Chair Hammocks. Movement and Learning. Note: This information was put to together several years ago. There are resources listed at the bottom of the screen. We don't have any additional information on the source of the information. In times of diminishing financial resources, educators must make hard choices. Do dance, theater, and physical education belong in the budget? Are they frills or fundamentals? For years, it seemed that the educational and scientific communities believed that thinking was thinking and movement was movement, and never the twain would meet. If we want to address drug education, second languages, diversity education, multiple intelligences, improving reading scores, reducing dropouts, encouraging girls in math and science, thematic instruction, and AIDS education, that's great.
Part of the reason for the outdated separation of mind and body comes from simple observation. The Leiners' work centered on the cerebellum, and they made some critical discoveries that spurred years of fruitful research. Dizzy, Delightful, or Irrelevant: How Did Vestibular Stimulation Get So Much Attention? I recently received a children's book catalogue that I've been getting for years and have always liked. Like most book catalogues, it includes toys and goodies for mothers as well. This time, it included a sort of sliding and riding toy, and here's what the description said: "..it... assists children in balance, coordination, and vestibular stimulation, all skills now being linked to reading and writing readiness. The vestibular system is what switches on our entire brain and opens up our sensory channels for more efficient learning.
" Passing lightly over the fact that vestibular stimulation is not "a skill", let's look at the accuracy of this statement. I happen to have done my Ph.D. thesis on a matter related to the vestibular system, so I have something to say here. Everyone has a vestibular system, and it's one of the first sensory systems to reach a mature level in the course of early development. Stimulation of the vestibular system also affects other parts of the nervous system. Vestibular stimulation influence on motor development in infants | Science/AAAS. Seating Specialties : The Therapy Shoppe, The extraordinary little specialty shoppe for school and pediatric therapists, teachers and parents too. Ball Chairs Bounce Into Schools.
How Sitting on a Ball Helps Kids Focus and Do Better In School. When balance balls were originally developed in the 1960s for physical therapy purposes, who knew that one day they'd be recommended for children who have trouble focusing in school? But today, that's just what's happening. Balance balls might be just what the doctor ordered to help children with sensory processing disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or just a strong need to fidget reach their full potential in the classroom. Around the same time that fitness fans began using balance balls (also called exercise balls, stability balls or therapy balls) in their exercise regimes as a way to strengthen abdominal and back muscles, ball chairs were developed as a way to strengthen core muscles and improve posture while sitting.
During the 1980s, some occupational therapists began recommending them to educators for classroom use, deeming them particularly helpful for children with special learning needs. "Sitting still" isn't always a good thing Southpaw Enterprises.