Whole Brain Learning. What is it?

Under the Learning Tree promotes whole brain learning, as stated in it's purpose statement.  What is whole brain learning? It is "learning that involves the full potential of the individual (student) to access and store memories, experiences and skills that are meaningful and relevant to optimal growth and development."* It is doing our best. It is as simple as using the whole brain.
So why don't we use our whole brain all the time?  Life.  When there is an unexpected change in plans, angry words, frustration, an upset stomach, a cold, pain, stress, fear, test-taking, presentations, etc., the communication between the hemispheres in our brain is limited or ceases.  Many situations like these occur daily which "throw us off".  How do we react?   Do we make our best decisions at these times?  There are simple ways that can aid us in opening up that communication so that our whole brain can be engaged and we can be more effective.  These simple movements can aid us in getting back on track.

*"A Reference List of Edu-K Terms", Brain Gym 101: Balance for Daily Life, Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc. Ventura, CA

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

Why Do People Learn and Use Brain Gym®?

People of all ages use Brain Gym® to bring about rapid and sometimes dramatic improvements in their reading, writing,  language, and numerical skills.  Many others use it to enhance the quality of their attention and concentration, relationships and communication, memory and organizational skills, athletic performance, and more.  Brain Gym® activities are lively and fun to do.  They promote efficient communication between the brain and the rest of the body, increasing play and creativity and alleviating stress, as they enhance performance.
The Brain Gym® balance process which is taught in Brain Gym ®101 was designed to develop the brain's neural pathways in the same way nature does through movement.  It helps to awaken their natural abilities, frees them to move, learn, grow, and succeed!

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).

New Post Returning September 1, 2015

It has been a long dry spell, but new posts will begin September 1, 2015!

Teachers Learning to Do Brain Gym Activities

Teachers and supervisors of babies to 3rd graders, owners of daycares, homeschool teachers, and others  come to the Early Childhood Conference.  During the day they attend various classes.  These attended my class where they had fun learning some Brain Gym Activities and how to use them with children.