Do you have wiggly learners? Some kids are better suited to table-based learning than others, but most spirited kids struggle to sit down and focus for more than a few minutes, especially if they’re working on something that’s challenging or not 100% their idea of fun. They tend to be kinaesthetic and tactile learners, which means they need to move and use their bodies to enjoy learning.
Kinetic games and unconventional ways of doing ‘sitting down’ tasks can shift everyone's mood and stop the cycle of frustration you both might be feeling if you’ve been trying to do ‘schoolwork’ or even art in a traditional, sitting-down style. When I forget to add in extra movement, I hear myself saying ‘sit down! Be still!’ with increasing levels of stress in my voice. Usually that’s when I need to join in the silly movement as well and remember that there’s no need to use a desk to practice writing or maths concepts.
How kids learn
Everyone processes information differently, and there’s no one ‘best’ way. Traditional school systems use methods that are best suited for auditory learners - people who like to be still and listen to someone telling them new information. But many people learn visually, through movement or by manipulating objects. Most people are a mix of learning styles - you might process some information better while moving, other things by doing, and still something else by listening.
Spirited kids often get branded as having attention problems, when the root cause of their struggle to focus is a mismatch between their learning style and the way information is presented. I don’t want to minimise the experience of kids who do have ADHD or neurodiversities which make it much harder to focus even when information is presented in a resonant way. Not all difficulties with attention or focus can be fixed by jumping off cushions or building things with your hands - but these strategies can be really helpful for all kids regardless of whether they’re simply spirited or also navigating extra concentration challenges.
To determine how your child learns best, observe them with curiosity and without judgement. How do they choose to play? Do they move a lot as they are immersed in an imaginative world? Do they build structures or dens? Do they draw pictures to communicate, or do they seem to absorb things most happily by listening? What do they chafe against - sitting still to work, climbing a tree, building cities out of blocks? Your child will give you the information you need to support them!
A Balanced Rhythm
We incorporate movement based periods throughout the day, and I will often declare trampoline time when it’s clear that A needs a lot of big muscle movements immediately. Your daily rhythm will differ, certainly, but we start the day with some energetic running and heavy cushion moving while I read, and then move cyclically through periods of calmer and then more boisterous activity until we arrive at a calm, slow bedtime.
The repeating question I ask myself thought the day is ‘Can we do this in a more physical way?’ If there’s a conflict over sitting down and getting something done, or if you find your child running away from the table before they’re finished with schoolwork or a project, it’s time to introduce some movement. It’s important to make being invited to jump, hang, or swing something that’s fun - it’s not a punishment to get your wiggles out!
Because A is still very little, the time we spend doing ‘schoolwork’ activities is still quite brief - probably 30 minutes to an hour each day at the most where we focus explicitly on writing, improving his reading, and maths. We have some physical play before and after, but we integrate physical activity into any longer periods of focused mental work. As our ‘school time’ will naturally lengthen as the children grow, kinetic learning will become a longer part of our days.
Some physical games we play regularly are:
Marching around while we recite poems
Jumping off things while we read sight words or count
Dance party break!
Climbing or swinging while I read
Rolling or laying on the floor while we do maths problems aloud
Climbing over cushions
Laying on the floor to write letters or numbers
Taking our work to the sand pit
Freedom within Limits
Even with a steady diet of movement, there’s a time and place for everything. I don’t want to live in total chaos - and neither do the children! We have house rules about when and where we can have our wild time so that everyone stays safe and happy, and so we can move between an in-breath of calmness and an out-breath of physical activity.
One of the habits we are working hard on right now is having walking feet in the house. I try to avoid arbitrary movement-limiting rules because they are hard for a child to understand, and hard to enforce respectfully. It’s not safe to run in our house because you never know who is around the corner - likely a little brother, or someone with a cup of hot tea! Throwing belongs outside, as does bouncy jumping, because our furniture suffers if it’s used too vigorously. As a counterpoint to free and wild physical movement, we regularly practice quiet and stillness through meditation and the Silence Game - which are their own kind of kinetic learning.
Outside the home
We can structure our days how we please because we are home educators, but spirited kids in traditional classroom settings can be given ample space for kinetic learning. Talk to your child’s teacher about how they incorporate movement into their day, and work with them to come up with strategies that will help your child (and the many other kinetic learners in the class) to succeed. Do kids have wiggle breaks? A space in the room for playing hopscotch while they practice spelling words? Could children sit on yoga balls or stand on curved balance boards at standing desks?
Occupational therapists often suggest a ‘sensory diet’ for children with sensory integration difficulties, but the types of activities in these prescriptions (pressing on cushions, carrying heavy objects, bouncing on a trampoline, working with stiff clay) can help spirited children burn off extra energy and help them focus on learning. Your child’s school may have an occupational therapist who can give advice to your child’s teacher about incorporating more kinetic games and physically challenging situations through the day.