Let's Have a Ball

Helpful Information

 Benefits of movement and play!

For this paper 

play, movement, and exercise 

(anything that gets the heart pumping)

are all interrelated.

• Movement boosts energy!

• “Crossing the midline” or “cross-lateral” movement that crosses the midline is necessary for reading and writing. To read and write we must be able to work from one side of the paper to the other 

Since the brain's left hemisphere controls the right side of the body, and the right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, the two sides are forced to communicate with each other – this strengthens the pathways that link both sides of the brain. 

• The brain’s neural pathways & connections are developed through movement

• Movement improves the attention span, memory, and learning, they can also reduce stress and the effects of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and even delay cognitive decline in old age. Staying in shape can make you smarter.

• Improve strength, balance, and functional ability

• Movement pumps blood throughout the body, this includes the brain. More blood means more oxygen and better-nourished brain tissue.

• The brain's frontal lobe, thought to play a role in cognitive control, keeps growing throughout the school years, says Charles Hillman, associate professor of kinesiology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois. "Therefore, exercise could help ramp up the development of a child's brain," he says.

• "There was a relationship to academic performance," says Hillman. "The more physical tests they passed, the better they scored on the achievement test." It appears that, regardless of a child's gender, socioeconomic status, race, or family income, their physical and mental fitness are inextricably linked, as evidenced by these consistent effects.

• Movement boosts mood!

• It helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints.

• Kids who move regularly sleep better and are better able to handle physical and emotional challenges

• Play is a primary way children learn to move

• Promotes a stronger immune system! Children are less prone to colds, allergies, and diseases, including cancer.

• A reduction of type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and improving carbohydrate metabolism

• Lower blood pressure and an improvement of the child’s cholesterol profile

• Strengthen the entire cardiovascular system, including the heart and lungs – this supports the prevention of heart disease

• Less likely to become overweight and will have control of their body fat

• Children develop stronger bone structure and muscle structure

• Movement enhances the brain’s metabolism. Studies show active children have sharper memories thanks to healthier bodies!

• Active children can concentrate much better

Let’s Have a Ball

Janelle St.Martin

•Play

Every child is born with the right to play but for many children, their right to play is being challenged

–Child labor and exploitation

–War and neighborhood violence

–Poverty

–Hurried and pressured lifestyle

–Increased focus on the fundamentals of academic preparation (yes this is important but there needs to be a balance and many varied opportunities so be offered to children) 

All Children need time to Play!!!

We need to always make activities enjoyable for children

•Play is essential to development and contributes to

–Cognitive

–Physical

–Social

–Emotional well-being

•What is Play:

–is fundamental to life

–contributes to the overall development of your child 

–is a significant means for your child to

•Explore

•Express

•Discover many aspects of life

–promotes bonding

–promotes creativity 

•Play enhances every part of a child’s development

–Gross motor skills 

–Fine motor skills

–Eye-hand coordination

–Language development

–Cognitive capacities

–Interpersonal and social skill

–Imagination

–Dexterity

–Emotional strength

•Play allows children to

–Create and explore their world

–Engage and interact in their world

–Conquer their fears

–Master their world

–Develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence

–Develop resiliency needed to help face future challenges

–Learn to share

–Learn to negotiate

–Learn to resolve conflicts

–Learn self-advocacy skills

–Learn decision-making skills

–Learn to move

–Discover their own interest

–Ask questions

–Use their imaginations

–Gain muscle control

–Gain balance

–Gain coordination 

•It is recommended that children have at least 30 minutes daily of structured physical activity like playing on the playground, going for a walk, or being in a parent-and-child tumbling class

•It is also recommended that children have at least 1 hour of unstructured free play each day when they can explore and play with toys

•Each new skill lets them progress to the next one, building on a foundation that leads to more complicated physical tasks

–such as jumping rope 

–kicking a ball on the run

–turning a cartwheel

•Playing and learning are completely natural for children, so mastering physical skills should be fun and games for them. 

•Provide many opportunities to practice their developing skills while providing supervision so they stay safe while they learn.

•Movement is very closely integrated with learning. Aside from making new and stronger neuron connections, modern science has also discovered that movement (e.g., aerobic) releases hormones in the body that stimulate the growth of new and healthier brain cells.

•“Exercise is the single most powerful tool to optimize your brain function.”   John J. Ratey, MD author of, Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain 

•Spark, The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain 

–By John J. Ratey, MD

•The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds 

–By Kenneth R. Ginsburg MD, MSEd, and the Committee on Communications, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health

Movement and Learning

•Hand-eye coordination and manual dexterity will also improve through play. 

•When the muscles of the hand are weak, or when the fingers have not learned to work together well, the child often compensates by using a poor or faulty pencil grip. 

–http://www.ot-mom-learning-activities.com/hand-exercises-for-kids.html 

•Reading from left to right is hard for children who have difficulty at the midline of their bodies. It is particularly difficult for boys.

•Physical activity is related to brain activity, and children who can skip, balance, jump, and hop read better than those who can’t. Coordination skills play an important role in becoming a good reader, we can help by encouraging physical activity and outdoor play, especially during the summer.

  –

•Physically active students have demonstrated higher test scores, better concentration, and less disruptive behavior.

•In a study of 193 people believed to have Alzheimer’s disease, researchers found that people who participated in fewer leisure activities between the ages of 20 and 60 were 3.85 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. 

•"A passive life is not best for the brain," said Dr. Robert P. Friedland at University Hospitals of Cleveland.

PowerPoint