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Movement in the Classroom - Inspiring Ed Conference - 2-21

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Help kids unwind and refocus with these mental and physical options for brain breaks.

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The Brain Gym® Program - Breakthroughs International

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Performing everyday on the stage of life is challenging. By cultivating the physical components of learning - visual, auditory, motor, and stress management skills - you can perform at your peak with ease and joy.

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Brain gym exercises are simple activities that improve cognitive function. These exercises help enhance learning, communication ability, attention, memory, academic performance in children and also help maintain a healthy lifestyle ( 1), ( 2). While they were initially designed for kids, they also may help delay Alzheimer's XA brain disorder that impacts memory, thinking, and cognitive functions due to the shrinking of brain cells. disease, Parkinson's 3), ( XA brain disorder that leads to degeneration of the nerve cells and causes involuntary movement of the arms, legs, or the jaw disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems, and depression and anxiety in adults ( 4), ( 5), ( 6).

This article explores the 15 best brain gym exercises and their benefits. Keep reading.

Why Are Brain Gym Exercises Good?

Michael Hamlin, Certified Personal Trainer, says, "Brain gym exercises are based on the idea that certain movements, such as shaking your hands, rocking, and stretching, can help brain function. There needs to be more research on brain gyms. But a substantial amount of research has found that exercise, in general, can help relieve anxiety and depression by releasing endorphins and improving blood flow in the brain. For example, researchers found that those who exercised regularly showed fewer signs of anxiety and depression when exposed to stress."

Most brain gym exercises are appropriate for people of all ages. For example, some simple movements such as walking and stretching have been shown to be effective in easing anxiety, regardless of a person's age or fitness level. In fact, tasks such as sleeping or listening to music also allow the brain to rest and recover, which can help with mental health.

1. Make you smarter and sharper.

2. Boost your confidence levels.

3. Improve your self-esteem.

4. Improve attention and memory.

5. Boost thinking and decision-making abilities.

6. Revitalize your natural healing mechanisms.

7. Restore health and harmony.

8. Help improve eyesight.

9. Enhance creativity and communication skills.

10. Cheer you up when you feel disappointed or rejected.

The best part of brain gym is that anyone can do these exercises, from kids to older adults, and improve their quality of life. Explore the brain gym activities in the following section.

15 Brain Gym Exercises

According to Hamlin, "These exercises are designed to develop, increase, and improve functions of the body, such as vision, concentration, balance, coordination, and communication.

Next to this, brain gym exercises are the foundation for developing a more alert and relaxed body and mind, and this translates into improved physiological function. These exercises help improve the functionality of specific neural pathways so that the body and mind work harmoniously together and students can be more balanced and grounded in their physical, mental, and emotional activities."

Let's take a look at the brain gym exercises you can do.

1. Marching In Place

Marching in place is a great way to warm up your muscles. This low-to-moderate intensity exercise preps your muscles and improves breathing, balance, and hand-leg coordination.
How To March In Place
2. Cross Crawl

Cross crawl exercise helps improve the coordination between the right and left brain. You can do it either by standing, sitting, or lying, depending on your comfort level.
How To Do Cross Crawl

1. Stand straight with your legs hip-width apart, shoulders rolled back, and chest up. Look ahead.

2. Lift your right hand above your head. This is your starting position.

3. Lift your left leg off the floor, and bend your left knee.

4. Simultaneously, bend your right elbow and try to touch the left knee with your right elbow.

5. Get back to the starting position. Do the same with your left hand and right leg.

6. Do three sets with eight repetitions.

You may sit on a chair and do this exercise if you have a knee injury or are relearning to balance your body.

3. Ankle Touch
Similar to the previous exercise, the ankle touch exercise helps enhance balance and coordination between the left and right limbs. How To Do Ankle Touches
4. Ankle Touch Behind Your Body

This brain gym is another variation of the ankle touch. It is an effective way to improve balance and coordination between the right and left limbs.
How To Do Ankle Touches Behind Your Body
5. Step Touch
Step touch, also known as the dancer's warm-up, is great for lateral or side-to-side movement coordination. How To Do Step Touch

1. Stand with your legs close together.

2. Take a step toward your right with your right leg.

3. Place your left foot next to your right leg.

4. Take a step toward your left with your left leg.

5. Place your right foot next to your left leg.

6. Do this 30 times at a slow to moderate pace.

6. Neck Circles

Neck circles are good for the neck muscles and head movement coordination. This activity also improves balance if you do it while standing. Keep your eyes closed when you do this exercise.
How To Do Neck Circles
7. Cook's Hook-Up

The cook's hook-up exercise helps calm the nerves and improves hand and brain coordination.
How To Do Cook's Hook-Up
8. Brain Button

This exercise helps improve the flow of electromagnetic energy. It relaxes the eyes, shoulder, and neck and promotes body balance.
How To Do Brain Button Exercise
9. Lazy Eights

In lazy eights, you trace the number eight or infinity symbol with a marker on a whiteboard or with a pen/pencil on white paper. Following the shape with your eyes have several benefits. It improves eye muscle movement, visual tracking, peripheral vision X The ability to see objects away from the center that are out of the direct line of sight or from the corner of the eyes. , attention span, and coordination. This activity enhances your abilities to understand languages, study comprehension, and eliminate reversals and transpositions.
How To Do Lazy Eights
10. The Elephant

The elephant brain gym helps improve attention, recognition, perception, memory, speech, spelling, thinking ability, depth perception, and eye coordination.
How To Do The Elephant
Note: You can also do this exercise in a sitting position.

11. The Energy Yawn

The energy yawn exercise helps release tension in the jaw and relaxes the eyes.
How To Do Energy Yawn
12. The Thinking Cap

The thinking cap activity is one of those brain exercises for memory that effectively improve learning speed and mood, increases attention span, and boosts memory in kids and adults.
How To Do Thinking Cap

1. Sit on a chair. Place your index finger and thumb on your ear.

2. Massage the top of your ear and gradually come down to the auricle XThe outermost layer of the ear made of skeleton and skin (also called the pinna) that helps collect and transmit sound waves. .

3. Massage from the back to the top of your ear.

4. Do this slowly for 15 times.

13. Belly Breathing

This exercise helps increase oxygen supply in the body, which, in turn, helps you relax and improves your reading and speaking abilities.
How To Do Belly Breathing
14. Trace X

The trace X exercise helps improve eye coordination, vision, depth perception, hearing, and body coordination. It enhances your skills in writing, organization, mathematics, spelling, grammar, language learning, sports, and executive function (planning and scheduling).
How To Do Trace X
Note: You can also draw a big 'X' spanning the diagonals of a whiteboard and trace it with your eyes.

15. Positive Points

This exercise helps draw positive emotions and reduces the negative ones. It releases stress, relieves memory blocks, and boosts your mood. The positive points brain gym also enhances long-term memory and improves learning, reading, academic skills, and stage and sports performances.
How To Stimulate The Positive Points
Note: Practice it regularly to train your brain to restrict bothering thoughts.

Workout routines are good for maintaining a fit and healthy body. It is a universal truth that exercising improves your muscle tone and fitness, but there are a few exercises that improve your brain fitness or cognitive function as well. You can look up specific exercises to train certain aspects of brain functioning like brain exercises for concentration, brain exercises for focus, brain exercises for learning, and brain exercises for creativity. They help boost your memory and attention span along with academic and athletic performance. Make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly as incorrect form can lead to injuries or muscle pains. Additionally, you can practice mental exercises that stimulate brain function to enhance cognitive and memory functioning. Consult a therapist and primary care physician before beginning these brain gym exercises to learn how to make the most of these exercises.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you train your brain like a muscle?

Michael Hamlin says, "The brain is not a muscle, but in many ways, it does work like one. The brain is made up of millions of neurons communicating through electrical and chemical signals. Like a muscle, your brain can be trained to become stronger over time using activities such as brain gym exercises."

Is brain gym evidence-based?

Yes. Brain gym exercises help improve cognition, mental health, and overall well-being.

Which brain gym exercise is best for students?

The following exercises are best for students:

Belly breathing

Positive points

Thinking cap

Brain button

How do you exercise your left brain?

Do coordinated moves of the right limbs to exercise your left brain.

Is the brain gym an effective educational intervention?

Yes. The brain gym might help improve thinking, reading, and speaking abilities. However, no evidence shows the brain gym to be an effective educational intervention.

Which brain gym technique to use to calm children down?

You can use Cook's hook-ups and cross-crawls to help children calm down after experiencing anxiety and distress. Hook-ups can help control their breathing while cross-crawls can improve their focus and release stress.

Does brain gym help autism?

No, current scientific evidence shows that brain gym does not increase engagement in children with autism ( 7).

How much brain training should you do in a day?

You can practice 60 to 90 minutes of brain training or brain workout every week to keep your brain sharp and healthy.

What time of the day is your brain sharpest?

Studies suggest your brain is sharpest in the mornings following a good night's sleep ( 8), ( 9). Ideally, you can perform cognitive-heavy tasks in the morning.

Key Takeaways

Learn how to improve your focus and concentration with brain gym exercises. Discover simple and effective techniques in the video below to help you stay focused and productive.

Sources

Articles on StyleCraze are backed by verified information from peer-reviewed and academic research papers, reputed organizations, research institutions, and medical associations to ensure accuracy and relevance. Read our editorial policy to learn more.

1. THE EFFECT OF BRAIN GYM® ON ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1029010.pdf

2. Memory and Time of Day
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233046511_Memory_and_Time_of_Day

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Top 15 Simple Brain Gym Exercises For Children & Adults

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Brain gym exercises improve learning, memory, attention, academic performance, planning, and mood. Here are the 15 brain gym exercises for kids and adults.

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How Children Process Grief and Loss Through Play

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How Children Process Grief and Loss Through Play

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Soon after the Oklahoma City bombing, in 1995, children in a nearby kindergarten started playing dead. Over and over, they toppled towers of blocks and lay motionless on the floor. When their teacher asked them to tell her about what was happening in their play, the students informed her that they had all been killed by terrorists.

The play continued in this vein for some time-smashed towers, splayed-out children-until their teacher asked if they might be interested in building a hospital. "She went in with stethoscopes, masks, and bandages, and helped kids move towards a phase that was focused on care and healing," says Nancy Carlsson-Paige, a professor emerita at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and an expert on the ways young children process trauma through play.

That expertly handled transition-recognizing that the children were stuck and might need a nudge-demonstrates a few important principles about play, according to Carlsson-Paige. First, the teacher did not judge the children's play or let her own anxieties about the situation seep through. For young children, she understood, play is the only way to work through everything they wrestle with, from everyday challenges to anxiety, fear, and even loss and death. Second, while the teacher left plenty of room for discovery, she stepped in when the play turned obsessive, redirecting her students in a way that was both well-timed and developmentally appropriate.

As the world confronts the novel coronavirus pandemic, an economic depression, and global protests about racism and systemic inequalities, children are being exposed to painful and often scary ideas-and their play will reflect their efforts to make sense of what they see and hear.

Why Children Play Through Grief and Loss

The late Vivian Gussin Paley, a kindergarten teacher, recipient of the MacArthur "genius" grant, and author of dozens of books on children's play lives, put it this way: "The young child wants to play. He wants to play because intuitively he understands that through play he will understand more about who he is than in any other format."

Seth Aronson, a psychologist and the Director of Curriculum, Training and Supervising Analyst at the William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis, and Psychology in New York City, extends that line of thinking into play that involves the processing of fear, anxiety, or loss.

"One of the functions that play serves for kids is it allows them to approach something that might be frightening in a way that makes it less frightening and more understandable," he says. Through play, children "control the tempo and the pace and the content" of a situation and gain the ability to anticipate what happens next-all of which can take the sting out of scary situations. "Whenever there's any kind of scary or traumatic situation, play really allows the child the displacement and the space to play out some of those things," he says. "If it's happening to a doll, it's not really happening to me."

In other words, imaginative play not only enables children to better understand reality-by helping them to inhabit the perspectives of, say, both a doll patient and a stuffed animal doctor-but also to quickly change the narrative when the reality becomes too much to bear. (In the past two months, I've seen this with a three-year-old I've spent a lot of time with, who repeatedly declares dolls dead before bringing them back to life.) Psychologists call these processes denial and undoing, and they're essential to maintaining a child's sense of safety and control.

"Play has the power to make something un-happen, to correct something that's overwhelming," Aronson explains. For instance, a child whose grandmother recently died might say that she saw Grandma in her room, or that she played with her. "It's totally normal," Dr. Aronson says. "It's undoing the event in a way that's comforting and soothing and helps the child deal with the loss."

How Grown-ups Can Set the Stage

Erika Christakis, a former faculty member at the Yale Child Study Center and the author of The Importance of Being Little: What Young Children Really Need from Grownups, says that the play impulse is evolutionarily hardwired in humans and "can't be short-circuited." Nevertheless, she says, adults play a key role in setting the groundwork for what psychologists call "productive play"-which actively helps children process their experiences and acquire emotional and cognitive skills-while watching for signs of unproductive play, which represent and amplify feelings of distress.

The P.A.C.E. approach: Christakis says that the acronym P.A.C.E. -which stands for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy-is a useful guide for helping adults interact with young children. Adults should recognize that children are navigating a tension within themselves: they want to feel powerful and independent, while also yearning to feel protected and cared for. Given this, adults should empower children with age-appropriate choices: asking them what song to sing, what to have for a snack-or what they want to play.

Generally speaking, adults shouldn't be overly worried that children will lead themselves down roads they aren't prepared to navigate: the very instinct to explore a subject in play likely means that the child is ready-and perhaps needs-to do so. "Children are really good at getting what they need through the tools that they have," she says. She adds, "Kids can tolerate a lot as long as they know that their feelings are not creepy or wrong."

Don't shame: Sometimes children's play can inspire uncomfortable feelings in adults, which is perfectly fine, as long as adults don't convey to children that their play is shameful or wrong. Play is highly personal: Nancy Carlsson-Paige, the professor, says it contains "the whole child: emotions and thoughts and physical being and social self." As such, children tend to interpret criticism or dismissal of their play as criticism or dismissal of themselves.

"The healthiest, most nurturing thing we can do for children is to join them in their feelings," Christakis says. She encourages adults to communicate that "there's nothing you could say to me that would be too weird, too annoying."

Create the conditions for imaginative exploration: To encourage children to play out what's on their minds, experts recommend providing children with "multi-use" toys-generic objects like blocks and wooden dolls, onto which children can project what they need to project. When children have a Superman action figure, they tend to play out Superman storylines; but when they have a faceless figure, they engage with their own thoughts and emotions, what they find exciting, troubling, or confusing. It's these scenarios that are most conducive to productive play, which reflects some aspects of a child's experience or imagination.

Watch for unproductive play: In rare situations, play-or a lack thereof-can be a cause for concern. Generally speaking, adults should not intervene in children's play. However, "if the child's play makes the child anxious, when it's too literal for the child, or when it's obsessive and repetitive-that's a sign that the play isn't serving its purpose," says Aronson, the New York psychologist. In these situations, adults can gently introduce new elements or coax the narrative in a new direction, as the teacher in Oklahoma did when her kindergarteners repeatedly revisited the terrorist attack.

"I always look for some kind of change in play," says Carlsson-Paige. If that change doesn't occur-if the same troubling event is rehashed over and over, with the same outcome each time-intervention, or psychological attention, may be merited.

However, what may be most concerning is the absence of play. When Carlsson-Paige spent time in El Salvador in the early 1990s, during the country's civil war, the children she encountered there were so traumatized they didn't play at all. When she returned the next year, after the war's conclusion, play had returned.

"Children need to have a certain sense of safety to go into an imaginary play zone," she asserts. Adults can provide that safe space at this tumultuous and historic moment-being careful to strike the right balance between the freedom children need to explore difficult subject matter on their own, and the periodic need to step in when kids get stuck.

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How Children Process Grief and Loss Through Play

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Young children will likely process the tumultuous events of 2020 in the only way they know how-through play. Here's how adults can be supportive.

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Learn about alternative seating and how to use it in the classroom to promote attention, motor skills, and more!

*This post contains affiliate links. Read more.

As pediatric occupational and physical therapists, we believe in the power of movement! We believe that if students have the opportunity to choose alternative seating options throughout their school day, their bodies (and minds) will be awake and ready to learn!

So let's dig right into the nitty gritty of alternative seating!

Awhile back, we polled our followers about alternative seating for the classroom and had an overwhelming response. First, we asked if you currently use alternative seating in your classroom and 75% of you say that you do.

So what is all this buzz about alternative seating? How do you introduce it? Why is it used? What are the options?

The Benefits of Alternative Classroom Seating

Our survey also asked participants what they have found to be the biggest benefit to students who use alternative seating options in their classrooms. The top answers included: better attention/focus, less restlessness, and increased participation.

And the research is consistent with these answers. Physical activity is correlated with higher academic performance, better overall health, and improved behavior. Studies have found that short bursts of movement or movement breaks in the classroom contribute to better on-task behavior, with the most improvement seen in children who were the least on-task initially. (1) And offering changes in positions and movement opportunities throughout the day provide these short bursts of activity.

As therapists and teachers, we know that a multi-sensory approach to learning contributes to better learning outcomes, attention, and behavior. Research supports the idea that dynamic seating options can be used to improve attention in students. (2, 3) Just as adults need to get up and take a walk or pace the room while we think and brainstorm, kids also need outlets for moving and fidgeting during the school day.

When kids are taught to identify and honor their preferences for movement, fidgeting, and alternative positioning, they feel that their needs are being acknowledged, contributing to increased engagement and motivation in the classroom as well as an increased sense of community among the students. (4)

Alternative seating can also promote core strength, balance, coordination, and posture. Simply by being exposed to subtle movement experiences throughout the day (e.g. bouncing lightly on a ball while they read, rocking on a wobble stool during a video), kids' bodies learn to make slight adjustments in their positioning to "catch" themselves from rolling too far to one side. They build core strength by having to hold themselves upright on an unstable surface. They build coordination by transitioning into and out of different seating options.

And the benefits don't end there! Allowing kids some control over where they sit turns them into problem solvers who can identify how they're feeling and choose what works best for them.

The bottom line? Kids simply aren't meant to sit still all day long...none of us are. Maria Montessori stated her observations of the negative impact of kids sitting in chairs in pretty serious terms - "When chairs were used, children were not disciplined, but annihilated."

How to Introduce Alternative Classroom Seating

We know what you are thinking. A bunch of big, round, colorful therapy balls rolling around a classroom sounds like a chaotic nightmare, right?

In our experience, it helps to set some ground rules for use of alternative seating. Kids need to know that this is an tool to help them focus and keep them engaged in the classroom. Initiate a classroom contract that your students must sign before being able to try out a piece of equipment (you can find a printable contract in the Wiggle Worms ebook ).

We recently posted some great tips for introducing fidget toys and other sensory materials into the classroom. These tips work for introducing alternative seating as well. Here are some other suggestions:

Model!

Sit on a therapy ball yourself and show kids that it CAN stay in one spot and that you don't have to bounce as high as the moon to get the benefits of a calmer body.

Provide Options

A therapy ball is only the beginning when it comes to alternative seating! Allowing kids to explore what works for them will send the message that they have some control and responsibility. Frame the seating options as a privilege that can be taken away if not used properly.

Get some parents to buy in!

You can try getting parents to buy in and even provide ball chairs or disc cushions by sending home a simple letter. Ask them to purchase a therapy ball for their child, explain the benefits of alternative seating and get permission for them to use it in the classroom. You can find a printable letter template in the Wiggle Worms ebook.

Classroom Seating Options

Do you have a student who can't sit still in their chair? The child that is constantly laying their head down on their desk or flopping sideways, practically falling to the floor?

Maybe the feeling of the hard chair is just too much for their tactile systemto handle. Their body is going into fight or flight mode and just can't sit still! Or maybe they needs a little bit of extra movement to stay awake and alert. Encourage more functional posture by providing them with an alternative option for seating.

The most common classroom seating alternative (according to our survey) was a therapy ball. But there are lots of great possibilities out there! Try something that moves with the child, or is soft and squishy - like a disc cushion. Or something that allows him to move into different positions around the room like a beanbag chair.
Here are some of our favorite alternative seating options for the classroom:
Bouncy Bands - Check out this awesome infographic showing the research behind this awesome tool!

Resources for funding and donations

According to our survey, the biggest limiting factor to teachers filling their rooms with alternative seating was cost (we were not surprised by this one!).

The good news is that there are lots of ways to secure donations for alternative seating options for your classroom. First, as we mentioned above, try asking parents to send in an option that works for their child. There are many low-cost options out there that families would be willing to supply themselves.

Here are some other resources for helping to secure the funds for alternative classroom seating:

Describe your classroom "project" (in this case, it would be securing alternative seating for your classroom), submit it to Donors Choose and they help connect you with donors that are looking to make teachers' wishes come true! Over 75% of teachers reach their funding goals through Donors Choose with over 600,000 classroom projects fulfilled.

2 || Kids in Need Foundation

A great place to find information about a wide range of grants available for teachers. The KINF mission is to ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed by providing free school supplies nationally to students most in need.

This organization's mission is to give teachers a hand and provide needed classroom materials so their students can succeed. Donors can search donation opportunities by subject (art, music, literacy) or they can choose to donate to the classrooms and schools that are most in financial need.

the Wiggle Worms Alternative Seating ebook!

The printable guide has 20+ pages of awesome resources to get you on your way to becoming an alternative seating rockstar! From printable templates to information and funding resources, this ebook is full of useful tips, seating option ideas, and more!

How are you using alternative seating in your classroom? What are your biggest challenges? What are your success stories? We'd love to hear from you!
References
1 - Mahar, M.T., S.K. Murphy, D.A. Rowe, J. Golden, A.T. Shields, & T. D. Raedeke. Effects of a Classroom-Based Program on Physical Activity and On-Task
Behavior. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 38, No. 12, pp. 2086Y2094, 2006

2 - Fedewa, A. L., & Erwin, H. E. (2011). Stability balls and students with attention and hyperactivity concerns: Implications for ontask and in-seat behavior. American
Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65, 393-399. doi: 10.5014/ajot.2011.000554

3 - Kuhn, D & Lewis, S (2013). The Effect of Dynamic Seating on Classroom Behavior for Students in a General Education Classroom
http://soundideas.pugetsound.edu/ms_occ_therapy/77/

4 - Bill, Victoria N. (2008). Effects of Stability Balls on Behavior and
Achievement in the Special Education Classroom. http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.co-case.org/resource/resmgr/imported/WP_Stability%20Balls%20and%20Behavior.pdf

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Alternative Seating for the Classroom - The Inspired Treehouse

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Learn about alternative seating and how to use it in the classroom to promote attention, motor skills, and more! this ... *This post contains affiliate links. Read more. As pediatric occupational and physical therapists, we believe in the power of movement! We believe that if students have the opportunity to choose alternative seating options throughout ...