening:
Dough, putty, tweezers, tongs, spray bottles, stress ball squeezes, etc.Visual Skills:
Activities that promote active and intentional use of the visual system such as eye-spy, hidden pictures, following targets with eyes (rolling a ball and following eyes, marble tower, etc)When introducing scissors for the first time, spring loaded scissors are extremely helpful and can ease the introduction. The spring mechanism will “bounce” back the blades to reduce the amount of strength and coordination required, therefore, allowing kiddos who do not quite have the strength or coordination to still be able to cut! The best part is that once they outgrow the spring, you can “turn it off” and use them as normal scissors.
As a School-Based Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA/L), we are often checking out the progression of scissor use in kiddo’s and here is a general milestone timeline that we use as reference.Starting at/around:
25-26 months
We like to see kiddos snipping with scissors in one place37-38 months
Cut a piece of paper in half41-42 months
Cut out a 5” line within ½” of the target49-50 months
Cut a 3” circle within ¼” of the target for 3/4th of the circle53-54 months
Cut out a 3” square within ¼” of the line
While development isn’t always linear, we often see a general progression as outlined and the underlying skills are very important in achieving these skills.Here are some fun tips and hacks to help your little ones practice their scissor skills:
- Start with “snipping”. practicing small snips will help promote practice, as well as success! We want our kiddo’s to feel like they are successfully cutting and expecting them to open/close and move forward can be tricky at first.
- Using a more restrictive paper such as cardstock or thicker paper can help with control (much easier to hold the paper steady than flimsy paper or thin material). You can also steady the paper for them to reduce the amount of work and coordination.
- Along with restrictive paper, you can also use restrictive materials such as dough, putty, straws, paper plates, index cards, etc.
- Teaching “thumbs up” when holding the scissors by placing a small sticker or Washi tape to remind them which side is up – tell them to make sure they can see their sticker.
- When teaching the forward motion aspect, make it fun! Pretend like the scissors are alligators, trains, cars, etc and have them cut across a path or road.
Trace Ace Scissors has been a great addition to my therapy toolbox. With my little preschool students, we had fun learning to use a stencil. Mini crayons help reinforce proper pencil grasp as they color, stencils help incorporate the use of the two hands together, and we used cardstock paper so that it would provide more resistance and help stabilize the paper as they cut with the spring loaded scissors. 
Save it for later!
Scissor Skills for Tiny Tots!
While development isn’t always linear, we often see a general progression as outlined and the underlying skills are very important in achieving these skills.
Trace Ace Scissors has been a great addition to my therapy toolbox. With my little preschool students, we had fun learning to use a stencil. Mini crayons help reinforce proper pencil grasp as they color, stencils help incorporate the use of the two hands together, and we used cardstock paper so that it would provide more resistance and help stabilize the paper as they cut with the spring loaded scissors.
READ MORE
“Be Careful! Scissors are DANGEROUS!” or something along those lines is what parents usually shout when they see their little ones holding scissors in their hands. While I don’t disagree with the statement by any means, I want to share all of the ways scissor skills are so important for development, as well as all of the fun ways we can incorporate underlying scissor skills into everyday play…even for the youngest of our learners!
Using scissors efficiently requires a lot of motor planning, coordination, and dexterity. Before a student can successfully use scissors, there are many underlying skills that can be worked on and strengthened so that we can set up the student for optimal success. There are so many ways that we can interact and play with our kiddo’s to help develop the many different motor control areas!
Grasp/Release:
Activities that promote opening and closing of the hands and fingers such as using tongs, tweezers, clips, squeezing, etc.Two-handed Coordination:
Activities that promote the use of both hands together such as tearing paper and peeling and sticking stickers.Hand and Finger Strengthening:
Dough, putty, tweezers, tongs, spray bottles, stress ball squeezes, etc.Visual Skills:
Activities that promote active and intentional use of the visual system such as eye-spy, hidden pictures, following targets with eyes (rolling a ball and following eyes, marble tower, etc)When introducing scissors for the first time, spring loaded scissors are extremely helpful and can ease the introduction. The spring mechanism will “bounce” back the blades to reduce the amount of strength and coordination required, therefore, allowing kiddos who do not quite have the strength or coordination to still be able to cut! The best part is that once they outgrow the spring, you can “turn it off” and use them as normal scissors.
As a School-Based Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA/L), we are often checking out the progression of scissor use in kiddo’s and here is a general milestone timeline that we use as reference.Starting at/around:
25-26 months
We like to see kiddos snipping with scissors in one place37-38 months
Cut a piece of paper in half41-42 months
Cut out a 5” line within ½” of the target49-50 months
Cut a 3” circle within ¼” of the target for 3/4th of the circle53-54 months
Cut out a 3” square within ¼” of the line While development isn’t always linear, we often see a general progression as outlined and the underlying skills are very important in achieving these skills.Here are some fun tips and hacks to help your little ones practice their scissor skills:
- Start with “snipping”. practicing small snips will help promote practice, as well as success! We want our kiddo’s to feel like they are successfully cutting and expecting them to open/close and move forward can be tricky at first.
- Using a more restrictive paper such as cardstock or thicker paper can help with control (much easier to hold the paper steady than flimsy paper or thin material). You can also steady the paper for them to reduce the amount of work and coordination.
- Along with restrictive paper, you can also use restrictive materials such as dough, putty, straws, paper plates, index cards, etc.
- Teaching “thumbs up” when holding the scissors by placing a small sticker or Washi tape to remind them which side is up – tell them to make sure they can see their sticker.
- When teaching the forward motion aspect, make it fun! Pretend like the scissors are alligators, trains, cars, etc and have them cut across a path or road.
Trace Ace Scissors has been a great addition to my therapy toolbox. With my little preschool students, we had fun learning to use a stencil. Mini crayons help reinforce proper pencil grasp as they color, stencils help incorporate the use of the two hands together, and we used cardstock paper so that it would provide more resistance and help stabilize the paper as they cut with the spring loaded scissors.
Save it for later!
DIY Presidents' Day Log Cabin!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Feb 11, 2019 | STEM
En Garde! DIY Peep Jousting!
- Patria Lincoln Posted On Mar 29, 2018 | Easter
Dance Baby, Dance!
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On May 2, 2017 | Motor Skills
Throughout history, dance has served as a means of communicating and bonding, celebrating, healing, as well as a form of creative self-expression. It’s also an amazing activity that supports positive physical and mental health.
Recently, Canada initiated its Sharing Dance programs under Canada’s National Ballet School, citing that 90% of children do not meet physical activity guidelines; and one out of three children and youth are overweight or obese.
The initiative promotes dance for all ages, as benefits are not dependent on age. Starting children off in dance early, however, kicks off good habits that can last a lifetime, while introducing them to the best possible way to channel their boundless energy.
So, let’s look at the reasons why we should get kids up and dancing. Here is a fun playlist to sing and dance along too!
Dance for health
Kids have so much energy! Next time your class is feeling drained and needing release, consider doing the mash potato, moonwalk, or hokey pokey…
Some of the physical benefits include improved aerobic power, muscular endurance, strength, flexibility and balance – all of which contribute to lower risk of illness and injury. As if that’s not enough to get moving, Psychology Today reported that dancing improves brain functionality.
According to Livestrong, “Dancing is an aerobic form of exercise. For children who are overweight, it can potentially help them to lose weight and improve their eating habits.
”What’s more, dancing in a social setting can release endorphins – the chemical in the brain that reduces stress and pain – resulting in a feeling of wellbeing similar to what is known as a “runner’s high.” When there are learned steps and routines, dancers also benefit from cognitive development.
Dance to be happy
Dance offers all the benefits of a hardcore workout, minus the stress. Nancy Van Keuls, MD, a Cleveland Clinic pediatrician and certified Zumba instructor believes dance can be much more effective for kids who shy away from competitive activities such as organized sports.“In dance, they’ll never strike out, miss a basket or finish last,” Van Keuls explained. “They can do their own thing. They can become comfortable and confident with their own body. It’s a healthy form of self-expression.”Turn up the music and keep the following in mind:
- Find The Beat: It’s good for the heart! For maximum benefit, do at least 30 minutes of dance most days.
- Step Into Fitness: You don’t have to be sporty to reap benefits – just keep moving.
- Stretch Your Brain: Focusing on dance steps while paying attention to rhythm is smart work for the brain.
- Kick Up Your Grades: Concentrate better and score higher on academic skills tests – especially reading and math.
- Shake Off Stress: Try NOT to smile while shaking a tail feather. Dancing just feels good … and helps to fight feelings of depression and anxiety.
- Take a Breather: Dancing can make for a better night’s sleep – and better attention and performance during waking hours.
- Spin Some Fun: Dancing is a great uniting force, so grab a partner! Age doesn’t matter… anyone over the age of two should be handed a dance card.
Dance for your SELF
We all know what happens when a baby hears music or see a child’s reflexive physical reaction to music. Studies show infants are predisposed to move to music. Children feel an inclination to dance, so turn up the music.
“If you put music on, young children move to the music — its universal,” Daniel Mollner, a facilitator of weekly “ecstatic dance” events in Santa Cruz, Calif. said. “It’s natural.”
As a dancer himself, he realized that critique can be a deterrent, especially for youngsters. His advice: Dance for yourself and find “a freestyle movement where you can move your inner rhythm.”
Keep it casual and fun! Find a good beat and welcome a new sort of recess.
As kids explore movement and various postures, they begin to get a better sense of their bodies. Becoming more comfortable in their skin helps to improve confidence and self-esteem.
“This can be particularly beneficial for children who are physically or mentally impaired or those who are attempting to deal with significant emotional problems,” Livestrong reported.
Learning is Where We Play:
Dance Baby, Dance!
READ MORE
Throughout history, dance has served as a means of communicating and bonding, celebrating, healing, as well as a form of creative self-expression. It’s also an amazing activity that supports positive physical and mental health.
Recently, Canada initiated its Sharing Dance programs under Canada’s National Ballet School, citing that 90% of children do not meet physical activity guidelines; and one out of three children and youth are overweight or obese.
The initiative promotes dance for all ages, as benefits are not dependent on age. Starting children off in dance early, however, kicks off good habits that can last a lifetime, while introducing them to the best possible way to channel their boundless energy.
So, let’s look at the reasons why we should get kids up and dancing. Here is a fun playlist to sing and dance along too!
Dance for health
Kids have so much energy! Next time your class is feeling drained and needing release, consider doing the mash potato, moonwalk, or hokey pokey…
Some of the physical benefits include improved aerobic power, muscular endurance, strength, flexibility and balance – all of which contribute to lower risk of illness and injury. As if that’s not enough to get moving, Psychology Today reported that dancing improves brain functionality.
According to Livestrong, “Dancing is an aerobic form of exercise. For children who are overweight, it can potentially help them to lose weight and improve their eating habits.
”What’s more, dancing in a social setting can release endorphins – the chemical in the brain that reduces stress and pain – resulting in a feeling of wellbeing similar to what is known as a “runner’s high.” When there are learned steps and routines, dancers also benefit from cognitive development.
Dance to be happy
Dance offers all the benefits of a hardcore workout, minus the stress. Nancy Van Keuls, MD, a Cleveland Clinic pediatrician and certified Zumba instructor believes dance can be much more effective for kids who shy away from competitive activities such as organized sports.“In dance, they’ll never strike out, miss a basket or finish last,” Van Keuls explained. “They can do their own thing. They can become comfortable and confident with their own body. It’s a healthy form of self-expression.”Turn up the music and keep the following in mind:
- Find The Beat: It’s good for the heart! For maximum benefit, do at least 30 minutes of dance most days.
- Step Into Fitness: You don’t have to be sporty to reap benefits – just keep moving.
- Stretch Your Brain: Focusing on dance steps while paying attention to rhythm is smart work for the brain.
- Kick Up Your Grades: Concentrate better and score higher on academic skills tests – especially reading and math.
- Shake Off Stress: Try NOT to smile while shaking a tail feather. Dancing just feels good … and helps to fight feelings of depression and anxiety.
- Take a Breather: Dancing can make for a better night’s sleep – and better attention and performance during waking hours.
- Spin Some Fun: Dancing is a great uniting force, so grab a partner! Age doesn’t matter… anyone over the age of two should be handed a dance card.
Dance for your SELF
We all know what happens when a baby hears music or see a child’s reflexive physical reaction to music. Studies show infants are predisposed to move to music. Children feel an inclination to dance, so turn up the music.
“If you put music on, young children move to the music — its universal,” Daniel Mollner, a facilitator of weekly “ecstatic dance” events in Santa Cruz, Calif. said. “It’s natural.”
As a dancer himself, he realized that critique can be a deterrent, especially for youngsters. His advice: Dance for yourself and find “a freestyle movement where you can move your inner rhythm.”
Keep it casual and fun! Find a good beat and welcome a new sort of recess.
As kids explore movement and various postures, they begin to get a better sense of their bodies. Becoming more comfortable in their skin helps to improve confidence and self-esteem.
“This can be particularly beneficial for children who are physically or mentally impaired or those who are attempting to deal with significant emotional problems,” Livestrong reported.
Learning is Where We Play:
Multisensory Learning & Why It Works
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Mar 14, 2017 | STEM
While some students respond easily to initial instruction, others need different tools. As educators, we're challenged to respond to these learning differences, keep our eye on the standards, and find ways to teach every student. A great way to help all students succeed is by using Multisensory Learning.
What is Multisensory Learning?
Multisensory learning involves using two or more of the senses while doing one activity. Children take in information in many different ways:by listening, seeing, touching, and moving. There’s a great Chinese proverb that speaks to this:
“Tell me and I’ll forget;
Show me and I may remember;child
Involve me and I’ll understand.”
Using multiple senses makes it easier for students to make connections between new information and what they already know. Here are some ways to do this in your classroom:
Hands on!
Foundational learning starts with the fingers. Many children benefit from visuals and also crave tactile stimulation. Manipulatives can help you reach children on both fronts.
For example, students who struggle with reading may find success through using letter manipulatives to build words or by using word manipulatives to build sentences. And, if those manipulatives are color-coded, the visual cues may help children recognize spelling or sentence patterns, too.
Move it!
Large muscle movements stimulate the brain by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen. But did you know that movements that cross the midline, such as crawling and climbing, stimulate both sides of the brain?
Get students down on the floor! They can: Play mat games and use activity mats that target all kinds of literacy and math skills. Do giant word sorts on rolls of paper spread out on the floor. Crawl as they practice counting by tens. Pretend to climb an imaginary ladder while spelling words or reciting math facts.
Rock on!
Musical intelligence may be the first to develop, and it continues to flourish throughout our lives. You can have students make or listen to music to create those synapses!
Here are a few ideas: Go online to find songs to play in the classroom. If you have students who love to perform, use a USB recorder like the Easi-Speak™ to capture their voices as they sing upbeat educational chants. Then, replay to help the whole class build their skills in a fun way.Remember that music with visuals, physical actions or manipulatives is even more powerful. So, encourage students to tap their toes, dance along or create artwork as they listen. Or, how about playing clapping games with a partner while chanting rhymes or alliterative tongue-twisters?
Visualize it!
Graphic organizers allow students to see connections and critically analyze data by making abstract concepts more concrete. Try introducing story webs, sequencing charts and timelines into the writing process.
Each student can use info from their own writing to fill out the organizer, check that their writing makes sense, and includes all the right elements. You can also challenge students to create a new visual (like a poster, collage, drawing, or painting) based on a completed graphic organizer. Graphs can be integrated into sorting activities by having students tally their sorting results and display their findings in bar or line graphs.
Brain-based activities allow all learners to succeed. To stimulate your students' brain cells, add these multisensory tactics to your program and help everyone flourish!
Tell us about some of the ways you use Multisensory Learning in your classroom at blog@learningresources.com!
Multisensory Learning & Why It Works
READ MORE
While some students respond easily to initial instruction, others need different tools. As educators, we're challenged to respond to these learning differences, keep our eye on the standards, and find ways to teach every student. A great way to help all students succeed is by using Multisensory Learning.
What is Multisensory Learning?
Multisensory learning involves using two or more of the senses while doing one activity. Children take in information in many different ways:by listening, seeing, touching, and moving. There’s a great Chinese proverb that speaks to this:
“Tell me and I’ll forget;
Show me and I may remember;child
Involve me and I’ll understand.”
Using multiple senses makes it easier for students to make connections between new information and what they already know. Here are some ways to do this in your classroom:
Hands on!
Foundational learning starts with the fingers. Many children benefit from visuals and also crave tactile stimulation. Manipulatives can help you reach children on both fronts.
For example, students who struggle with reading may find success through using letter manipulatives to build words or by using word manipulatives to build sentences. And, if those manipulatives are color-coded, the visual cues may help children recognize spelling or sentence patterns, too.
Move it!
Large muscle movements stimulate the brain by increasing the flow of blood and oxygen. But did you know that movements that cross the midline, such as crawling and climbing, stimulate both sides of the brain?
Get students down on the floor! They can: Play mat games and use activity mats that target all kinds of literacy and math skills. Do giant word sorts on rolls of paper spread out on the floor. Crawl as they practice counting by tens. Pretend to climb an imaginary ladder while spelling words or reciting math facts.
Rock on!
Musical intelligence may be the first to develop, and it continues to flourish throughout our lives. You can have students make or listen to music to create those synapses!
Here are a few ideas: Go online to find songs to play in the classroom. If you have students who love to perform, use a USB recorder like the Easi-Speak™ to capture their voices as they sing upbeat educational chants. Then, replay to help the whole class build their skills in a fun way.Remember that music with visuals, physical actions or manipulatives is even more powerful. So, encourage students to tap their toes, dance along or create artwork as they listen. Or, how about playing clapping games with a partner while chanting rhymes or alliterative tongue-twisters?
Visualize it!
Graphic organizers allow students to see connections and critically analyze data by making abstract concepts more concrete. Try introducing story webs, sequencing charts and timelines into the writing process.
Each student can use info from their own writing to fill out the organizer, check that their writing makes sense, and includes all the right elements. You can also challenge students to create a new visual (like a poster, collage, drawing, or painting) based on a completed graphic organizer. Graphs can be integrated into sorting activities by having students tally their sorting results and display their findings in bar or line graphs.
Brain-based activities allow all learners to succeed. To stimulate your students' brain cells, add these multisensory tactics to your program and help everyone flourish!
Tell us about some of the ways you use Multisensory Learning in your classroom at blog@learningresources.com!
Stack… Stack… Learn!
- Gabrielle Fischer Posted On Jan 16, 2017 | Motor Skills
