Students Use Brain Gym in the Classroom

"I have used Brain Gym for over 5 years with my students.  They have been apprehensive at first, but they have been able to see the benefits of being able to do exercises to help them focus.  They have used it to help with taking long tests, daily activities, and it has helped with the ADHD as well." 4th grade teacher

Brain Gym Exercises in a Hungarian Primary School By Ivett Juhász, primary school teacher

Article from  Educational Kinesiology Newsletter

Brain Gym Exercises in a Hungarian Primary School By Ivett Juhász, primary school teacher

The Brain Gym® program develops learning through natural movements that can be easily learned. The movements have a positive influence on thinking and learning skills. One of the main goals of Brain Gym is to achieve stress-free whole brain learning. Below, I describe my experiences of Brain Gym exercises in my classroom and then a small study I conducted comparing my class to a non-Brain Gym classroom. Duration: 9 Sep 2013 – 7 March 2014 Ages: 7-8 years (Grade One) Headcount: 20 in the Brain Gym class and 20 in the non-Brain Gym class Location: Hungarian primary school I. PRACTICES Brain Gym exercises The learning and adaptation of the Brain Gym activities began in early September and lasted approximately six months. I demonstrated the exercises first and then worked with each child 1:1. Finally, we all practiced and performed the movements together in the class. The students learned 20 of the 26 total Brain Gym activities in the following chronological order: Sipping Water, Think of an ‘X’, The Cross Crawl, Lazy 8s, Belly Breathing, The Thinking Cap, The Positive Points, The Double Doodle, Arm Activation, The Gravity Glider, The Elephant, Neck Rolls, Balance Buttons, The Energy Yawn, The Owl, Brain Buttons, Hook-ups, Earth Buttons, Space Buttons and The Grounder. Two exercises caused difficulties for the 7-8 year olds and required on average 5-10 minutes daily practice for 6-8 days until everyone managed to perform them correctly: The Cross Crawl – Many had initial difficulties crossing their opposite arms and legs continuously. The Gravity Glider – Sixteen out of twenty students fell as they could not bend forward while being stable. Classroom adaptation The Brain Gym movements were led at the beginning of and during classes every day. I did the exercises along with my students. The activities were selected to suit the particular class while considering the development of learning abilities and skills. The students could drink water in the class and refill their half-litre bottle as needed. During classwork, the students adapted the exercises independently in accordance with their learning abilities. This process evolved by the beginning of December and it continuously went on in the class and even at home. Among the students, the most popular Brain Gym exercises were the Cross Crawl (for ten students), followed by the Owl (for five students), and the Elephant (for three students). Also, one student mentioned the Energy Yawn and another the Thinking Cap as the favourite form of exercises. II. INITIAL CONCLUSION A.  Regarding behaviour, I noticed that the students became more patient, tolerant, balanced, and adaptable. B.  Regarding learning capabilities, I believe that the students improved their problem-solving skills, increased their abilities to better concentration, learned more effectively, and provided quality work. To read about Ivett's experiment, conclusions and results, click here for article and here for the supporting appendices (Appendix I, Appendix II, Appendix III, and Appendix IV).

Brain Gym® In Classrooms

• Last week I went to my daughter's classroom to do some Dominance Profiles. I was in for a treat when I arrived at the beginning of the day. After the Pledge to the flag, they immediately did Hook-Ups-parts 1 and 2. Then she asked them what other Brain Gym Activity they felt they should do that day. They said Cross Crawls. After doing them, they sat down and began their work. It was easy to see that Brain Gym Activities are a part of their daily routine. It only took a few minutes-maybe 2 or 3-to help them find their own unique learning timing. She had told me earlier that she has seen some of them doing Brain Gym on their own at various times during the day.
• As the counselor at an elementary school, one of my duties is to have children come to my room when they are having difficulty following directions and/or staying on task. This morning I had such a visitor, a first grader. He worked a few minutes, then said he needed to do brain exercises. He then stood up and began doing Cross Crawls. He continued to tell me that this would help his brain and him to work because his teacher had them do them in class. After doing about 10 on both sides, he said that he had done enough and was ready to work. He sat down and began to write again.
• It is exciting to see 6 and 10 year olds learning to take care of their well-being.

Reducing Bullying in Schools/ Empowering Our Children

Dr, Ken Rigby, an authority on bullying and peer victimization, believes one of the ways in which school bullying can be reduced is by inducing children who observe bullying taking place at school to discourage it by the way they act. He believes it is a promising strategy for several of the following reasons:

1. Most bullying takes place when bystanders are present

2. When a bystander acts to discourage bullying there is a good chance (50%) the bullying will stop

3. Teachers and parents typically are not present nor are told about the bullying, so do not have the opportunity to take action.

4. A large proportion of children would like to see bullying stopped

Dr. Rigby believes that a good starting point for promoting positive bystander action by children lies in teachers and parents seeking to understand bystander situations from the children’s point of view and facilitating informed discussions about what they think should be done and how.

In these discussions teachers and parents can empower children in situations where they witness bullying or are being bullied. When the children have talked about bullying and being bullied, have some knowledge of bullies and their behaviors, and have possible responses for these situations, they are more confident and make better decisions.

Ways we can empower children to action when they are bystanders are:

• Help them see that their silence makes aggressive students more powerful and contributes to the harm done to the target

• Model positive behavior for them through our own actions

• Protect them from retaliation

• Discourage them from confronting aggressive youth directly about their behavior in most situations, but instead, help them find a wide range of safer and more effective interventions to use

• Encourage them to tell adults about the cruel behavior they see

• Help them find ways to reach out in friendship to targets of bullying and isolated peers

Ways we can empower children who are targets for bullies are:

• Mentor them and connect with them

• Increase supervision to protect them from future verbal and physical aggression and make sure adults welcome and act on their reports of future bad treatment

• Help them develop an answer to the question: “Why did he/she do that to me?” It should not be one that encourages them to blame themselves. One such answer is “ Some people like to being mean to others.”

• Involve them in expressive education/therapy where they can act, write, draw, and talk about their experiences

• Help they get support from others with similar histories

• Help them connect with a network of peer support and friendship

These things can be done in classroom meetings, school assemblies, and conversations with individuals. Parent can play a major role as they listen to and discuss these things with their children'

http://www.stopbullyingnow.com/bystanders.htm

11 year-old Benefits from Brain Gym

One of the things that is rewarding to those of us who teach is to see or hear that children are internalizing what we are teaching them. Such was my pleasure when a friend and colleague shared that she had taught her son some of the Brain Gym activities I had taught her class and that he was finding success with them. Following are his words:

"I have greatly benefitted from Brain Gym. It has helped me study at school better. It helps me focus. It helped me when I was stressed in computer class. It even helps me relax if I can’tget to sleep. Brain Gym really helps me."

D.P. Boy Age 11

Another Aid in Helping Us Learn Easier and More Effectively

Are you right-handed? Left-handed? Are you right-brained? Left-brained? We all know if we are right-handed or left-handed. Many of us have also heard about left-brained or right-brained. What we may not know is that we also have a dominate foot, ear, and eye and that this information can help us to learn easier and/or better. Last week I took a Brain Gym class to learn more about this and how it impacts our learning.

One of the first things we did in class was to determine our personal unique learning style, based on the side of the brain, eye, ear, hand, and foot that is dominant for us. I found that I am "mixed". My dominate brain side is the right side (No surprise there!) with my dominate hand and ear being right also. However, my dominate eye and foot are on the left side. That gave me the appropriately named learning stye as "mixed". You may be thinking, : "Is that good?", "Is it bad?", "What does that mean?" It is like so many things about us. It is neither. However, having this information can give us insight about the way we learn and react to things.
Because each of us is unique, we do and see similar things differently. How often have we watched people load a dishwasher differently than we do, start to draw a picture in a different way than we would, or even put a picture puzzle together differently! As we learn more about our unique learning style, we are better equipped to learn. Some of the exciting things I learned in this class were: how we can learn to help children who struggle to learn more easily; that if we struggle, it doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with us, but it is just that we learn differently; and how movement, in this case using Brain Gym Activities, can help to access the whole brain resulting in more effective and easier learning;

Brain Gym Activities® Give them a try?

Are you learning something new? Are you trying to focus and concentrate better? Do you seem to be a little "off" and have a struggle getting into it?  Since each of us has our own unique rhythm and timing for learning, we can become frustrated at times. Brain Gym Activities help us to do our best. 

Cross Crawls: Prepare for Tests; Let go of Frustration

To engage the whole brain before beginning testing, do some Cross Crawls. They help recall information, resolve problems, and remain calm.

Have you ever gotten frustrated and the harder you try, the more you seem to make mistakes? When that happens, you are in what is called "survival mode”. You are not accessing your whole brain. If you will do some Cross Crawls, it can help you get the whole brain working again. Your frustration will diminish and you will be able to perform easier and more accurately.

I saw this recently as I worked with one of my tutoring students. As he worked on some exercises, he became tense and began making more mistakes increasing his frustration. I asked him to do some Cross Crawls. After he finished, he sat down and was able to proceed easily.

Cross Crawls

Bring one leg and opposite arm together. Then bring the other leg and its opposite arm together. Repeat rhythmically for about one minute. 

Hook-Ups: Great tool to Calm Test-taking Concerns

Taking tests can result in feelings of concern, fear, and stress. When this happens, we are more likely to have trouble focusing, remembering, problem-solving, and doing our best. Brain Gym's Hook-ups is a tool we can use to calm down, focus, and organize our attention for the task at hand.

Hook-ups can be done standing, sitting, or lying down.

Part 1: Sit quietly. Breathe deeply.

Cross your right ankle over the left.

Cross your right wrist over the left. With palms together, thumbs down,and fingers intertwined, bring your hands up under your chin.

Hold like this for a minute or more breathing slowly.

As you inhale, touch the tip of your tongue on roof of your mouth just behind the teeth. Relax the tongue as you exhale.

If it feels safe, close your eyes and continue to breathe slowly and deeply.

Part 2: Uncross ankles and arms. Put fingertips together. Continue to breath slowly.

Hook-ups are a great tool when we want to be on task and using our whole brain for optimal performance. I have seem some dramatic results for students using them.

Coming up next: Brain Gym Activity for reading and writing.

Tip: Take a Break. Play "Simon Says"!

Whether it is a break with an entire classroom or a just a few children. "Simon says" is always a fun and great way to move. You can lead or they can. Simon says point to the south. Simon says point to five pieces of information on the walls. Simon says point to the new poster put up this morning. Use other movements than pointing, such as bending, turning, or twisting. How about jumping, lifting one leg or putting your left hand on your right shoulder while lifting your right leg. Make it simple. Make it more complicated. Just remember that movement is the key to learning.

Tip: ADHD Behaviors; Constant tapping

You know how it seems like some kids are constantly tapping with their fingertips? It can be very annoying and distracting to you and those around them. However if they are tapping on their leg, arm, or something that makes no noise, it doesn’t bother anyone.

The tapping helps them to focus for now until they can learn other tools to help them. As I’ve asked “tappers” to tap on their arm or leg, I’ve found them happy to do so and we are all calmer and happier.

An Experience: 8 year old had difficulty staying on-task and awake in classroom

Yesterday I wrote about whole brain learning. As I have worked with children in the school setting, it has been interesting to me to note that some have a difficult time crossing their midline. I have noticed this as I have taught classes Brain Gym Activities and worked with them individually. I have observed this more readily as they do "cross crawls". They have trouble touching their elbow to the opposite knee. When they have trouble doing this, it is an indication that they are having the same difficulty with using both sides of their brain or the whole brain. It is not surprising to note that they are children who struggle in learning.
Last week I had a young boy come to see me who was having a very difficult time staying awake and on task in his classroom. As we did cross crawls, he could not get the opposite elbow and leg working together to meet. When I simplified it by having him touch his hand to the opposite knee, he was able to do that. After he had done that a few times, he was able to practice getting his elbow to the opposite knee more easily. When he returned to class, he was more alert and better able to function in his classroom. Later in the day, I suggested to the teacher that he do cross crawls in the classroom and/or the class do some Brain Gym Activities together as a part of their routine.
*He loved doing the Brain Gym Activities even though he was a little frustrated when he couldn't get his body to do it "right" at first.

Brain Gym® Activities in the Classroom

Brain Gym Activities were first developed by educator and reading specialist Paul E. Dennison and his wife and colleague, Gail E. Dennison. Since their development, these simple, easy to do activities have been reported to be fun and effective by teachers, students, and clients. Dramatic improvements are often seen in some of these areas: concentration and focus; memory; academics: reading, writing, math; test taking; physical conditions; organizational skills; and attitude.

Teachers who use Brain Gym Activities with their classes and/or small groups say:

“I’m liking it. It brings us together and calms us each morning.”

“We love Brain Gym mostly because it gives us a breather, helps us reconnect and focus?”

“Brain Gym movements were a great transaction activity for our classes. The kids were able to re-focus as we moved between activities. “

“ Many of the students said they transferred it and were using it at home.”

“I used BG with my math students. I noticed when we used it that one student had less frustration and didn’t refuse to do his work. With the other 3 it did calm them down during math, but the biggest difference was with the one student.”

“I used BG each day at the beginning of one of my groups. One of my students went from almost every day time-outs. I don’t know what it was, but it made a difference.”

“I have used brain gym for over 5 years with my students. They have been apprehensive at first, but they have been able to see the benefits of being able to do “exercises” to help them focus. They have used it to help with taking long tests, daily activities, and it has helped them with their ADHD, as well. They enjoy being able to lead the class in Brain Gym activities too. It has been very beneficial.”