Dr. Carla Hannaford in her book Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, stated “…learning, thought, creativity and intelligence are not processes of the brain alone, but of the whole body.  Sensations, movements, emotions and brain integrative functions are grounded in the body.  The human qualities we associate with the mind can never exist separate from the body.”  Dr. Hannaford goes on to say, “Physical movement and emotional safety, from earliest infancy and throughout our lives, plays an important role in the creation of nerve cell networks, which are the fundamental ground of learning.”  The following ‘Brain Gym’ play activities have been found to help not only in physical development but also in brain development, because learning happens as we interact with the world.

Infants: Rolling – An easy activity to do with very young children is rolling.  Caregivers can simply roll them back and forth.  This will help them start to develop spatial relationships and as they mature they can roll themselves.  For infants it is especially important that these activities be done barefooted.  Rolling in conjunction with crawling and climbing begins to allow children a sense of control over movement and balance that strengthens their sensory system, which Dr. Hannaford felt was “…considered to have the most important influence for everyday functioning.”

Toddlers: Cross Crawl – The children in this activity need to be able to walk well.  They technically will not be crawling but walking in place.  Ask them to touch one elbow to the opposite knee then touch the other elbow to the opposite knee.  It might be easier to have them start by sitting on the floor and doing touching opposite elbow to opposite knee.  Once they get the hang of it have them do it while sitting on a chair and finally have them stand and do it walking in place.  This activity stimulates both hemispheres of the brain simultaneously.  Dr. Hannaford said that when done on a regular basis it makes “…communication between the two hemispheres faster and more integrated for high-level reasoning.”

Preschoolers: The Elephant – Dr. Hannaford believes that “This is one of the integrative of the ‘Brain Gym’ activities.  It is done by placing the left ear on the left shoulder, tight enough to hold a piece of paper between the two, then extending the left arm like a trunk. With the knees relaxed and bending with the flow, the arm draws a lazy 8 pattern…” This lazy 8 is an infinity symbol or a sideways eight.  Have the children start in the middle and move counterclockwise up over and around.  Encourage them to follow the movement with their eyes, not their head which they need to keep on their shoulder. This activity, because it improves focus due to the hand-eye coordination, can be particularly effective for children labeled ADD.

Theodore Roosevelt said “Every child has inside him an aching void for excitement and if we don’t fill it with something which is exciting and interesting and good for him, he will fill it with something which is exciting and interesting and which isn’t good for him.”