Sick of Sitting?

Feb 28, 2011 by sfitzell

I quickly grow tired of sitting down when working long days.  Therefore, I can appreciate and understand where a student is coming from when they express the same feeling while studying, doing homework, or even doing work in the classroom.

To me there is no reason that I, or a student, should have to remain sitting when working or studying.  Sitting when uncomfortable, or when just plain tired of sitting, could actually be more distracting to your student, and those around her, than moving around.  In fact, motion is a very useful study tool!  Movement oxygenates the brain and involves a deeper part of your brain in the memory process.

While some may doubt the motion-memory connection, consider this; when was the last time you sang The Itsy-Bisty Spider?  Unless you have sung it with children, it probably wasn’t recently.  But can you still sing and act out the song? Of course you can! So, maybe motion does help with memory.

Ways to Incorporate Motion into Studying

• Act out vocabulary words with your student
• Have your student come up with a (nice) gesture to represent key people, places, or things
• Use sign language
• Use basketball memorization: If you have a hoop in your driveway or local gym, help your student to make a game out of stating a fact and then shooting a basket.  It does not matter what rules you make up.  The movement, fun, and challenge in the activity are what are important.  Your student can do this with a friend or classmate and take turns helping each   other.  If your student likes football, soccer, or any other sport better, use that sport as the foundation.  Help your student make their own rules.  As long as memorizing information is part of the game rules, it will be effective.