Why Children Fidget

We have had this page sitting in drafts for awhile now. It had one link on it:
 The real reason why children fidget

It is a great post that has a really important lesson for all teachers. The last sentence probably summarises this the best for me "In order for children to learn, they need to be able to pay attention. In order to pay attention, we need to let them move."

I was reading an interesting post last night on how the brain learns the best. It was very interesting in its self, but at the end was a link to a quiz (which is where I admit I'm a little bit of a quiz junkie) that asked "How good are you at teaching the art of learning?" The very first question reminded me once again of the why it is so important to allow students to move.

It asked if students were trying to write an assignment and were feeling restless - what would you recommend them do. The answer:
ANSWER: B. Get out of the house, and take the book with you: to the coffee shop, the park, the library. Put on some music

The reason: There’s a large body of research showing that changing “context” while you’re learning — and this includes location, time of day, mood, environment, even background music — deepens learning. It also allows you to put your restlessness to good use.

While this is obviously more geared to older students, I think it has important points for all educators. It made me reflect - what are we doing in 67HQ that allows our students to 'pay attention by letting them move?' That allows them to 'deepen their learning' by changing the context? Is there anything else we need to be doing?

Setting up activities that require students to move.
Sitting on chairs - tennis balls
Stress balls - play dough - reduces distracting behaviour
Go Noodle - breaks
MLE - having a range of furniture and a classroom environment that is flexible enough so that all children can find a comfortable position is a real bonus.  Giving options about “where to sit” and “on what to sit” helps those students who need to move more or just like to find their own way of being comfortable.
Daily Choice - less “whole class” gathering times and more emphasis on student led learning, encourages less of the “teacher talk” and “mat times” which can be a real problem area for students who need to be up and moving.

Other furniture that might help
High table
movable stools


http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/how-does-the-brain-learn-best-smart-studying-strategies/
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/08/quiz-yourself-how-good-are-you-at-teaching-the-art-of-learning/