Shop by Topic
Shop by Product
ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues
<< Previous Issue
| View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> 
Let the Children Run
November 30, 2016
He is so stingy that if he gave you the measles, it would be one measle at a time.
-Irish Proverb
-Irish Proverb
"For many American kids, art, music and recess are endangered parts of their day. What this means is more time trapped in desk chairs and less time moving around, fewer opportunities for open creativity and more rote memorization. It’s no wonder longtime teachers have noticed kids have a harder time sitting still than ever before," writes Bethany Mandel.
Several teachers in the Dallas school system found a possible solution to the fidgety children in their classrooms: they replaced traditional seating with "wobbly" or "bouncy chairs." Soon after, children found themselves gently bouncing on stability balls or rocking on plastic chairs that "move like spring animals on a playground," noted the Dallas Morning News.
"It's the comparison to the equipment on playgrounds that got me," noted Mandel. "In order to get students to pay attention and sit still for hours on end in a classroom, teachers had to replicate the experience of the playground. What might be a cheaper alternative to replacing chairs in a classroom, which costs between $600 and $2000 per class? More time on the actual playground.
"While wiggle chairs and other movable seating arrangements are one way to help students get their "wiggles" out, they are merely a Band-Aid on a much larger problem. Students don’t need more time fidgeting in classrooms; they need more time outside playing and exploring. Childhood wasn't meant to be lived indoors, watching through the windows at unused playground equipment outside. If kids can't sit still, we should stop expecting them to."
 |
Order now in time for the holidays |
|
Enter code "holiday" upon checkout. |
Free Shipping Offer applies to budget shipping to continental United States destinations only. May not be combined with any other offer. |
ExchangeEveryDay
Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
What is ExchangeEveryDay?
ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
Comments (2)
Displaying All 2 CommentsCSBC
Denver, CO, United States
As more and more of these articles appear, my frustration level continues to rise. We know what our young children need! Why can't we give it to them? Why do state early childhood standards, state departments of education, Head Start expectations, standards-based curricula, et. al. continue to focus on the wrong things? Is our field so impotent that we cannot provide our children with what they need?
Mr.
Parkersburg, West Virginia, United States
The years/decades of sedentary lifestyles has taken a major toll on the lives of children. These articles and observations are missing the main problem about core stability, which leads to discovery of controlling the body for voluntary movement abilities. Bounce/yoga stability balls, more time on play grounds equipment are just observations showing the the lack of development of the entire sensory-motor-perceptual neural networks of BODY to the brain. Children have lacked the many hours of natural movement and exploration of their environment, as "electronic babysitters" created a sedentary life style impacting physical and sensory development. In the meantime the childhood obesity rates increased, too. Plain and simple-children need to be up on their feet moving, climbing trees and rocks and actively investigating the world. TURN TVs off and take hand held devices away and get children outside and PLAY!! Vestibular (balance) and Proprioception (sensations of touch; force and effort control) only get developed my moving the body.
Post a Comment