3 Ways to Improve Learning Readiness Through Play
* Written by:Suzanne Cresswell - Occupational Therapist and author of Unique Learner Solutions
Can your unique learner
improve his or her learning skills?
Yes! In fact, it is
easier, and more fun, than you think. You can improve your child's learning
readiness in ways that feel like play.
Let's start with a
better understanding of learning readiness. It isn't about how fast they can
finish a timed math quiz, nor how neatly they print. Learning readiness occurs
after foundational developmental abilities are in place.
Students who are ready
to learn know how to take in and make sense of the information around them.
They know how to recognize patterns. They can consider different explanations
before selecting the most likely. This type of problem solving must occur when
performing arithmetic, reading, and writing. However, these skills develop
outside the classroom first.
You can't accomplish
this with more math worksheets or printing practice. How can you help your
unique learner improve their learning readiness? The answer may surprise you.
Learning readiness only
occurs when the developmental building blocks fall into place. If your unique
learner has some developmental gaps, don't despair. These gaps can be filled in
with activities that feel like play.
Here are three ways to
use play to improve your unique learner's learning readiness.
Try
One More Time
The first area to focus
on is improving your child's ability to practice "try one more time"
strategies.
Start by stretching
your child's attention span by having them "hang in there" a little
longer. Play with that toy a little longer, work on solving that difficult
puzzle just a moment longer, read a little longer, and encourage them to
"stick with" that chore you assigned them, just a little longer.
Make this goal of
yours, designed to help your child, a secret. Without talking about it, start
role modeling this behavior yourself and when you're playing together.
If you're playing a
game with toy cars, stretch out the game a little longer by adding a new and
creative dimension. Perhaps enjoy having the cars drive to a pretend parking
lot at the pretend zoo.
If your child is
reading a story, have him or her look at the pictures just a little longer. Ask
your child to describe all the things that are red in the picture or all the
things that make a sound.
Invent a new way of
playing with the backyard bowling set and teach your child to stretch their
imagination.
Teaching your child to
stretch their imagination to "play longer" will help improve
attention span for academic activities.
Look for opportunities
for your child to "think a little more" or "try one more
time". Encourage and support their effort. Help your child to enjoy
feeling their mind successfully wrap around a problem.
Teaching your child to
"hang in there", problem solve and execute one more attempt can all
help keep the mind engaged in a productive manner. That may be trying one more
time to find the lost sock or problem-solve how to get that bicycle wheel back
onto the bike frame. It could be figuring out the best solution to the riddle
of the day or finishing their chore independently.
We want children to
enjoy using their minds and develop "try one more time... "
strategies. They will need them at school as well as for the rest of their
lives.
Improve
Spatial Awareness
Being ready to read,
write, and perform arithmetic requires good spatial awareness. If spatial
awareness isn't innate and automatic for the child, academics will be
challenging.
This means that
children must understand three dimensional space. They have to be able to
navigate their physical body in, over, under, through, around, and to explore
all physical spatial relationships.
Navigating space seems
simple to us because with just a quick glance, we can easily see how to
navigate to the restroom in a busy and unfamiliar restaurant. The visual sense
of space develops after experiencing it physically. We may not remember
learning this skill, but learn it we surely did.
Our children need to
learn this skill too. They must learn the words to describe physical space and
be able to separate themselves from that space.
The ability to separate
themselves then allows them to learn to observe the objects, people, places,
and things that are in the space around them. This in turn develops into the
ability to visually judge space without having to physically move around the
room.
Developing spatial
awareness can be accomplished very well through games. Here are some examples
of games that children love to play that also develop spatial awareness:
• Simon Says
• Hide and Seek
• Red Light, Green
Light
• Chutes and Ladders
(board game)
• Obstacle courses
• Treasure hunts
Your child will never
know that you are really working on developing their learning readiness.
The unique learner who
has difficulty sequencing, reasoning, and independently problem solving
literally needs physical movement (often more beneficial than added homework)
in order to facilitate effective thinking.
Balance
and Movement
The ability to
physically experience the world around us relies on the sensory system that
perceives movement in relationship to the space around us. This sensory system
is the vestibular system. The vestibular system provides our brain with a
strong urge to maintain balance.
Our need for balance
notifies the muscle and joint system. This system has its own set of receptors,
called proprioceptors. The proprioceptive system allows the body to smoothly
respond to different shifts in the center of gravity.
Most physical
activities require the integration of the vestibular system with the
proprioceptive system.
When these systems work
together properly, a student is ready to learn.
In many unique
learners, these systems aren't working properly. This is a big reason for their
academic struggle. It affects the ability to sit in a learning ready position.
It impacts the student's ability to look and listen. It distracts their focus
at a subconscious level as their brain pays attention to information from the
vestibular system that indicates the student might fall off the chair. These
are just three out of hundreds of ways these systems affect learning readiness.
Movement, exercise,
sports, martial arts, yoga, dancing, and juggling all offer excellent
opportunities for the movement and balance systems to stimulate and help
facilitate brain functioning.
You can support your
unique learner's growth by embedding movement as a part of the fuel necessary
to grow the brain. A more typical student may seem to respond well to practice,
practice, practice. A unique learner seems to respond better to practice,
movement, practice, movement.
The more you
"strategically" playing with your unique learner, the more
improvement you will see in their learning readiness.
There are a variety of
fun games that you can play with your child to help develop their vestibular
and proprioceptive systems. Go to http://UniqueLearnerSolutions.com/whats-vpt/ to
learn more about these two important sensory systems. Would you like additional
exercises that improve the vestibular and proprioceptive systems? Get the
exercises at https://uniquelearnerssolutions.lpages.co/improve-learning-readiness-through-play/
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