Stuck Inside

As it's coming into the winter months, I think that the teachers dread the inside lunch bell as much as the students... if not more!

In my class I have 20 students, all 5 and 6 years old... and these kids need to move.

During a wet break play time, students need to find a quiet, contained activity to do.

After these breaks, I find myself thinking on the way back to class how I can reign them in again, and keep them focused when they haven't had a chance to get some fresh air. 

A recent blog post from Balanced and Barefoot, written by an occupational therapist that I have been reading talks about 

'Why Children Fidget: And what we can do about it'.

It got me thinking about my own teacher practice and how I can better engage my 'more wriggly' students, while keeping ticking along with teaching all areas of the curriculum.

Not just with wet days in mind, but every day teaching. 

An exert from the Balanced and Barefoot blog says:
"Fidgeting is a real problem. It is a strong indicator that children are not getting enough movement throughout the day....kids should be playing outside as soon as they get home from school. Twenty minutes of movement a day is not enough! They need hours of play outdoors in order to establish a healthy sensory system and to support higher-level attention and learning in the classroom."

What's happening out of school hours I have no control over, but what's happening in school hours I can make a difference in. 

One way I have been doing this (on dry days) is, during eating times, before the play time bell, as a class we have talked about:

- Using our imagination.

- What we could do with our friends.

- How we could challenge ourselves.

After break while we're settling back into the class we talk about what we have done.

Some students decide they want to catch a basketball 10 times in a row, others want to be able to swing across the monkey bars without falling off. Some want to play princess', and some want to hunt the whole school to find the best grass for Tūpeke (our class rabbit).

Talking about what to do during break times has been encouraging the students move more, but also achieve little goals they make for themselves... it has also really made it's mark on my students behaviours during lunch time, with a lot more sharing happening, and a lot more inclusiveness between students. 

But this doesn't really address the wet break wriggles. 

This is something I'm still working on, but have made a start with introducing 'Go Noodle' to my class.

It's an online 'brain break' site where you start with a little monster, and the more you do, the more the monster grows. 

There are varied length breaks, with some to...

Calm

Energize

Stretch

Dance

Listen to instructions

Think...

I've found them a great way to get moving within a classroom environment. 

As I go into my next week with my lovely wrigglers, I'll keep this quote in mind from 'Balanced and Barefoot'.

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.