Brain gym activities classroom series#

Our expert pediatric therapists offer a variety of treatment options, including 30/45/60 minute sessions, group classes and virtual therapy to best suit a child’s needs. These include sensory integration, reflex integration, therapeutic listening, Kinesiotape, craniosacral therapy, NDT, BrainGym, feeding therapy, PROMPT, to name a few. We offer pediatric services that include physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, feeding therapy, and DIR Floortime.Īt The Village Therapy Place, we utilize current and evidence-based treatment techniques to help treat your child during his PT, OT, speech therapy, feeding therapy and DIR Floortime session. Physical health- Another benefit of brain. When the student has a chance to move or get a little bit of activity during the day that can foster creative thought which can support writing, creative projects, and other tasks in the middle school curriculum. You can learn more about at Brain Gym at at The Village Therapy Place, located in Bergen County- in Wyckoff, NJ, aim to provide integrative, neurodevelopmental, individualized, pediatric therapy in a warm, fun, and collaborative environment. Creativity- Brain breaks can improve creativity for the middle school student as well. You will be noticeably calmer after that time.

Keep the ankles crossed and the wrists crossed and then breathe evenly in this position for a few minutes.

Bend the elbows out and gently turn the fingers in towards the body until they rest on the sternum (breast bone) in the center of the chest.

Take your right wrist and cross it over the left wrist and link up the fingers so that the right wrist is on top.

Cross the right leg over the left at the ankles.

Just do this either sitting or standing for about 2 minutes.

Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee just as if you were marching.

Place your index and thumb into the slight indentations below the collar bone on each side of the sternum.

Put one hand so that there is as wide a space as possible between the thumb and index finger.

Here are a few examples of the PACE movements: Brain Buttons

Before beginning their exercises students are advised to drink lots of water to keep hydrated before and during class since the brain consists of 90% water. Many educators use Brain Gym activities (PACE: Positive, Active, Clear, Energetic) as warm-up exercises for reading, writing and mathematics because it was found that overall concentration in the classroom improved.

Moving the whole body in the shape of a lazy eight leads to increasing focus and attention, spatial awareness, lateralization and bilateral integration of eyes, ears and limbs. The movement consists of tracing a lateral eight over and over, sweeping across the lateral midline of the body again and again, which activates both the right and left hemispheres of the brain encouraging them to process together.

Lazy eights have been recognized and used for years by occupational therapists, developmental optometrists and various practitioners as a very valuable tool for learning disabilities. One of the most important Brain Gym movements that integrate both hemispheres in the brain is the “lazy eight” or the “infinity” sign. When all parts of the brain communicate together, then “laterality”, “focusing” and “centering” take place. To create brain coordination, the Dennisons put forth the idea of coordinating the right and left hemispheres of the brain along with the front and back and top and bottom. Learning is not an isolated aspect of just brain functioning, but rather an integral part of every nerve and every cell connection to our bodies. When the brain has energy, the learning process improves. These movements are based on the fundamental idea that simple exercises help increase blood flow to the brain which provides oxygen and keeps the brain more alert.

Brain gym activities classroom series#

They designed 26 Brain Gym activities in a series of exercises that improve academic performance. Brain Gym or Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) was developed in the 1980s by educators Paul Dennison PhD and Gail Dennison who recognized the concept of “brain-body” integration.