For those active kids

Posted by Christine | 0 comments

…and which ones aren’t?

I have found that incorporating a little movement in our day goes a long way toward providing an outlet for energy and aiding learning for an active child. Colin, who’s 7, loves to have physical ways of learning or practicing a concept. Occasionally I’ll happen upon something that works by sheer luck and other times out of desperation.

As far as learning styles go, Colin is definitely primarily an aural learner- he memorizes poetry with one or two hearings, he remembers things we have said weeks and months (sometime years into the future), and has a great ear for pitch. But on top of that, he is very kinesthetically oriented. So to shake it up a bit in our school day here are some of the things I have done with him:

• Recite poetry or math facts while jumping rope or doing jumping jacks
• Count by 2s, 3s, 5s, 10s, etc. while throwing a ball back and forth to me
• Make stories using a story board instead of just writing them
• Use an inflatable globe to learn geography. For example, I’ll throw it to him and say, “Find an African country that begins with ‘B’.”

These are just some of the many things you can do to physically involve your child in learning. I’m amazed at how much more he remembers if he uses multiple senses while completing an activity.

What are some of your favorite ways to use multiple senses in your homeschool?

Christine is a homeschooling mom of four, three boys and a girl ranging in age from infant to 7 years. A musician by trade, she desires to help other homeschoolers find the beauty and simplicity in teaching the arts to their children. Visit her blog at Fruit in Season.