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Literacy & Movement: Language Links to Locomotion"It is literally impossible to express emotion without motion." "Move a muscle, change a feeling." |
Connell, Gill, and Cheryl McCarthy. A Moving Child Is a Learning Child: How the Body Teaches the Brain to Think (birth to Age 7). Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing, 2014. ISBN 978-1-57542-435-4; Paperback; CAN $39.99.
This amazing resource is packed with valuable information on how the body teaches the brain how to learn. Based on the authors' Kinetic Scale it includes research into kinetic development, verbal and physical language acquisition and processing, music and movement, primitive and postural reflexes, sensory learning and the importance of the vestibular system. It includes an amazing number of games and play initiatives for children aged 0-7 and a helpful web link to PDF handouts for parents and teachers. Fun, colorful, easy to read and contains pictures of children from myriad cultural backgrounds, abilities and genders. An essential resource for every public library collection and for anyone working with children. To date, it has nothing but 5-star reviews (14 and counting) at Amazon.ca. 'Nuff said.
This amazing resource is packed with valuable information on how the body teaches the brain how to learn. Based on the authors' Kinetic Scale it includes research into kinetic development, verbal and physical language acquisition and processing, music and movement, primitive and postural reflexes, sensory learning and the importance of the vestibular system. It includes an amazing number of games and play initiatives for children aged 0-7 and a helpful web link to PDF handouts for parents and teachers. Fun, colorful, easy to read and contains pictures of children from myriad cultural backgrounds, abilities and genders. An essential resource for every public library collection and for anyone working with children. To date, it has nothing but 5-star reviews (14 and counting) at Amazon.ca. 'Nuff said.
Hannaford, Carla. Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head. 2nd ed. Salt Lake City: Great River Books, 2005. ISBN 978-0-915556-37-3; Paperback; US $18.95.
We have three types of neurons (nerve cells which transmit electricity) in the body: sensory (central nervous system), intermediate (networkers that relay info), and motor (which respond to those relays and move the body in response). Our neural connections aren't permanent, but rather can be altered and grown only if there is full attention and focused interest on what we do. According to Smart Moves, "in three weeks we can get ten times more proficient at anything if we are emotionally engaged with focused interest" (23). That's amazing news! Competency in adulthood has been linked to three major factors in the early learning of children: rich indoor/outdoor sensory environments, freedom to explore the environment with few restrictions, available parents or guardians that acted as consultants when the child asked questions. As librarians and staff, we are perfectly positioned to create these sorts of environments in our children's departments and through our programs. Read this fascinating book by biologist and educator, Carla Hannaford, to inspire you to move (and sing and play!) more and sit less.
We have three types of neurons (nerve cells which transmit electricity) in the body: sensory (central nervous system), intermediate (networkers that relay info), and motor (which respond to those relays and move the body in response). Our neural connections aren't permanent, but rather can be altered and grown only if there is full attention and focused interest on what we do. According to Smart Moves, "in three weeks we can get ten times more proficient at anything if we are emotionally engaged with focused interest" (23). That's amazing news! Competency in adulthood has been linked to three major factors in the early learning of children: rich indoor/outdoor sensory environments, freedom to explore the environment with few restrictions, available parents or guardians that acted as consultants when the child asked questions. As librarians and staff, we are perfectly positioned to create these sorts of environments in our children's departments and through our programs. Read this fascinating book by biologist and educator, Carla Hannaford, to inspire you to move (and sing and play!) more and sit less.
Jensen, Eric. Learning with the Body in Mind: The Scientific Basis for Energizers, Movement, Play, Games, and Physical Education. San Diego, CA: Brain Store, 2000. ISBN 978-1-890460-07-5; Paperback; US $31.95.
A handbook directed towards educators in the hopes of increasing their integration of movement and body-based learning in their classroom curriculum. It starts with the science behind movement and implicit learning and then delivers suggestions (and justification) for indoor games, performing arts activities, outdoor play and recess, and exercise and fitness. Boring b&w clip art, outdated photos (and these would have been outdated at time of publishing), a lot of repetition, and a patronizing tone, makes for an unengaging format. There are better books on the market (like Smart Moves and A Moving Child Is a Learning Child above). Pass.
A handbook directed towards educators in the hopes of increasing their integration of movement and body-based learning in their classroom curriculum. It starts with the science behind movement and implicit learning and then delivers suggestions (and justification) for indoor games, performing arts activities, outdoor play and recess, and exercise and fitness. Boring b&w clip art, outdated photos (and these would have been outdated at time of publishing), a lot of repetition, and a patronizing tone, makes for an unengaging format. There are better books on the market (like Smart Moves and A Moving Child Is a Learning Child above). Pass.
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Pang, Alex S.-K. Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less. New York: Basic Books, 2016. ISBN 978-0465074877; Hardcover; US $27.50/CAN$35.99.
A great book to have in your collection, Pang backs up his (common-sense, but rarely followed) premise (that rest is just as important as hustling all day) with some serious science. If you want to skip all the studies and jump right to the how-tos - here they are: 1. Work and rest go together. Intense work must be balanced with long breaks in concentration. Rest too much and you get lazy and inert. Work too much and you get burned out and your body and mind will force you to rest, and it will be unpleasant. 2. Rest can be active. Lots of activity is going on in the brain while we sleep. Physically challenging, even life-threatening activities can also be restorative, if approached correctly. 3. Rest is a skill. We must rest deliberately. And we get better at it the more we practice doing it properly. Like meditating. Or sex. 4. Deliberate rest makes us more creative. Most famous creative people follow a routine: they do their most intense work in the morning, then go on walks or nap or exercise in the afternoon, and they leave a small task unfinished when they stop work to give them some motivation to get rolling the next morning. Their lives are filled with deep play and many are accomplished athletes, aside from their creative or academic pursuits. They maintain strict boundaries. |
Copyright 2015 Jenn Carson
