The Observation
When I watch and interact with each and every brilliant preschooler I notice how their actions and moods change throughout the day. The children are in school for a full eight hours, which can be very exhausting for their tiny bodies. They become lethargic, unmotivated, and they are ready to be back home. Too much academic instruction without any movement, or breaks to get their blood flowing can decrease their interest in learning. Typically at the beginning of the day once the students are settled they have all eyes on the teacher, they are ready to absorb new information. After the 15-20 minute morning circle I watch the light in their eyes dim, and their attention span has run out. The teacher then introduces a new topic of the day, and reads a book relating to this topic. During which the children are very inattentive, they are talking to their friends, and are completely zoned out. Keeping these little humans still for so long makes their already short attention span seem even shorter. They need breaks where they can get up, move around, play, and get their blood flowing to their brain.
Are Your Students Moving Enough?
After observing these behaviors it leads me to wonder, are these kiddos moving enough, are they getting themselves moving throughout instruction? I know most programs have set times where they allow for free play, or centers, and of course recess… But is that enough for an eight hour school day?
Doing The Research
Immediately when looking into research and studies to help answer these questions I was overwhelmed with the results I found. There are so many different ways to keep the children moving, and therefor keep them more focused and engaged. My personal two favorite articles were focused on Play, and Classroom Choreography.
“Holding Onto Play”
Play based curriculum, and the inclusion of play time in schools is something that has been somewhat controversial over the years in the education field. Some teachers do not think the concept of play holds any greater importance than being able to run around with friends laugh and enjoy life. They do not see nor understand the benefits of incorporating play into curriculum. The inclusion of play not only lets the students get up and moving, but also promotes creative values in the students learning. In the Article, “Holding on to Play: Reflecting on Experiences as a Playful K-3 Teacher”, author Lisa Wood uses her personal career and story to explain her efforts as a teacher-researcher-advocate for play.
If you want to read more about this article click, here: https://www.academia.edu/10299838/NEXT_Study_Guide_Article_-_Viewpoint._Holding_on_to_Play_Reflecting_on_Experiences_as_a_Playful_K-3_Teacher
Classroom Choreography
Curriculum that involves movement, and or choreography is not something that is talked about too much in the Education Field. Movement is usually only involved within the school day at times like recess or gym class. However, in the article, “Classroom Choreography: Enhancing Learning Through Movement”, written by Donna Furmanek there is adequate information on the advocacy for movement in the classroom always. Physical movement is so important for young children; we should not be limiting them to movement only one or two times a day. And after reading the article, there is plenty of research and science behind why movement will enhance and better your learning/classroom environment.
If you want to read this article click here:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/ycyoungchildren.69.4.80.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
I also recommend checking out the blog where I found the photo from above: https://braeanna.weebly.com/dance.html
Where Do We Go From Here?
As teachers, we need to be more aware of how often we get our children moving throughout the day. Movement shouldn’t be secluded to gym class and recess, it should be used throughout the day. Movement and choreography can be included in academic lessons, it can be used as brain breaks as well. We can also use creative play based activities as ways for children to show what they have learned from a lesson. Instead of filling out a worksheet we can ask students to create a song with a dance to go along to show what they learned. You could also have the students create a skit to perform what they have learned. There are many easy ways to incorporate play and movement into the daily schedule, they aren’t expensive and relatively don’t take up more time. There may be a bit more planning and creativity from the teachers perspective, but that shouldn’t matter when there are so many clear benefits connected to this.