Kate Silverton Instagram – What an incredible response; from parents, grandparents and teachers alike – all aligned in powerful advocacy of our children & calling for more time spent in movement & play. Our children’s brains and bodies are designed by nature to move and to play .. in fact, it’s crucial for healthy mental AND physical development.
In my books, I explain why play and movement SUPPORT learning and more regulated behaviour in the classroom.
Policy makers are getting it wrong if they think forcing young children to sit still and ‘be quiet’ is the way to instil ‘discipline’ and indeed good future mental health
Many young children are unable to self-regulate this way – they need to move their bodies to remove residual and natural stress energy before they are able to sit still and learn. This is not my opinion: this is science: and any academic institution and anyone in the position of policy making does well to familiarise themselves with it.
Science shows us that even short periods of movement can help to reduce stress energy in the body – and can therefore support calmer more regulated behaviour in the classroom.
For older children this may be as simple as standing up to do what I call the ‘shake it out’ during long lessons, and for younger children, anything patterned repetitive and rhythmic ( a dance to music at the start of the day, throwing a ball back and forth, star jumps, drumming, singing, dancing ) all support emotional and physical regulation, rather than little bodies being forced to sit still ‘on the mat’ for periods that may be too long for their still-developing brains.
Swipe ➡️ to see just some of the comments shared with me today
I volunteer as a counsellor in schools – I know the issues are multi-faceted & can be complex. But we can only create change when we come together. There are many issues at stake and we can only start where we are – but we begin by bringing the joy back into the classroom & putting our children’s needs first & foremost – their future health & happiness depends on it. | Posted on 31/Aug/2024 00:17:21
