Recollections V

It has been awhile since I wrote Recollections I, II, and III but I still intend to finish posting our learnings while here in Auburn! This post is about a book called Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All In Your Head. Five or so years ago Tennie's music teacher in Washington, Sharla Dance, introduced me to this book. I tried to get through it but it went right over my head and I returned it.

When our developmental pediatrician recommended it I bought our own copy and determined to try to digest it. This time I understood what the author was suggesting (even if it will take me awhile to get down the brain language). The main premise is that the mind is not separate from the body. The body plays an integral part in all learning processes. In children, movement strengthens the proprioceptive and vestibular systems in the brain that I mentioned previously. If we provide time and the right environment (trampolines, swings, monkey bars, merry-go-rounds, slides, ladders, balance beams, bikes, skates, ropes for jump-roping and tug-o-war, trees for climbing, etc.) children will naturally love these activities because their bodies intuitively know they need these movements to grow both physically and mentally. Movement activates the neural wiring throughout the body. Unfortunately too many kids sit in front of screens (TV, computers, video games, etc.) and don't get this kind of movement. This can be a contributing factor to ADHD and other behavioral problems. This book talks quite a bit about the damaging effects of screen time, but I won't go into that here. Years ago we read a book called Endangered Minds: Why Children Don't Think and What We Can Do About It. We've been committed to limiting screen time since!

Einstein said, "Learning is experience. Everything else is just information." Smart Moves would agree. It demonstrates scientifically that for learning to establish meaningful connections there must be movement involved, and then learning is not complete until there is some output, some physical, personal expression of thought. We often think of muscles as part of the body's domain, but they are equally important to the mind.

There are many muscles in our jaws that move when we speak or sing, and there are a lot of muscles at work in our hands when we write and draw. Multiple muscles are used to play music and move gracefully in dance and sports. The active, muscular expression of learning is an important ingredient of that learning. For this reason the book argues that there should be more drama, art, music and athletics in schools, not less.

Waldorf schools base their entire curriculum around the development of a child's body and mind. They use drama, art, music and athletics to teach math, writing, history and the rest. We know a handful of kids that went to Waldorf Schools during their elementary years and are now homeschooled (for various reasons...none of which was because they didn't love the experience at the Waldorf School). All of them are incredibly focused, scholarly, musical, artistic, and comfortable with who they are. Their parents tell me the Waldorf experience allowed their kids to be and do what their natural bodies and minds wanted to do at every given age. The environment was always loving and safe and full of exploration, wonder, and expression. By the time the children moved into adolescence they had so much more mental, emotional and physical bandwidth to really focus and apply themselves. And they do so willingly and with earnest. Smart Moves says, "It is the full activation and balance of all parts of our body/mind system that allow us to become effective, productive thinkers." These kids we know confirm that.

Let me go back to Tennie's music teacher Sharla Dance, who first gave me this book. Now that I know a little bit more, I can see how brilliant she was as a music teacher. Most of her group piano classes were filled with playing games, and dancing to the songs the kids were learning. They were learning the songs in their muscles first, and then when they sat down to play the song on the piano they played it so much more easily. She uses these same principles to teach the children songs in Primary (the children organization at church). She is writing a book, and I'll be the first to buy it. Her website has some sneak peeks into some of the chapters, and is full of effective ideas to teach children music. Not only are the ideas super fun for kids, but the kids feel successful. If you are interested her website is www.toteachachildasong.com.

To Be Continued...