How does one preschool teacher use BrainMoves in her busy classroom?

How does one preschool teacher use BrainMoves in her busy classroom?

This week we’re going to talk about Anne, a preschool teacher who teaches children in an all day preschool program. How does Anne use BrainMoves to help the day’s activities go smoothly?

7:30 a.m. – 8 am.: Arrival and Morning Routine

Children arrive and settle in. Anne greets them each calmly and quietly, modeling the behavior she wants to see the children doing with herself and each other. If they seem a little bit hyperactive, she’ll suggest doing a BrainMoves movement like the Bear Cub, which helps regulate each child’s nervous system to calm them down and move more slowly.

8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.: Circle Time

Circle time is a group activity in which children gather to start the day together. Activities may include singing a morning song or welcome song, going over the day’s schedule or checking in with each child. This can be a time when children can express their thoughts or feelings.

There are many BrainMoves movements to relax the freeze, fight or flight reflex. The

If one or more children are upset or anxious or frustrated, Anne will suggest to the whole class that they do a movement like the Kangaroo, which helps calm the vagus nerve and helps to get more oxygen into their brains. If one or more children are having trouble focusing, Anne will suggest a movement like the Duckling, which improves focus and concentration by relaxing the tendon guard reflex throughout their bodies. The tendon guard reflex is a part of the freeze, fight or flight reflex. There are many BrainMoves movements to relax the freeze, fight or flight reflex. The Duckling is one of the best ones that also improves focus.

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.: Learning Centers

Learning centers allow children to explore different areas of interest. These could include: art stations, craft stations, stations for playing with building blocks, legos or other materials that help develop their fine motor skills. There is also a reading corner with books and sensory tables for the children who are learning to read.

Anne will go from learning center to learning center, observing the children. If a child is having a hard time with arts, crafts or anything involving fine motor skills, Anne will suggest that child do a BrainMoves movement with her like the Squirrel, which strengthens the shoulder, arm and hands by relaxing the freeze, fight or flight reflex in those areas of the body. We reach out with our arms in all directions when we do the Squirrel, which helps to relax contracted muscles. The Squirrel can also relax any developmental reflexes that the child should have outgrown but may be “stuck on,” like the grasping reflexing. By opening and closing the hands, the muscles can relax to their normal length, thereby strengthening them.

If a child is having trouble with an activity that requires eye-hand coordination, Anne will ask the child to the Blue Crab, Green Crab and Red Crab. This series of movements helps to create new neural pathways in the brain for eye hand coordination by watching the hand while it crosses midline first in a circle, then an 8 and finishing with a sideways 8. Anne always starts with the easiest movement of tracing a circle first. Anne always does the movements with the child. If the child is not ready to cross the midline yet, Anne will ask the child to join her in doing a movement like the Monkey, which strengthens gross motor skills in the arms and helps to develop eye hand coordination. Preschoolers need to lay down the neural foundations in their brains for gross motor skills before they can properly develop the fine motor skills that they need as they progress in school.

9:30 a.m. – 10 a.m.: Snack Time

Snack time gives the children a break and food for energy and nourishment. Anne usually says a few sentences about why each food is good for us and encourages the children to interact with each other. At the end of snack time, it is time for outdoor play.

10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.: Outdoor Play

Outdoor play helps to continue developing the preschoolers’ social skills within a more structured setting. By this time of the day, the children need physical movement to help their bodies grow and develop properly, work off stress and have fun. Doing gross motor activities such as running, climbing, and playing with balls are wonderful for preschoolers. Organized games that encourage teamwork and coordination help the children continue to learn about structure and rules as well as how to play well together, sharing and further developing communication skills. Outdoor play is a great time for using BrainMoves! BrainMoves movements like the Monkey, the Rabbit and the Puppy all help develop gross motor skills by using the large muscles in the arms and legs. The Octopus can help with peripheral vision as well as helping each side of the brain notice what the other side is doing and to do its own job. Anne watches the children play and gives encouragement and praise. If she thinks a BrainMoves movement will help with a particular skill, she will suggest doing it with the class.

10:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Structured Learning Activities

The children are often excited and need help transitioning into their next classroom activity after outdoor time. Anne does the six StartUp movements with the children to help them with this transition: The Koala Cub, to help with listening, the Duckling to help with focus and concentration, the Monkey to help with making left to right brain connections and develop fine motor skills, the Parrot to help the children use the frontal lobes of their brains, calming down and organization, the Kangaroo to help them with organization and thinking clearly and the Bear Cub to help the children calm down. Anne helps the children focus on their cognitive development through a variety of activities. During the week she rotates between the following types of activities:

• Reading and listening activities like storytime, alphabet games and phonics

• Numbers and organizing activities such as counting, sorting and pattern recognition

• Learning about science with simple experiments and nature observation

If the children are having trouble settling down, she will do movements with them that will help them calm down, such as the

There are BrainMoves movements to help the children learn, develop and improve with each of these activities. You will learn about each movement and how to choose the appropriate movements for all of the activities in which a child engages while at school in my online self-paced BrainMoves class. Each lesson in which I teach about each movement is about five minutes long, so it is easy to learn and incorporate a new movement every day or week.

11:30 a.m. – Noon: Lunch

A well-balanced meal is essential for learning, energy and growth: Anne encourages the children to develop independence, self-help and fine motor skills by allowing them to serve themselves. Lunch time is also a good time to promote good manners and social interaction. Noon – 1:30 p.m.: Quiet Time/Nap Time

Anne helps the children set up the classroom with mats for their rest time. If the children are having trouble settling down, she will do movements with them that will help them calm down, such as the Lion Cub, which settles the vagus nerve, the Skunk, which helps regulate the nervous system through breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth, the Leopard, which calms the adrenals and helps the children transition and/or the Bear Cub, which helps to turn off the freeze, fight or flight reflex and helps the children calm down and relax.

1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Afternoon Activities

In the afternoon, Anne engages the children in less structured activities. Here are a few ideas:

• Art and craft projects

• Music and movement activities

• Dramatic play and role-playing games

Again, as in the morning structured learning activities before and after outdoor play time, Anne watches the children and helps the class learn more easily and perform better by suggesting one or two BrainMoves movements.

2:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Closing Circle/Storytime

Anne ends each day with a group activity to bring closure. She invites the children to talk about what they learned, what activities they liked best and enjoyed during the day and prepare children for the transition to going home. Sometimes, if the children are restless or hyperactive or can’t easily sit still, she uses a BrainMoves movement like the Duckling to help the children focus and participate.

3 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Dismissal

Anne helps the children put their belongings together and communicate important information to parents or caregivers when they arrive.

At the end of every class, she thanks every student for their participation and tells them something about their activity or behavior that was exceptionally good.

Anne attributes using BrainMoves to keeping all of the children calm, happy and learning.

When Anne receives feedback at the end of each school year, she discovers that the reviews for her classes are higher than those of other teachers teaching the same program. The feedback from the parents shows that even the sensitive children loved the class, despite all of its stimulating activity. Even the hyperactive children, who are more inclined to want to run and climb rather than follow art project directions, enjoyed being with the group and learning new things. Anne attributes using BrainMoves to keeping all of the children calm, happy and learning.

🌟 Boost Your Preschooler's Day with BrainMoves! 🌟

In our busy, vibrant classrooms, incorporating Diane Malik's BrainMoves a proven technique for helping little ones thrive! From settling in during morning routines to enhancing focus at circle time, these fun movement exercises create a calm and engaged environment.

Whether it's the Bear Cub to center themselves, the Kangaroo to ease anxiety, or the Squirrel for fine motor skills, each movement plays a crucial role in their development! 🐻🦘🐿️ Curious about how to integrate BrainMoves into your child's day?

Visit https://thebrainmovescourse.com for tips and resources that can transform chaotic classrooms into more peaceful and focused places to learn!

#BrainMoves #Preschool #EarlyLearning #ChildDevelopment #MovementMatters

Thank you to Procare Solutions for providing the daily schedule discussed in this article.