BrainGymforBeginnersTeresaDoğuelli
Howdoyoufeelrightnow?GaugeyourselfOnascaleof1-10ratehowyoufeel?• Relaxed• Overwhelmed• Focused• Tense• Calm• Stressed
1=totallyrelaxed10=tightandstressed
PACEYourself
Water BrainButtons CrossCrawlHookUps
Energy Clear Activate Positive
PACE
1)DrinkSomeWater
2)DoBrainButtons
3)DotheCrossCrawl
4)GetinHookUps
Howdoyoufeelnow?GaugeyourselfOnascaleof1-10ratehowyoufeel?• Relaxed• Alert• Bored• Focused• Tense• Calm• Stressed• Sleepy
1=totallyrelaxed10=tightandstressed
Didyournumberchange?
• Doyoufeelanydifferent?• Whatdidyounoticeafteryoudidthemovements?
• Youshouldfeelmore:• - relaxed• - focused• - awake• -alert
ThinkaboutyourStudents
• Movementstook2minutes• Imaginethedifferencethiscanmakeforyourstudents
BrainGym®Philosophy
“Movementisthedoortolearning”
BrainGymPaulE.DennisonandGailDennison
BrainGym®• BrainGymdevelopsthebrain'sneuralpathwaysthewaynaturedoes–throughmovement.
• Programmeof26 physicalmovements
• EnhanceslearningandperformanceinALLareas
• Helpslearnerswithspecificlearning&behaviouralproblems
ProblemStudentsorSOSOH?
• Excessiveactivity-hyperactivity• Difficultiesinmaintainingattentionandfocusonatask• Disruptivebehaviour• Learningdifficulties• Inabilitytocontrolbehaviourinalignmentwithsocial
norms• Markeddiscrepancybetweenseeminglyhighverbal
skills(constanttalking)andtheabilitytocommunicateeffectively
• Erratic,non-graceful,unbalancedorpoorlycontrolledmovements
• Havebeenexposedtostressorswhichrequirethemto
beconcernedmorewithsurvivalthanreason
Smart Moves: Why Learning is not all in your Head Carla Hannaford Great Ocean Publishers 1995
Stressed out,Survival-Oriented Humans
BrainGym®canImprove:• Reading,Spelling,Math,Comprehension,Handwriting,Writing
• SelfConfidence,selfesteem,coordination,communication
• Concentrationandmemory• Overcominghyperactivityandexcessivedaydreaming• Stressreleaseandachievementofgoals• Organizationalskills• Performanceskills
FORLIFE
DrinkingWaterBeginwithwatertoanchorasyougoActivatesthebrainfor:• Efficientactionbetweenthebrainandnervoussystem
• Efficientstorageandretrievalofinformation
BrainButtons
Improvesacademicskillssuchas:• Thecorrectionofletterand
numberreversals(asinDyslexia)
• Keepingone’splacewhilereading
• Crossingthevisualmidlineforreading
Midlineofwhat?
CrossCrawl
Improvesacademicskillsin:• Spelling• Writing• Listening• ReadingandComprehension
HookUps
Improvesacademicskillsin:• Clearlisteningandspeaking
• Testtakingandsimilarchallenges
• Workatthekeyboard
6moreBrainGym®Movements• Theprevious4movementswerepartofasequencecalledPACE
• Next,you’llsee6moreBrainGym®movementstouseforsimilarbenefits
1.TheThinkingCapActivatestheBrainfor:• Assistingshorttermworkingmemory
• Aidingsilentspeechandthinkingskills
• Wakinguphearingmechanismsothatwecanhearwithbothearstogether
• Rememberingbefore/duringatest
2.TheElephant• Wholemind&bodyactivation
• Strengthenshand/eyecoordination
• Improvesattention&canbeverybeneficialforlearnerswithADD&ADHD
• Improvesbalance&equilibrium
3.LazyEights
Lazy8’sImproveacademicskillsin:• Themechanicsofreading• Thedecodingofwrittenlanguage• Readingcomprehension• ThemechanicsofwritingAND• Strengtheneye-handcoordination• Cleareyestrain&soreneck&shoulders• Strengtheninnereyemuscles&helpto
focussimultaneouslyonthesamecentralpointwhilereading
• HelplearnerswithDyslexia• Clearwriter’s‘block’• Aidtest-taking
4.TheCalfPump• Helpsyoutobemoremotivated&readytomove
• Wedoitwheneverwefeel‘stuck’
• Helpscommunicationbecomefreer
• Canbeofparticularhelpwithspeech-impairedandautisticlearners
5.TheEnergyYawn• Addressesskillsthatrequireuseofverbalcommunication
• Providesincreasedenergyandalertness
• 50%ofnervesinbodyarerelatedtohead&faceandastensionisfrequentlyheldinthejawmuscle,thisishighlybeneficialforrelaxing&calmingthenervoussystemtorelievestress&tension
• Increasessensoryintake
6.TheEnergizer• Energizes&wakesupthesystemaftersittingforalongtimeatadeskorinfrontofacomputer
• Increasesoxygenflow• Relaxesneck&shouldermuscles
• Reactivatesfocus
ObservableeffectsofBrainGymin6weeksAbilityto:• Relaxandhavefunintheclassroom,enjoyingthelearningprocess• Carryonintelligentconversationsandthinkaboutthingsthatareimportanttothem• Focustheirattentiononataskforalongenoughperiodtocompleteitwell• Showcareandconcernforotherlearners,teachersandthemselves• Listenquietlyandattentivelyasotherssharetheirideas• Workandplaywellwithothers(fightsdecreasedramatically)• Cometoanequitableunderstandingfollowingafight• Standupforthemselvesinaconfident,positivewaywhenbeingabusedbyothers• Confidentlyexpresstheircreativityinmyriadways,throughmusic,art,poetry,danceand
interpersonalrelationships• Appropriatelyexpressangeraswellasaffection• Attainfinemotorcoordinationandbalance• Exhibituseofinnerspeechfordeductivereasoningandcontroloftheirownbehaviour• Experiencesuccessandcelebratethesuccessofothers• Implantthemselvesinyourheartasincrediblywondroushumanbeingsandmagnificent
survivors!
ForAdditionalInformation
Logontohttp://www.braingym.org/