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7/28/2019 Movement and the Brain
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Movement and
the Brain
Does it appear that for some children to be able to learn,
they have to be up and moving? Movement can improveconcentration, mood and even behavior. This article
explores how DC4K gets kids up and moving during
DC4K.
by Linda Ranson Jacobs
ecently I was visiting with a DC4K leader
when she said something that caught myattention. She said, For years I have worked
with stressed out children and children
displaying aggressive behaviors. Early on in
my career I figured out if I got these children
up and moving around, then our day went
better. It seemed like the more stressed out a
child was, the more he or she needed to get up
and get moving, whether it was running or
jumping or whatever. It was as if the child
had to be moving in order to learn. Reading
the research in DC4K validates what I have
known for many years. I have been on target
all along, but now the research is proving me
right. Now I have something to back me up.
Developmental experts have known for years
that active movement improves school
performance, concentration, mood and
behavior. Now we are learning that
movement stimulates childrens brains, and
organized movement helps the brain to focus.
Not only do kids need to be up and moving,
but they need organized movement as well.
Dr. Becky Bailey1 touts that stressed out
children need more blood moving to the
brain. Just standing up gives a person 1015%
more blood flow to the brain. Many children
will arrive in your DC4K classes stressed tothe max. When they are under tremendous
amounts of stress, their breathing tends to
become shallow. If you watch, you will notice
some of these childrens shoulders will be
tense, and their breathing appears to be rapid
and carried high up in their chest. Exercise
with stretching and breathing included will
send oxygenated blood flow to the brain.
When oxygenated blood is supplied to thebrain, then a child will have better
concentration, faster thinking skills, along
with improved reasoning and understanding.
Kathie Nunley2 in her online newsletter
(February 4, 2004) says, Exercise has been
shown to greatly reduce cortisol levels in the
brain as well as increase norepinephrine.
Cortisol is secreted as a result of stress andspecifically targets the memory area of the
brain Increasing norepinephrine can
reduce behavior problems which is generally
good news for everyone.
Pam Schiller3 in an article in Child Care
Information Exchange May 1998 (p. 52)
R
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states, Cross lateral activities encourage
children to integrate the use of the left and
right hemisphere of the brain. In seminars
she also says to use extensive hand motions
when singing. The more extensive ways you
move, the better you can get the message to
the brain. She includes shaking your hands
and hugging yourself, and she says to
encourage the children any way you can to
cross lateral and cross midline.
In DC4K we have included these activities
within the lesson plan but also in the Alphabet
Stretches flip chart. I would highly encourage
you to use the Alphabet Stretches each week.
One leader says she does the stretches while
the children laugh with her and probably at
her. Laughter is good. It gets the children
moving and elevates their moods, and if you
get creative, you can pull them into stretching
before they realize it.
Besides the stretches, encourage the children
to create their own movements to the music.
If children make up their own moves, they
will take ownership of the music. If you as a
leader feel conspicuous, then start out by
playing the music in the background at every
opportunity you can find. Children will begin
to hum and then sing along. It wont be long
before you will see them starting to sway with
the music or tap their feet or even clap. Select
a child who has good rhythm and ask him orher to create some movements to teach to the
other children. Hip-hop movements work
great with the songs on the CDs.
Elaine Austin, a DC4K leader from Dallas, isworking on her masters degree, and she
shares a website she found from the North
Carolina Department of Public Instruction(www.ncpe4me.com). It suggests great
classroom movement activities. Some
examples:
High five my right hand to your left hand.
Touch my left elbow to your right elbow.Touch shoulder to shoulder.
So many children entering your groups will
be coming from chaotic home environments.
Even if things are calm in their homes, its the
childs perception that things are out of
control. The children will bring that out-of-
control and chaotic presence with them toyour groups. Teaching organized movement
will help bring a sense of order to their brains.
It will help them gain mastery and control
over their own bodies and activities.
Get to breathing use the diaphragm tosupport the breath while you breathe in
through the nose and out through the mouth
s-l-o-w-l-y.
Get to stretching tighten those muscles and
then relax them.
So get to moving cross lateral and crossmidline.
Use the music CDs to put rhythm and a beat
to the movement times.
Start drinking water, and encourage the
children to drink water.
Above all have a good time and laugh a lot:
The cheerful heart has a continual feast
(Proverbs 15:15).
Enjoy your merry heart.
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Resources
1. Dr. Becky Bailey is the author ofConscious Discipline published by Loving
Guidance, Inc. Visit her website at
www.consciousdiscipline.com. Dr. Bailey
is a national conference presenter for
school systems and other organizations.
2. Kathie Nunley is the author ofA StudentsBrain: The Parent/Teacher Manual
published by Morris Publishing. Her
website is www.brains.org.3. Pam Schiller is the author ofStart Smart
published by Gryphon House. She
frequently speaks at conferences and
workshops, and does radio and televisioninterviews.
MMVI by the author and/or Church Initiative. Allrights reserved. Reproducible only when used with a
Church Initiative ministry program.
Linda Ranson Jacobs is the DC4K creator and
developer. For more information, email
[email protected]. To discover more about DivorceCare
for Kids or to find a DC4K group near you, go
to www.dc4k.org.