Enhancing the Ability to Learn through Movement

from June 2022 Issue 163

The Dark Before the Dawn - Caregiving a Struggling Teen

Kate Woodland, BEd, BC Certified Teacher Turning the Page Reading Instruction readnow180@gmail. com

We can honour fathers for their fundamental ability to so solidly inhabit their physical body. Their desire to move, work, and play is an archetypal characteristic which young children love to imitate and are inspired to do themselves, many hours of the day.

As spring slowly approaches, we feel the draw to be outside again. Everywhere, children are out running, riding, swinging and playing. For most children this is their natural state of being, and rightly so. Children learn so much from moving in space and during play. Not only do they challenge their own ability to jump, climb, swim, run, hop and roll higher or faster, all of these activities also establish both sensory and motor neuron pathways in the brain.

These same neural pathways will later be used for reading and comprehension, which require both right and left brain hemispheres to work together. This happens slowly over time and needs reinforcement. When a baby begins to crawl, they are not only building balance and muscle tone for locomotion, they are also developing focus, eye tracking, and bilateral integration, all of which are required skills for later reading ability.

Transfer this same movement to climbing a tree or ladder (crawling vertically), and the child is once again helping the brain myelenate the same pathways needed for reading. As Joseph Chilton Pearce explained, the brain releases chemicals that dissolve or prune away unused neural pathways. If a child is not moving and myelanating neuro pathways in the brain, it will hinder the development of later, subsequent skills needed for learning. We all know how much more difficult it is to learn a new language or instrument at an older age. Not impossible, but without a doubt the adult brain is less pliable when compared to the amazing

ability of a young child to learn.

When we speak about the development of proprioception, we are talking about our ability to perceive the position and movements of our joints and the perception of how much force to use in space. We can see the relationship, for example, to knowing how much pressure we need to use when writing, so as not to tire out too soon, or how much force to use when we place a plate on the table. Children are not born with this ability. They develop this sense through movement. As selfmovement develops, it then creates the ability to ‘sense’ into the direction that a letter faces when learning to read or write.

So, when Dad (or mom) has a gentle wrestle with junior, or gives a big hug (all without tickling), the child can begin to feel into their joints and learn how much pressure is appropriate for the situation. This comes with the added bonus of lowering anxiety and stress, and likely sharing a bit of laughter! Remember to balance it with quiet time afterwards, especially before bedtime. And please respect those children who are hypersensitive to touch, and forgive those who are hypo-sensitive and still learning how much strength is OK. Happy Father’s Day!