The 2014-2015 school year brought many firsts for me; one being my first year in the classroom. I have been a stay at home mom the past 12 years and have loved watching my children grow and learn. This past year I was able to experience learning from a different perspective, a teacher perspective.
Throughout the school year I had noticed that many of my students were wiggly and many times unfocused while working at their seats.
I understood their need to get up and often encouraged students to stand up and stretch or shake- anything to get their wiggles out. As the year went on, and the work periods increased I noticed the students were finding it difficult to work for these longer periods of time. At home I have a son with ADHD; he has a very difficult time focusing, especially when it comes to homework. I had heard about others using stability balls with their children at home and tried it with my son. He was excited about it and the more he used it, the more comfortable he was with it. We were getting homework finished in a much timelier manner. I decided to try this approach in my classroom and purchased two balls in March of 2015. The students were excited about “BALLS” in the classroom.
My Project
After the students settled down we talked about appropriate use of the balls and how they are a tool to help stay focused while getting our wiggles out. After a week I noticed students were working for longer periods of time without having to stand up or walk around the classroom. I noticed a change in student behavior while seated. This year I would like to have enough stability balls in the classroom for each student to improve student attention, concentration/focus, and to enable students to work longer without feeling antsy from sitting still for long periods of time. As a kinesthetic learner myself, I want my students to learn through movement.
“Although many educators know about the connection between learning and movement, nearly as many dismiss the connection once children get beyond 1st or 2nd grade.
Yet the relationship between movement and learning is so strong that it pervades all of life—and emotions are intertwined into the mix as well". Teaching with the Brain in Mind, 2nd Edition. Eric Jensen.
I hope to improve student learning through movement and not be the teacher to dismiss this connection.
More than a third of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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