Most children are always on the move, and with good reason! Did you know that children learn through movement? Whether they are rolling, crawling, running, jumping, or even wiggling and fidgeting - that movement is helping their brains develop! 98% of a child’s brain develops within their first 6 years and physical movement plays a critical role in the creation of nerve cell networks that are essential for brain development.
Research has shown that children need to move to activate the brain. According to a 2020 study, children who have higher levels of physical activity have consistently been shown to perform better in school and other cognitive functions. The physical activity does not necessarily need to be connected to the learning goal at hand to be helpful. Many schools are now putting programs into place where children are not sitting for long periods at desks, but instead are encouraged to move around the room, stand, take “Brain breaks” where they engage in some form of movement.
Children learn from exploration with all their senses and the more we can connect learning to ‘touch’ and movement, the better the learning experience will be for the child.
There are many ways for parents and childcare Providers to focus on the combination of movement and learning in their homes, and below are some examples that can be easily tried out!
Connect language to actions:
Have children act out a story or math problem with their bodies. Studies have shown that children who acted out a math problem solved it faster and more accurately. Or use the body to learn shapes – have children make a circle with their arms or lie on the floor with some friends to make a square or triangle.
Action songs like “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” are amazing tools for the brain, engaging both left and right brain functions that lay the foundation for further development of language, literacy, and math skills.
When children are learning the alphabet or numbers, combine the learning with leaping or jumping or a ball toss activity. Try this idea, called the “Alphabet Garden” – take sidewalk chalk and draw flowers all over the driveway and in each flower write a letter of the alphabet. Call out the letter and have your child find the letter and water the flower with a watering can as they say the sound of the letter.
Learning colours? Try taking strips of coloured construction paper and taping them to an outdoor wall – have your child throw a ball at the correct colour as you call it out. This can easily be modified by having them jump into coloured hula-hoops!
The possibilities are endless for learning activities – the upside is that the body can become a full learning instrument! Active physical movement and play helps children learn, improves memory, and increases their motivation – and simply makes learning more fun!