In Minnesota, “schools have been experimenting about using a type of adjustable-height school desk, allowing pupils to stand while they work”  as written in this New York Times article entitled Students Stand Up When Called Upon, and When Not.

This is exactly what I meant by young children who should be allowed to move, whether they need to or not. Movement does not just mean having physical education or perhaps “music and movement.”

They need to learn about plants? Try going to the school yard and let them hold flowers, trees and plants (of course know if there are any students allergic to any of the plants there).

Studying about animal movements? Ask them to imitate how their favorite animals move: hop like a rabbit, crawl like a snake or (try to) fly like a bee.

Make playtime interactive by having them learn to follow verbal instructions.

These are just a few suggestions to perk them up, boost their social confidence, and help them through a learning by doing method.

They will be happier when they are given the chance to move purposely. And you, the teacher will be happy too that they are

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 24th, 2010 at 5:32 pm and is filed under Being a (Special Ed) Teacher, Challenge Yourself, Just For Fun, My Thoughts, special education, Teaching Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.