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

Increase in Focus (especially in Writing and Journal Work), Participation, and Looking Others in the Eye with Brain Gym

Educational Kinesiology Foundation

via  facebook

Yesterday at 12:25pm · 

I love this Brain Gym story from 2012!

Leah Dilley shares with her instructor, Sher Smith:

I've been doing pace with my child EVERY morning. We make a game of it and I literally do it with him for two minutes.... quick and dirty. I asked the teacher to let me know if she noticed any changes. The teacher sent me a note a week later saying she noticed changvues with his focus especially with writing and journal work. Yesterday she left me a voice message that she can't believe the changes and how "on" my child was - participating, focusing, and looking in people’s eyes. She’s absolutely blown away. Is that amazing or what!!!!

In my opinion, the key is consistency. I feel with my physiology background I “get” how it works. It’s like exercising muscle; you need to strengthen it. It has to be done on a regular basis and the relaxation is important. Going from fight and flight to rest and digest.

I created a seminar last year about this very thing. I'm sure you've heard many stories but you have no idea what kind of a mission I'm on now!!! I have to get my license...the sooner the better. Thank you for creating your school and including Brain Gym for us to learn. I've been writing about my child’s changes on Facebook and I’ve been flooded with emails. I almost can't sleep at night!!! These kids are going to be even more amazing once this becomes mainstream.

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).

Sslf-Esteem and Ways to Strength It

Self-Esteem is Important

A child’s self-esteem is important. How a child feels about him/herself makes a difference in his/her life and how it is lived. If a child’s self-esteem is healthy, it will buoy him/her up and keep him/her on course as life challenges present themselves. A child who feels good about him/herself will be stronger when they meet negative pressures, will handle conflicts easier, and will be more likely to smile, enjoy life, and be optimistic. How a child feels about him/herself influences how he/she acts and reacts to the situations in his/her life.

Ways to Strengthen Self-Esteem

In one way or another child’s self-esteem is strengthened or weakened continuously. There are two factors that determine whether it is strengthened or weakened. One is the way the child interprets the people and circumstances in his/her environment. The other is those people and circumstances.

As adults, we can help them build stronger self-esteem when we help them interpret what those people and circumstances may mean in a positive way. Other things we can do are:

• Always treat them with respect.

• Catch them doing good things and acknowledge them

• Look for positive things in their personality, acts of character and kindness, good or wise choices, etc. and compliment them on those things.

• Model saying good things about themselves by doing the same about yourself.

• Model noticing those around you and saying friendly and nice things to them.

Contact

info:

Sara

Banister

Cross-Crawls Help Learners Memorize and Apply Reading Strategies

Recently, children in the school reading lab were memorizing the "Fab 4" reading strategies. To do this they learned a key word for each step and the strategy which explained what it meant. The goal was for each of student to memorize, understand, and be able to use the strategy. To do this the children began by doing Cross-Crawls. Then they worked on memorizing the strategy and what it meant. Some of the strategies were longer, so when the teacher felt the children were having more difficulty, she would have them stand up and do more Cross-Crawls to help to refocus before continuing. As they did Cross-Crawls and learned, they also were able to apply the strategies they had learned . She said it was "a fabulous time of learning".

Suggestions for Helping Kids (of all ages) Start the Day

It's January 3rd and most of us are back to work and school following weeks of festivities-family dinners and get-togethers, parties, concerts and performances, etc. The adjustment is usually hard for all of us. The first thing this morning a second grader came up to tell me that it was really hard to get up today, because she and her brother have been staying up late having fun.

In addition to getting back on track, it is important to remember that it is the end of the semester for many schools. As a result students will be doing more testing than in regular weeks. Some things to consider to help prepare your student to do their best are:

• Get adequate rest. It is recommended that children 5-12 years old get at least 9.5 hours per night.
• Be prepared. Have the things needed for school (or work) completed and in their designated place where they are ready to be picked up as he/she walks out the door.
• Eat breakfast. It is best to include some protein and to go lower on sugar.
• Keep the morning as calm as possible. I know it can get pretty hectic with everyone getting ready for their day, but we all think, react, focus, etc. better when we are "calm, cool, and collected."
• Send him/her off with a kind word of confidence and love. It will make a difference.

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;

An Experience: Handwriting

Recently a young boy came to me. He was assigned to write some words, but he had continued to refuse to do so. He wouldn't consider picking up the pencil to do it. After awhile he agreed to write a portion of the assignment. As he wrote, I noticed that he was holding his pencil in a tight grip and the task seemed labored and slow. After he had written a little, I asked him to put the pencil down and do some other things with me. I had him do "Double Doodles" in the air. First we did them together and then he did them by himself. Then he did "Lazy 8" with different colors of crayons. Following that I asked him to write some more. His first words were "This is easy". He was able to stay on task to complete his assignment.

New School Year, New Beginnings! Plan for success!

Here it is September 1! It's hard to believe how quickly the days, weeks, and even months come and go. Yet they do. For those of you whose lives include school, it is a time of new beginnings. The new school year has just begun or will be beginning. With that comes new teachers, students, clothes, supplies, friends, practice and game schedules, routines, etc. These new adventures are exciting and fun, but a result can be more things to do with less time to do them. As you think about your schedules, be sure to remember to plan for the basics that help you and your children successful. Some considerations are:

• Get adequate rest.
• Eat healthy food
• Drink plenty of water
• Exercise daily
• Develop and maintain a routine to support success

Brain Gym® Works for Students, Especially Cross Crawls

Students who participated in Reading and Math Academy at Sunset View Elementary the last school year were encouraged to raise the level of their work by increasing their energy, excitement and enthusiasm to learn. Although our students were eager at the beginning of their sessions to work hard, we found that by the middle of the session students’ focus and concentration were fading. I asked, “What can we do to maintain the mental stamina that our students need to accomplish their work for a 30-minute session of reading or math?”

Brain Gym movements came to our rescue! Earlier during the year Sara Banister instructed the Academy tutors on the purpose of Brain Gym and encouraged us to use it in the tutoring lab. We were very pleased with the results after using Brain Gym. The Cross Crawls where students touch the opposite knee with the opposite elbow and alternate, making sure they cross their upper body, seemed to be the most effective brain gym movement that improved our students focus and encouraged positive student behavior. It also increased our students’ energy and enthusiasm for learning. Applying Brain Gym in the middle of a reading session took very little time, required no set-up, and was used whenever needed. How simple is that? Brain Gym is movement with purpose and it works! Teri Yamada

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.

Water, So Simple, but So Vital!

One of the simplest things we can do to ensure we do our best is drink enough water to be adequately hydrated. Even though it is simple, it is often challenging to drink the water we need or even to remember to drink when we are busy.

When we have adequate hydration, all of our academic skills are improved. Water intake is extremely important when stress is anticipated such as before test taking. Water improves concentration, alleviates fatigue, improves mental and physical coordination, and enhances communication and social skills.

Why is water such a big deal?

About two-thirds of our body is made up of water which is an excellent conductor of electric energy. It facilitates electrical currents in our body that are conducted between our brain and sensory organs. All of the electrical and chemical actions of our brain and central nervous system depend on this.

Several things deplete our body of water leaving our cells dehydrated. One of these is stress-both psychological and environmental. Another is working with electrical equipment, such as computers, TV, etc. We may think that we are getting water through food or other drinks, while in reality, we are eating processed foods that don’t contain water and, like caffeinated drinks, may be dehydrating our bodies. When we are consuming these items, we may need to drink more water rather than depend on them for the fluid that our body needs.

As you prepare to do your best, be sure that your water intake is adequate. The most efficient way to have the water we drink absorbed is when it is taken frequently and in small amounts at room temperature.

Tomorrow: Hook-ups invite calm while focusing and organizing scattered attention.

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: Breakfast for ADHD Kids and All Others

Breakfast rules for ADHD kids and all others:

DON’T SKIP BREAKFAST.

INCLUDE PROTEIN.

Kids who eat breakfast tend to be healthier in all ways and are more likely to participate in physical activities. They also tend to feel less tired, restless, or irritable.

What kids eat for breakfast is also important. When they eat foods rich in protein, whole grains, and fiber-yet low in added sugar, their attention span, concentration, and memory may be boosted. They also tend to keep their weight under control, have lower blood cholesterol levels, have fewer absences from school, and make fewer trips to the school nurse with stomach complaints related to hunger.

Healthy breakfast suggestions :

· Whole-grained cereal topped with fruit and yogurt

· Whole-grain waffles topped with peanut butter or fruit

· Whole-grained pita stuffed with sliced hard-boiled eggs

· Hot cereal topped with cinnamon, nutmeg, fruit, nuts

· Peanut butter on whole-grain toast or bagel with fruit and milk

· Omelet with whole-grain toast and orange juice

· Bran muffin and yogurt and fruit

· Breakfast smoothie made with low-fat milk or yogurt, fruit and teaspoon of bran

· Heated leftover rice with chopped apples, nuts, and cinnamon and fruit juice

· Lean turkey on a toasted English muffin or bagel and vegetable juice

· Shredded cheese in a folded whole-grain tortilla and microwaved for a few seconds with a topping of salsa

· Low-fat cream cheese and fruit n whole-grain bread or bagel