We all know the five senses we learned in grade school: Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch. Each of these works together to help our brains understand and interpret our world. Whether it is the taste of a tart lemon, the feeling of mud between our fingers, or the smell of fresh mint, our brains crave this information to help us operate within our environment.
We have three more senses that are equally essential in helping us navigate the world, feed our brains information, and help us develop appropriately. These three are also important for our classroom success in that they help us manage our self-regulation, self-control, and ultimately behavior. A child who struggles to sit still, wiggles, or is “misbehaving” is likely to have weakness in one or more of these senses. In other words, when any of these are poorly developed, school is harder than it should be.
Taking a closer look, interoception is our inner sense of self, helping our brains understand if we are hungry or thirsty, hot or cold, and even when we need to go to the bathroom. Our Occupational Therapist colleagues tell us there has been a rise in poorly developed interoception in children, particularly since COVID-19, and this sense, when poorly developed, looks like an inability to self-regulate or manage self-control and even as bad behavior. If you suspect one of your children struggles with this, a referral for OT may be the right path.
But there are two others that we focus on in our curriculum, both of which are integral to our ability to calm bodies and minds. These are the vestibular and proprioceptive systems.
The proprioceptive system is our sense of force. It allows us to use the weight of our limbs to build a mental map of our bodies. This mental map tells our brains where our bodies are, what our limbs are doing and what our arms, hands, legs, and feet are doing in relation to each other and the world. For example: if you ask a preschooler where his toes are, what does he do? He reaches down and touches them. You wouldn’t do that because you have already build a mental map of your body, but he has to touch his toes in order to help his brain understand where they are in relation to the rest of his body. This mental map, when well-developed, helps us move with skill whether it is to kick a ball, climb a tree, or even write our name.
The proprioceptive system also helps us understand force so we can understand the difference in force needed to put pencil to paper and leave a mark without breaking the tip versus the force needed to squish playdough into a shape. We gain this understanding by putting pressure on the body by jumping, pulling, pushing, and climbing. When it is not well-developed, the brain will make the bodywork for that information in other ways: aggressively wrestling, tagging too hard, body slamming walls, floors, and even friends. Children will hug too hard, push too hard, or tackle too hard. This all looks like bad behavior, but in truth, it is just the brain screaming for information from the body, information it hasn’t received yet because it has been too still (Think: technology use!)
In other words, when children skip adequate time jumping, pulling, pushing, and climbing they cut off development of this key sense making school harder than it should be.
The vestibular system on the other hand, is our sense of movement and balance. It lives in our inner ear and helps us understand that the world is still even though we might be moving. It helps our brains use the stillness of the world to keep us upright and balanced. Without it the world looks jumpy, like Super 8 film of days gone past, and it is hard to feel balanced and secure. This makes playing on the playground difficult because what might seem like a fun trip down the slide with friends, can actually be an insurmountable challenge because it will appear the ladder up to the slide is moving making climbing it scary. But that same appearance of still things moving also happens in the classroom when the vestibular system is not well-developed, making letters and numbers jump around on the page. This makes learning to read and write, as well as math, harder than it should be.
Children develop this sense by moving the head and eyes in multiple planes and directions, think spinning, swinging, sliding, logrolling, somersaulting, and hanging upside down. This kind of movement makes the eyes work to secure a steady focal point to inform the brain where the world is and what the body is doing in relation to it.
And what happens when children don’t move enough in this way? (Think: the stillness of technology) Their brains will make them move anyway to gather the information not yet received. And what does it look like? Poor self-regulation, lack of self-control, and bad behavior when it is more likely the brain screaming for information from the body!
Technology use keeps the body still. It keeps it upright. It doesn’t move the body in multiple planes and directions. It doesn’t put pressure on the body. It grossly limits the development of these key senses.
And what is happening as a result of so much technology use? A dramatic rise in what appears to be behavior challenges. But at Pivot to Play® would argue these aren’t behavior challenges at all. These are children’s bodies and brains screaming for information they have not yet received. And without appropriate development of these senses, children are being asked to perform in school with half of what they need and being expected to be successful.
It isn’t fair. It is developmentally wrong. It must be changed.
On the other hand, developing these senses for stronger, happier learners isn’t rocket science, it is brain science and it is logical.
It is also inexpensive, easy to implement, and it is something all children crave.
Lets Get Out of the Way and Let Kids Play!
#outsmartthewiggles
We Are Earning Some Serious Miles!
We have been on the road with lots more to go. We are thrilled every time we are asked to help a school learn more about the essential role moving plays when it comes to building strong learners and happy classrooms. We have helped schools from California to Virginia and as far away as Glasgow, Scotland. We have helped private schools, public schools, and non-profits. Are you ready to join this tribe of fearless educators ready to change the direction of their student’s learning path? Learn more here. See where we have been and where we are going here.
Need to Help Other Grownups Understand the Power of Play?
Let our posters help you! Our poster package includes five colorful posters that encourage readers to talk to YOU about the strengths and skills needed for the classroom that are built on a foundation of big-body play. Whether it is a parent, administrator, another teacher, or even the custodian in your school, these posters encourage conversation. Learn more and get yours here.
Need Ideas to Get Started?
That is what our curriculum is for! Currently available: 2, 3, 4, and 5-year old packages of our best-ever games, pulled from our vault of fun! Learn more about our curriculum here.
