Page 30 - Demo

Why is movement so important in a classroom? Everybody knows the song, %u201cI%u2019m a little teapot.%u201d Maybe we know it because we%u2019ve heard it so often. More likely though, we remember that song from our childhood because of the movements we practiced as we learned the words.The theory works with adults too. Ever take a computer class where a talking head stands in the front and tells you how to work the software? If you%u2019re like us you forgot your new knowledge before the time came when you actually needed to use it. Compare that class with the one that allowed you to practice the skill over and over and over. When you were ready to use that skill, your knowledge was good to go. Want research to back it up? Research tells us that learning is enhanced by movement. But, to be useful to mental development, the movement that takes place must be connected in some way to the lesson that%u2019s being taught.How can an early childhood classroom promote learning through movement? In most traditional schools, children learn to count by memorizing, not by understanding what the numbers mean. But when a teacher offers children the opportunity to move in connection to their counting, real learning begins! A teacher introducing the concept of the number three will want to have three items for the children to touch. Their hand will move three times to count the items. The teacher might ask them to jump three times while looking at the written symbol for three and saying the word three. That%u2019s movement with meaning!Traditional classrooms are not set up to capitalize on the relationship between movement and learningbut you know better! You know that if you want the children in your classroom to thrive, you need to think about ways to connect learning with movement; but not just any old movement! For the best learning results, encourage children to move their hands and bodies in ways that are connected to the lessons they%u2019re learning.IDEA530