Children start life as physical explorers, taking in information from all
of their senses, as well as through motion. It is this total motor/sensory
integration that leads to learning. Each new level of mastery leads to new
learning and new physical challenges. This educational tip will give
childcare providers and parents not only information about how the impact
of the environment on the brain is dramatic and specific, but will also
provide movement activities to encourage learning.

Infants:
The Energy Yawn
– This is done by having the caregiver massage the muscles around the
temporalmandibular Joint (TMJ) while yawning. The TMJ lies right in front
of the ear opening and is the joint where the lower jaw meets the upper
jaw. Across this joint run nerves from major cranial nerve trunks that gain
sensory information from all over the face, eye muscles, tongue and mouth
and activate all the muscles of the face, eyes and mouth for expression,
mastication, and vocalization. Adults should massage infants while they are
sitting in their laps and this can also help to quiet fussy little ones
while rocking. As they get older have them open their mouths mimicking a
yawn.

Toddlers:
Brain Buttons
– This is done by placing one hand over the navel while the other hand
gently rubs the indentations between the first and second ribs directly
under the collarbone (clavicle), to the right and left of the sternum. This
is thought to stimulate blood flow through the carotid arteries, the first
arteries out of the heart that supply nutrients and freshly oxygenated
blood to the brain.

Preschoolers:
Hook-ups
– These are done by first having the children sit on a chair and

crossing one ankle over the other. Then have them cross, clasp and invert
their hands by stretching their arms out in front of them with the back of
their hands together and the thumbs pointing down. Now have them lift one
hand over the other, palms facing and interlocking their fingers. Then have
them roll the locked hands straight down and in towards the body so that
they eventually rest on the chest with their elbows down. This

complex crossover activates the sensory and motor cortices of each
hemisphere of the brain.

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.

MOVEMENT IS THE DOOR TO LEARNING. (Dr. Paul Dennison)