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.

Brain Gym Activities Start Off their Day!

These 2nd graders start off their school day doing 5-7 minutes of Brain Gym Activities.  This helps them let go of anxiety and focus on the tasks of their day.  Their teacher sees a difference. Their parents tell me they are doing them at home and telling their families how to do them.

Bullies and Bullying

Bully and bullying are terms we may be hearing often. What do those words mean?  Are people we know and see everyday bullies? Do our friends or family bully us? 

The dictionary's definition of a bully is a blustering browbeating person; especially: one habitually cruel to others who are weaker. A definition of the verb to bully is to treat abusively; to affect by means of force or coercion; or to use browbeating language or behavior

Bullying is an act of misconduct. There are levels 1 and 2 of acts of misconduct.  In some definitions Level 1 is taunting, teasing, name-calling, spreading rumors, threatening or obscene gestures, excluding others from a group or manipulation of friendship while Level 2 is hitting, kicking, physical harm, destruction of property, enlisting someone to assault someone for you.

7 Points of Consensus about Bullies and Bullying

Following research of numerous articles and information pertaining to “bullies” and “bullying”, authority on bulling, Dr. Ken Rigby, found seven points of consensus in this information. They are:

• Bullying has been reported as occurring in every school k-12 which has been investigated.
• Bullying can be direct or indirect and also physical, verbal, and gestural.
• There is no consistent evidence that bullying overall is increasing, however cyber bullying is an area of growing concern, especially among older students.
• Boys are bullied physically more often than girls. Girls are generally involved with indirect bullying.
• Bullying with younger children is generally more physical, while older children use more indirect and subtle forms of bullying which tend to occur more often.
• Children typically report being bullied less often as they get older, even though being victimized tends to increase when children enter secondary school.
• Being bullied at school typically has a negative effect on the physical and psychological wellbeing of children who are frequently and severely targeted.

"Engaging the Whole Learner"-a conference for those working in Early Childhood Education

I had a great time at the Cowlitz County Early Childhood Education Conference in Longview, WA on Saturday.  "Engaging the Whole Learner"  was the theme of the conference and, of course, Brain Gym Activities fit in perfectly.  I was honored to be invited to be apart of the conference. Engaging the whole child (or adult) is so important, more effective, and rewarding as we continue to learn and grow in our world today.
I was excited to sit in on a class taught by my daughter and her co-presenter, "ABC's of Social Media".  This is an area I want to know more about.  The class was perfect for me.  I learned more about facebook, twitter, and pinterest and how it can serve me in the business world.  I am looking forward to explore and learn more now.  Learning new information and skills is a way we can keep ourselves alive and integrated in the world around us.
Thanks, Shannon and those who worked with her, for the great opportunity!

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