In Case You Missed It: March 26-30

Its Friday! and here are the top article links for this past week.

For those of you new to my blog, each Friday, we feature the top articles (archived and new) that are relevant to working with children with social, sensory and learning challenges, and expanding our personal interactions that week with families, students & educators.

The purpose of this weekly post is to create connections and a diverse resource of information to help us support and inform each other in the most straightforward and entertaining way possible.

To read the original article, click on the title link. (A short description as a quote or excerpt taken right from the article appears under each link.) The source is listed under the article title. Please feel free to share with the original links & authors referenced.

If you have an article link you would like to add, contact Barbara at the e-mail at the bottom of this post.
Guest post submissions are always welcome!


Please report any broken links to Barbara at the e-mail link below.



Have a Fantastic Weekend!



~Barbara


barbara@bodylogique.com

Are There Benefits to Teaching Children Chess?

(Onlinechesslessons.com)

The benefits of chess is a topic that has been debated for quite a few years. As education becomes more competitive parents are looking for any edge they can find to sharpen their children’s’ minds. It’s this exact pressure that has led people to many incorrect conclusions that we’re later proven false. One good example was the craze in the 90′s of playing classical music to your babies or children to make them smarter- which was later proven ineffective. Unlike many of these fads, the evidence is clear that playing chess benefits the mind in both young and old alike...

Food Dyes and ADHD: Is There A Connection?

(CBS Miami)

Color dye is now being investigated by the Food and Drug Administration to see if certain colors added to enhance the look of the foods your kids love to eat will affect their behavior...

Sorry, I Can't Help It! (Echolalia)

(College Park, MD Patch)

Society accepts many forms of habits and mannerisms. My child recites movie lines to calm himself down...

Top 10 Homework Tips:

(KidsHealth.org)

Kids are more successful in school when adults take an active interest in their work — it shows kids that what they do is important. Here are 10 tips on homework...

In Praise of Germs: Why Common Bugs are Necessary for Kids

(MSN.com)

Scientists increasingly believe that the rapid rise in food allergies, asthma and other immunological diseases is due, at least in part, to our modern obsession with cleanliness. The 'hygiene hypothesis', contends that these diseases are becoming more common because young children are not exposed to them at an early age. We try to prevent exposure to germs with antibiotics, antibacterials and soaps and  letting kids get dirty seems like a violation of basic parental duty.

The Need for Pretend Play

(Psychology Today)

Systematic research has increasingly demonstrated a series of clear benefits of children’s engagement in pretend games from the ages of about two and one half through ages six or seven. Actual studies have demonstrated cognitive benefits such as increases in language usage including subjunctives, future tenses, and  adjectives.






Contact:

Barbara@bodylogique.com

Website:

http://www.bodylogique.com/

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How Big Were the Dinosaurs?

Some books are instant favorites. Dinosaur Roar! by Paul Stickland is one of those books for my boys. While my oldest son has since moved on to enjoy more elaborate storylines, the tattered pages of the book he’s now passed down to his little brother are evidence that it was well-loved.

So when I stumbled on Dinosaur More! by Henrietta Stickland, I was thrilled. It contains tons of great dinosaur facts, like the meaning of their names, defenses, diet, and a small scale drawing showing how big each dinosaur is compared to a grown-up.

This little drawing and a recent post on All Things Beautiful provided the inspiration for this math and science activity.

Not to be discouraged when the rain kept us indoors, I put away the sidewalk chalk and grabbed a roll of toilet paper to use to “graph” dinosaur heights.

Step 1: Read.

Step 2: Use a measuring tape to figure out the height of each dinosaur using the “See How Big I Am” chart in Stickland’s book.

Step 3: Roll the toilet paper out to that length and tear off.

Step 4: Write the dinosaur’s name on a post-it note and attach to the strip of toilet paper.

It was so much fun to compare how big the dinosaurs were! My son was SUPER excited to discover that he is taller than Velociraptors!

When we ran out of toilet paper (I’m too cheap to waste more than one roll), I gave my son some cards I’d printed with the names of all the dinosaurs in the book.

He looked at the chart on each spread, wrote the height on the back of the card, and then put them in order from smallest to biggest. Then he flipped over the cards. The T-Rex was the biggest prehistoric lizard we learned about!

Have a child that loves dinosaurs? Check out a few of these other dinosaur-related deceptively educational activities!
Hunt for dinosaurs
Make and hatch a dinosaur egg
Dinosaur counting and measuring 

Alexander Calder-inspired Mobile

Nobody understood balance better. Nobody appreciated the beauty of a breeze and could make a physical object look more weightless. 

I’m talking about American artist Alexander (aka Sandy) Calder, of course. 

His mobiles can send you into a trance, just watching the way the tiny wire arms carry bold organic shapes through the air. Even his static sculptures (often referred to as stabiles) convey motion despite their stationery forms. I am a fan of his work (can you tell?) and shamelessly want my boys to grow up to be as well.

To give my oldest son a fun, hands-on art appreciation lesson, I grabbed some supplies:

12-gauge aluminum wire (I used a little more than a yard)

Craft foam sheets in assorted colors

Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks

Wire cutters and needle-nose pliers

Scissors

Ballpoint pen

Before we embarked on our craft, we read a wonderful book which positively captivated my son. Sandy’s Circus by Tanya Lee Stone tells the story of Calder’s journey from crafty kid to engineering student, fireman on a ship, art school student, working artist, and lastly, a sculptor. My son was brimming over with excitement when the book was done.

“What are we making, Mom?” he asked overflowing with curiosity.

Since Calder’s circus, made from found objects and set into motion, was what eventually inspired his mobiles, I told my son we were going to make our own mobile. I cut a large piece of wire, folded it in half, made a loop and twisted it (sort of like a coat hanger without the hook and flat bottom).

Then I gave my son the craft foam and had him pick a color and shape. Blue circle, he decided. He used a small dessert plate as a template and cut out two circles.

On one end of the wire I’d cut, I bent it into a large loop. He placed one of the circles underneath it and loaded the center with low-temp glue from the glue gun. Then we added the second shape on top.

On the other end of the wire, I made a smaller loop and attached another piece of looped wire, per his instruction. He cut out more shapes. We built on the mobile until all the wire arms had shapes or more wire brackets attached.

We held it up. Hmmmmm. One side was so heavy, the other side tipped way up in the air.

To weigh it down some, my son added glue to the perimeter of the shape, leaving one area unglued, and he stuffed paperclips inside for added weight.

I love the final result and so does my son. It’s proudly hanging from the ceiling-mounted light fixture in his room. I have no doubt he fell asleep last night watching it dance by the glow of his night light.

Note: This wire is REALLY malleable. If I did this activity again, I’d make our foam shapes smaller or use a stiffer wire. The sheer size of the foam weighed our wire form down quite a bit.

Constructive Fidgeting for Self-Regulation



Photo: sensiblematheducation.com

 How many times have you told a fidgety student to sit still and focus so they can complete a task?

Telling a child to "Stop fidgeting" and “Sit still!”, "Quiet hands/body" or “Look at me when I talk to you”  is counter productive. Instead, understand and acknowledge that these actions (sometimes called "stims" ) are not signs of disrespect or bad behavior, but a way for the child to self-adjust when they have difficulty paying attention. All children require fidgeting & sensory-motor activities to help them function well.

I see lots of fidgeting from kids at the beginning of an adaptive yoga class: rolling or "folding" the mats, picking chunks out of them, pulling threads from socks or inspecting/removing lint in between toes are some common ones. We usually begin with a process called "The 4B's" which helps satisfy the need to fidget and gets them to focus & engage in what we are doing in the group. I follow with a story and movement to keep them rolling. As soon as I see I am losing them, I switch to another activity-I can always come back to the movement later in the class. We always end with relaxation to help train active bodies and brains that its OK to rest and relax.


Well-meaning statements such as: “Try harder..." or "You need to concentrate" , or even "You can become whatever you want to be if you put your mind to it....” can be frustrating & discouraging for an active student or a student with ADHD. Even though their inattention may not be their strong point, research suggests that inattention increases when a task is repetitive, lengthy, and familiar, and there is a way to use fidgeting constructively as a means to enhance sensory input & improve focus.


A child with ADHD will begin to disconnect when a task becomes repetitive & boring. By doing a secondary activity along with a primary one, the brain can focus better. Any activity that uses another sense besides the one required for the primary activity (such as listening to music while reading a book ) improves the performance of children with ADHD. (This secondary activity is sometimes referred to a “distractor”.

Explore students' different sensory needs and allow and encourage them to try new, minimally disruptive ways to fidget with a purpose. Here are ways that work for my students: (Try them yourself and see if you notice a difference.)

Doodling: (visual/kinetic)

Doodling is one of the least intrusive tools for improved focus. Have students doodle words, numbers or pictures while listening to instructions. Doodling an "X", a circle with designs inside or a sideways "8" are also very helpful to bring visual and mental focus to both sides of the brain at once. Some students doodle a Mind Map to include the lecture ideas or instructions for review later.

Putty, Koosh Balls or Erasers: (tactile/kinetic)

Moving the fingers & hands also facilitates focus when a child is listening or thinking about how to answer a question. You can use any kind of small prop for this: a small rock, seashells,  paper clips, erasers, small rubber balls or toy animals or cars. You want to be sure they are small enough to allow use without distracting classmates.

Music: (auditory)

Background music during classwork, homework or chores that is steady, and not too loud or fast will help improve focus. According to research, the two hemispheres of the brain become stimulated by certain sound types and frequencies. Playing a variety of music helps overcome attention problems by strengthening the connection to both hemispheres of the brain.

Chewing Taffy or Gum:  (proprioceptive/tactile/olfactory/kinetic)

The action and movement of chewing gooey or crunchy foods will help children concentrate for an extended period of time. If you are a teacher who is distracted by the sound of gum chewing, have your students suck on a hard candy instead. Peppermint or spearmint is alerting and adds additional sensory input of taste and smell.

Walk and Talk: (kinetic/proprioceptive)

If your students tune out when you give instructions, try having them move around, put things away or carry out classroom jobs as you talk. Other activities such as standing & stretching, working a puzzle, sidewalk chalk, coloring, cleaning the blackboard or playing catch will also work. This strategy will make it easier to facilitate a discussion, talk about how a child’s day went or gather other important feedback.

Hand/Foot/Scalp Massage: (tactile/kinetic/proprioceptive)

Taking a moment to massage both hands or feet, or even the scalp not only reduces muscle tension & calms and relaxes the central nervous system, but helps both sides of the brain communicate with more clarity.  A hand massage can be done discreetly at a desk and will  not disrupt other students.

*What are some ways that you allow and use constructive fidgeting in the classroom?

To find out more about our "Calm & Connected" program & other classroom tools &teachniques for teachers, please visit our distance learning page.

To find movement based S.M.Art Story™ curriculum guides, filled with dozens of ideas for constructive fidgeting, please visit our products  page.

To receive more articles like this right to your inbox, Subscribe to S.M.Art Kids / Healthy Kids by Email




Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com

Make Learning Fun

Children learn best through
interactive games
Photo: B. Gini, ©2010

If you have ever watched a group of children playing and having fun, then you know what 'engagement' is:  it's when there is effortless interaction and spontaneous learning  taking place with no outside interference. This is how all learning should take place.

Somewhere along the line, we got the idea that sitting 'quietly' at a a desk, and listening to someone 'impose knowledge'  was a better way to go. We've adapted the position that 'wasting time' and 'messing around' are not productive. We give in to pressure & buy into the idea (from TV commercials) that an 18 month old child should be able to read, talk and do other miraculous things, way before they are ready, and ahead of their peers, and all you need to do is buy a DVD and play some classical music. (Deep down, I think we know that this doesn't really help the child, but only serves a parent's need to feel like a 'good' parent.)

There is no shortcut to learning. It happens at its own pace, when the child is ready. Rushing them before they are ready only sets them back at some point down the line. However, there is one strategy that will guarantee that a child's environment is an educational one and that the child will be more learning-ready in general.

That strategy is to have more fun.

A recent study by neurologist and educator Judy Willis has found that the longer and more involved the task, the more a child will 'tune out'.  This is boring to a child and of no benefit. Infusing fun into lessons increases engagement & helps a student remember the lesson.

Of course, fun is always good, but learning is the real reason students are in school. If we can strike a balance between fun & learning, everyone wins, but the children will be the ones who benefit the most.

We Are Teachers gives us 6 reasons why fun is a vital part of a child's learning process in this article at the link below. I hope you enjoy it!

6 Reasons Why You Should Have Fun in Your Classroom

*What are some ways you as an educator make learning fun? Leave a comment below.

Learn about creating fun, child-friendly learning through Stories, Movement & Art at:  www.BodyLogique.com


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4 Steps to Successful Enrichment Programming

Over the weekend, I received several e-mails with questions about   designing after school & camp programs, so I'm going to talk a little about a 4 step approach to designing programming today.

There are so many creative ideas for in-school, camp & after school programs out there, but so many of them never become a reality because, for one reason or another, the process gets interrupted. I think that this is due to a misunderstanding of the steps needed for a successful program. Many planners & moderators feel like they don't have support & they get frustrated quit before their program has a chance to grow.

Another deterrent, is the widely accepted myth, that a program has to have every little detail in place before it can be implemented. This is not true.  Its a shame when a program never gets implemented because the planner is stressed & overwhelmed and feels that "its not finished yet".  While a good plan is definitely needed, the most successful programs are the ones that are not 'overplanned' and the ones that are implemented as soon as possible.

Programming is an ongoing process, rather than a "one and done" activity. While the actual program itself is obviously important, and we all want to get to that 'fun' part, there are three other phases or steps that are equally necessary. You must be willing to go through multiple series of these steps as you make the necessary revisions to nurture your program.

Here are 4 simple steps to keep in mind, whether you are a yoga teacher planning your own community program, or are an educator designing afterschool enrichment,  a nurse creating an in-school wellness program, a camp counsellor running a summer science camp or any other stand-alone program:


1- Understand your mission:  Your program goals must support your or the organization's mission in order to successfully grow. Make sure that the program activities are within the guidelines defined by the vision/mission statement, & that they contribute to furthering that mission.

2- Target Program Activities: What experience are you trying to create and for whom? What do you need in terms of equipment, venue and staff to accomplish this? How will you fund & promote the program? What will the participants learn/do? Goals & participants must be understood and described accurately, (and based on your mission statement), in order for the activity planning to flow. Focus on designing activities that target the needs of your participants & write your detailed plan to support them.

3- Program Operation: This is when the participants actually experience the program. The program coordinator will oversee the operation from all phases: promotion, registration, staffing, staging & interaction with participants & staff. He or she will observe & interact with participants and get a feel for the overall experience they are having.

4- Feedback: Getting feedback from staff, volunteers, moderators & participants is the fourth step of this process. A program's worth can be determined after careful consideration of all factors and all perspectives. Feedback gives you an idea of where changes are needed and what is working fine.

Remember that just because a program seems to not "get off the ground" doesn't necessarily mean you should scrap it. Review your feedback & try re-working the details and present it again. Understand that program development is an ongoing, experimental process, and the best programs grow out of trial and error, over time.

*Are you in the process of planing a program for camp, community or after school? What is the mission & location of your program? Who do you serve? Do you have an idea that you have not attempted to plan or implement yet?  We would enjoy hearing about it!

Please tell us in the comments below!  

Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com

Brain Bender Subtraction Puzzles

My mother-in-law bought my son a Scramble Squares puzzle. It has challenged all of us to no avail. It’s certainly been fun, though! Watching my son play with it gave me the idea to make a brain bender math puzzle!

Since my son's teacher told us at his parent-teacher conference that his addition skills were stronger than his subtraction, I thought this would be a good chance to give him more practice.

I made two puzzles of varying difficulty.

Download a PDF of these puzzles here.

I printed each on sticker paper and attached them to an empty cereal box (like I did for both the magic squares and letter magnets I made in the past). I cut them out, attached magnet tape to the back, and handed the easier of the two puzzles (blue) over to my son with a small magnetic board. 

I told him that all the pieces needed to form the shape of one large triangle. He needed to position each triangle magnet so every problem was adjacent to the corresponding answer.

He struggled at first. Before he got too frustrated, I put the top most triangle on the board and told him to work off of that. In no time, the whole triangle was put together!

NOTE: Depending on how saturated the ink is on the paper when you print the blue puzzle, you may need to draw a line under the numbers 6 and 9 on the answer triangles so they are not confused. While this was part of the original design, I found that the ink bled when I printed them and needed to redraw the lines.

Adjective Detective [Hunt & Seek]

After playing the nouns, verbs, adjectives board game I made with my son several times, I realized he needed other great ways to practice the parts of speech. Language arts just doesn’t “stick” with my son like math.

He has suddenly developed an affinity for mysteries (we’ve been reading the Hardy Boys Secret Files books to him at night and he’s been reading James Skofield’s Detective Dinosaur books to us). The following two activities capitalize on his newfound interest.

Download this Adjective Detective magnifying glass here.

I designed a magnifying glass for my son to use when he played. (To make one, simply cut it out [including the center] and laminate with heavyweight laminate.) Voila! Now he had a spy glass to remind him of what adjectives tell you (e.g. weather, sound, shapes, etc.).

Adjective Detective Hunt

Before my son came home from school, I picked out five objects to describe and wrote adjectives (five each) that describe each on a sticky note. When he walked in the door, I told him that he (aka Adjective Detective) had a mystery to solve.

He needed to use the adjective clues on the first sticky note (black, white, round, hard, fun) to find the object it described (his soccer ball). On that object was tacked another sticky note with five more adjectives (white, creamy, refreshing, smooth, cool). He used his super sleuthing mind to deduce that what those adjectives were describing was none other than milk! There he found another sticky note with five adjectives.

One by one, the adjective clues led him from object to object, until he was rewarded by finding the final object (his colored pencils), which also had a congratulatory note and a sweet treat as a reward.

Adjective Detective Seek

Another day, I decided that it was time for my son to find some adjectives of his own. I gave my little Adjective Detective a story that I wrote. Each sentence of the story has one adjective (hopefully, I tried to be careful to not include any others). 

Download this story here.

The story is about Detective Dog who works so hard to welcome new teddy bears to the force by bringing in assorted foods each day. Unfortunately, the bears never touch his homemade goodies.

After my son read the story all the way through (I helped him with some of the tough words), I told him that in order to find out why the teddy bears never eat, he’d have to find the adjective in each sentence. He circled it and wrote the first letter of the adjective down below. All of these adjectives (and their letters) were clues to solve the mystery.

So, why do the teddy bears never eat, you’re wondering, right? Because they are always stuffed!!

My son demonstrated some real patience with this activity, carefully looking for the adjectives and being excited as the answer to the mystery began to reveal itself. It was a lot of reading but I was so encouraged to hear him say “Yes, I knew it!” when he correctly identified the adjectives!

In Case You missed it-March 19-23

Here are the "In Case You Missed it" links of the top relevant articles for this past week.

"In Case You Missed It" is a new feature on the S.M.Art Kids Blog.

Each Friday, we will feature the top articles (archived and new) that are relevant to our personal interactions that week with parents, students & educators.

To read the original article, click on the title link. (A short description as a quote or excerpt taken right from the article appears under each link.) The source is listed under the article title. Please feel free to share with the original links & authors referenced.

If you have an article link you would like to add, contact Barbara at the e-mail at the bottom of this post.
Please report any broken links to Barbara at the e-mail link below.

Have a great Weekend!

~Barbara

barbara@bodylogique.com

Five Great Conferences for Teachers:

(Classroomtalk.com)
Attending conferences is a vital part of professional development for educators. At conferences, you have the opportunity to learn new ways to become a better teacher and to confer with colleagues whom you normally never see from the seclusion of your classroom. There are so many meetings for professional educators, that the choice of which to attend can be overwhelming. Here are five that will surely not disappoint. They run the gamut from technology to neuroscience and neuroscience to online learning.

Failing Our Autistic Children

(Recordnet.com)
The educational system,is failing to adequately prepare children with autism for independence as adults. "I'm very tired of meeting adults with autism who can do a math worksheet properly but can't cross the street by themselves," ...

The Need for Pretend Play

(Psychology Today)
Over the last seventy-five years a number of theorists and researchers have identified the values of such imaginative play as a vital component to the normal development of a child...

Backpack Misuse Leads to Chronic Back Pain

(American Chiropractice Association)
Back pain is pervasive among American adults, but a new and disturbing trend is emerging. Young children are suffering from back pain much earlier than previous generations, and the use of overweight backpacks is a contributing factor...

Hand Strengthening Activities for Kids

(Kidzoccupationaltherapy.com)
Many children naturally develop adequate strength in all of the hand muscles to learn the fine motor skills needed to manipulate toys, dress themselves, and use a pencil and scissors. There are some children however, that do not acquire this strength as easily and need extra attention to gain that necessary strength. Here are some activities designed to help children with weak hand muscles and poor fine motor skills...

3 Stages of a Lasting Friendship

(S.M.Art Kids Blog)
Our children need to be taught that friendships do not happen overnight, nor do they happen automatically. They take time to grow. This is a theme I re-enforce in my yoga programs as well as when interacting with my daughter and her friends. I have often reviewed and explained the 3 stages to a lasting friendship...

10 Unique Gardening Activities for Kids

(Code Name Mama)
Gardening for me is more than just a way to save money by growing vegetables. It is humbling. Miraculous. Exhausting. It is an exercise in delayed gratification. It physically connects me to the Earth. Gardening tests my patience while strengthening my spirit. With that in mind, I have compiled ten fun gardening activities appropriate for all ages of children, but particularly suitable for toddlers and preschoolers. Enjoy!



Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com

The 3 Stages of a Lasting Friendhip

My daughter surprised and impressed me yesterday when she came to me with a declaration: "Mom, there should be a club at school for the girls in my class-a place where we don't fight and aren't in competition. I'm so tired of the fighting."

I've been struggling this year with how to guide my daughter through  the complicated world of relationship building among her 6th grade girlfriends. One minute they are "BFFs" and the next they are not talking to one another, and the next they are speaking viciously about each other to anyone who will listen, only to tun around and be friends again because someone else was talking viciously about them... I'm on the fence about how much I should intervene and how much I should just listen, & let her navigate and learn on her own. I usually listen, offer some strategies and remind her of the choice she has between being part of the problem or part of the solution.

I asked her why she felt everyone was fighting and she said she thought it was because sitting at a desk all day not being allowed to talk with each other 'normally' gets on every one's nerves. And the arguing continues via text and computer (unless an adult steps in to limit screen time.) She said there is no other time to "just be ourselves with each other."

I helped her explore her ideas further, getting out my pen to take some notes. I asked her how this club would look to her, what its purpose would be, when & where it would be held, the activities or principles that would be taught and other details that I wrote down for her in her own words.She wants "Everybody" to be included, especially those girls that are not well liked so they can be known and build confidence as they build friendships. (My daughter's own words.)

I offer help so she can better understand that friendships develop in stages and we need to be patient in every stage.

Our young ladies need to be taught that friendships do not happen overnight, nor do they happen automatically. They take time to grow. This is a theme I re-enforce in my yoga programs as well as when interacting with my daughter and her friends. I have often reviewed and explained the 3 stages to a lasting friendship:

1-Exploration: this is where 2 parties look for common interests & skills, possible after joining a team or a class. This stage is the most anxiety causing because children hate to experience rejection and may have that fear in the back of their minds. Telling a child "Its a wonderful chance to make new friends" only heightens the anxiety.

2-Trust: once the initial stage is over, trust begins to build. This stage is the most fragile & must be gradual. Some children tend to push too quickly and need to learn to observe signals from their new friends. Both parties must show genuine interest in the other in order to move beyond this stage. Possessiveness, insecurity, envy, misunderstandings and social errors can quickly end a blossoming friendship. Encourage children to be good listeners, be positive & supportive and make new friends feel valued.

3-Compatibility: this stage is marked by mutual acceptance & beneficial pairing of peers. This is the time where the friendship matures & solidifies and strengthens the bond that will create a a long-lasting friendship that can survive disagreements and misunderstandings.

As parents and educators, the key is provide activities that encourage meaningful interaction and limit those "parallel play" activities (such as watching TV or playing computer games) that are fun but don't do anything to build a relationship. 

Board games, sports and other interactive movement such as hopscotch, flashlight tag, etc. are better alternatives to TV and incorporate many activities  that build social skills naturally and help re-enforce the friendship.

Volunteer activities such as reading to pre-schoolers or creating a mural or a children's vegetable garden help children understand the concepts of working together to build something meaningful, that can then be shared with others. It helps them to become a positive example to others, who hopefully will follow their lead. The lessons that can be learned here and the natural character building possibilities are endless.

I asked my daughter who at school might be able to help her bring her girls club 'vision' into reality. She named one & I helped her format a "proposal" to give to that person today. I'm hoping that this person will be able to make it happen for these girls who, through their sometimes frustrating & perplexing behavior,  are asking for our help. I hope that its the beginning of a new way to interact & a supportive network of friendships for them all-ones that will last a lifetime.

Contact: barbara@bodylogique.com




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Origami Bats

Neither my son nor I have ever done origami … at least before this activity. Making paper bats seemed like a great craft to accompany a lesson on the only mammals that fly.

We started reading a couple of great books. I read the first book; my son read the second.

Then I grabbed some black and brown construction paper and cut it into a square – 8 inches and 6 inches. Now we got folding. Here are the step-by-step instructions.

1. Take your paper square and bring two opposing points together and fold.
2. Pull the triangle’s point over the fold and crease about an inch or inch-and-a-half down from the fold.
3. What you’ll have now sort of looks like a boat.
4. Flip the boat over so your paper is flat and the small triangle at the top of the boat is peeking out over the top from behind.
5. Make two creases on a slight diagonal close to the center (with only an inch between them), folding in the large flaps on either side on either side.
6. The flaps will now be sticking up.
7. Fold one flap across the body of the bat and fold it back on a diagonal.
8. Repeat with the other side.
9. Flip your paper over.
10. Fold and crease the tips of the wings in and down toward the center.
11. Flip the paper over once again. Draw lines to cut out the bat’s ears from the flat side of the bat’s head.
12. Cut along your lines. Lastly, add two googly eyes!

Once my son and I had both made our bats, he wrote down some of what he’d learned on a recording sheet I’d made. Download it here. 

How to Make Writing a Letter Fun

Last week was my son's spring break and since he spent a fair amount of the week with his grandparents, there were few deceptively educational activities happening at my house. So I'm finally getting around to publishing this old blog post about how I enticed my son into writing his kindergarten teacher a letter last summer.

It's perfect for a hesitant writer or a child that needs a jump start writing.

8 months ago ...

I knew getting a soon-to-be first-grader to write a letter without a major meltdown or cascades of “I can’t do it” was going to take nothing short of magic.

Instead of pulling a rabbit out of a hat, though, I typed up a series of sentence starters for a letter to his kindergarten teacher and threw them in one of my son's play hats. A few examples follow:

I had so much fun when we ___________.

I will miss ____________.

This summer, I am __________.
I hope I don’t forget __________________.

I am glad you were my teacher because _____________.

You are a good teacher because _____________.

I am ____________ about 1^st grade.

All my son had to do was pull one out, copy it down, and finish the sentence. Little by little, a letter was written. His teacher had worked so hard to teach him to read and write this past year, it’s only fitting that my son show off his new-found skills in a letter to her. (Plus, she gave the students her mailing address at the end of the year with a promise to write back.)

I cannot say enough about how blessed we were that Mrs. E was our son’s first school teacher. There are simply no words that even begin to explain how wonderful she is.

My son gave it a pretty good shot, though.

Chalk

What do 12 year old girls do when they are challenged to turn off their electronics for a day?

(Find out below!)

Spelling (and Basketball) Practice

Last week my son wore out his Nerf over-the-door basketball hoop. I kid you not. When we replaced it with a sturdier version of the same thing, it dawned on me that I should work a little harder to get my money’s worth out of that toy.

Why not combine spelling practice with shooting hoops?

I quick whipped together a score card and grabbed the list of eight spelling words my son’s teacher sent home in his backpack.

Download this PDF scorecard for free here.

Step 1

I read the word and he wrote it down.

Step 2: Did you use the right number of letters?

I counted the letters in the word and told him how many there were. He had to count the letters in the word he’d written. If his word had the same number of letters, he added a “1” to that column of the scorecard.

Step 3: Did you use the right letters?

I scrambled the letters and told them to him. If all the letters I read were in his word, he put a “1” in the next column on the scorecard. NOTE: if extra letters were also in his word, he still got a “1.”

Step 4: Is the word spelled right?

I told him the correct spelling and he checked his work. If it was right, he added a third “1” to his worksheet.

Step 5

He added the numbers together. This subtotal was recorded in the “points possible” column.

Step 6

My son grabbed the basketball (unless there was a zero in the “points possible” column). I gave him three tries to make a basket. If he did, the earned the number of points listed in the “points possible” column.

This got my son’s brain working and blood pumping. He was SUPER bummed to spell grape wrong (darn silent e) and disappointed when even after three tries, he still didn’t make a basket, but he tried really hard to both spell words right AND sink some shots.

After his eight words were spelled, he totaled the score. 12 points!

Since You Asked

Photo: pickthebrain.com

Several of you have asked me recently about what I've been up to, if I am teaching any classes or workshops and a few other fact-finding questions, so I've decided that today's blog post will focus on responding to your queries.

First, I want to acknowledge that I have the best network of people around me-on and off-line: students, families, collaborators, mentors, friends, family & others who have been supportive &  helpful to me on so many levels, both personally & professionally. Thank you all for the opportunity to work & learn with you.

Secondly, my health is fine, (don't know how that rumor got started, but its absolutely false!) I'm not in hiding and no, I have not run away to join the circus. (clowns and knife throwers scare me!)

The group class schedule has temporarily lightened because I am dedicating more time to work with schools and therapy practices providing adaptive yoga education & training, and planning & developing several new projects that I am really excited about! (I was going to save this until they were completed but since you asked, I will share and give you a small preview:)

• 2 (Brand New ) S.M.Art Stories™ Curriculum's (Science & Nature Series) are in the final edit (Sun Stretch & Star Quest) will be released in April. A S.M.Art Stories™ Social Series is in the end planning phase.
• S.M.Art Cards™ - the newest in our product line. A smaller more portable set of posture sequence cards that can be used as a visual prompt for movement or self-calming techniques. Prototypes have gotten great reviews! (Thank you to my testers for your help and honest feedback!) These cards have one major difference from regular card sets & you will have to wait until they are released to see what the difference is!
• S.M.Art Kids® Professional Forum: Is up and running! We have 60 members and are growing daily! This is a place for professionals & parents to share tips and techniques for helping with children with autism & other adaptive needs. (Also for anyone who wants to learn yoga-based techniques appropriate for classroom or therapy room.) If you have not joined yet and would like to be a part of this great community,  please e-mail me: barbara@bodylogique.com  with your request and I will send you a personal invitation.
• BodyLogique Monthly News Bulletin:  Our first issue was for March, 2012. Receive news, updates, articles & tips every month. To request a subscription, please use this link and then fill in the "Subscribe by E-Mail" box in the left hand column.
• S.M.Art Kids® Outside: Our program promoting outdoor play and environmental education. We are happy to be partnering with Project Wild to help bring this nature-based program to the community.
• Sensory Fit™ - Our individualized yoga programming is getting a makeover. We are making improvements to the way we assess and develop our customized programming. More information to follow.
• Webinar Series: We are developing our online learning library and looking into webinar production to reach more educators worldwide. (Our next webinar is with the dynamic Donna Freeman from Yoga In My School on April 12, 2012. View webinar information & register here.)



My daughter is who I want to be
when I grow up!

• S.M.Art Kids-The Book: This rumor is true! There is a forthcoming book, (untitled as of yet). This is the project that I am most excited about! I am in the process of shopping for publishers. I will keep you informed as this project comes to completion.

Incidentally, that is my daughter's picture (at right)  you see in all of the curriculum's, training manual and photo cards (and in the upcoming webinar) I would not be able to do any of this without her energy, humor and inspiration!  She is a tremendous help-very creative & loves helping me with the manuals & art projects. She has been going with me to summer camps and classes to help mentor & support the kids who need it, for the last 5 years, but there are times during the week when my work keeps me away from her. I have adjusted my schedule better not just so I can work on more projects, but so that I can spend more quality time with her, as she steps into her teen years. She has given me some great ideas for  a kids casual clothing line, games and a program for girls that I hope to be working on by the fall of 2012.


My hope is that as each of these projects is implemented, it will expand our work & help bring quality adaptive programming to so many more children across the country. This is the vision and mission that you are all helping me bring into reality.

Please contact me for more information on these projects, program consulting or any of our other services: barbara@bodylogique.com






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Respect Every Child, Every Day

This week, my daughter's school is having some standardized testing. I have always told my kids to not be worried about these tests any more than they would a regular spelling or science test. After almost 30 years of parenting, my response to my daughter is even more laid back than it was to my sons when they were her age. I have always encouraged them to simply do their best.

 I understand that most of these tests are designed to measure the school's (translation: 'the teacher's') effectiveness and have nothing to do with or any child's future success in life. My personal sense is that they cause unnecessary stress and burden on students and staff and take away from what the teacher is trying to do in the classroom.

Each day last week my daughter came home with the verbal  list of "tips" staff were giving the kids. They even had an assembly to "go over a few things: "Make sure you eat breakfast; be sure you get enough sleep; bring a bag of peppermints; bring a bottle of water...etc."

Last year, the school administration went so far as to have guidance go into classrooms and teach them *Brain Gym  movements & send home a note that parents were expected to sign with a list of "rules" and "suggestions", among them being "tell your child he/she is awesome..." so that our child can "do well" on this test.

Incidentally, the peppermints are allowed to be eaten during testing as an application of aromatherapy-mint being an herb that is used for its anti-depressant, anti-anxiety and concentration improving properties. All the other days of school the kids are not permitted water, gum or candy in class.

I support educators, I am an advocate for a proper education for all children and adults, and am all for encouraging my kids (and every child) to do their best in every situation, but I have to draw the line when we are told by a school administrator that she should take a shower in the morning so she feels "awake" and "fresh".

Stop already!

Maybe I have missed something, but this is a blatant hypocrisy, disguised as "caring".  It  translates to "disrespect"- for both me and my child. I ask myself if I am the only parent who is irritated by this. Why the sudden interest in children's hydration, amount of sleep, and showering habits the week before standardized testing time? Why do administrators suddenly care whether or not I encourage my child and tell her how loved she is? Why are they so afraid of what those tests scores will reflect?

Part of me takes offense to the invasion into my parent/child relationship and parenting 'technique', and to the manner in which this whole "we want you to do well" routine is only applied when its important to the school. The other part of me understands that some kids don't get the love, attention and care that mine and many others do. Do they really think sending a note home with a "contract" will change that by helping those parents love or encourage their kids any more? Will that suddenly motivate them to be a more involved and attentive parent? Will it really make any difference in that child's life?

This is not the way to help kids succeed. But we know standardized testing is not and was never about helping kids succeed.

Why are we not expected to do that list of things every day for every child? The loved, the unloved and all of those in between?

Kids know when they are being played and they know when they are being used by adults. They can smell insincerity a mile away. If you want cooperation from them, show them respect all of the time, not just when you want something from them. Isn't that what we tell them?

Those of us in positions of authority: educators, administrators, therapists, clergy, yoga teachers, coaches, parents and others, need to hold ourselves to the same standard we expect from the children & students we guide. If we all did, and did it with sincerity & respect, we would not have to use standardized tests to see how effective schools are. We would be able to see the effect very clearly in the actions, interactions and success of all children.

A little respect goes a long way for every child-every day. ~B. Gini



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*Brain Gym: (To clarify, Brain Gym is a series of movements, much like the yoga program I use, that are targeted to help both hemispheres of the brain communicate and work together. The flaw in the school's application of it is that it was done for about 15 minutes and only for testing purposes. Dr. Dennison, the Brain Gym founder, specifically discourages the program being used prescriptively. Its designed to be a daily discipline. In order for ANY brain-based movement program to be effective it needs to be fun, simple and practiced consistently as a group!)


 



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