“ “The more closely we consider the elaborate interplay of brain and body, the more clearly one compelling theme emerges: Movement is essential to learning. Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities. Movement integrates and anchors new information and experience into our neural networks. And movement is vital to all the actions by which we embody and express our learning, our understanding and ourselves.” ”
Our indoor and outdoor spaces are designed with children’s tactile, vestibular, proprioceptive, and interoceptive systems in mind.
Our students can swing, spin, rock, and bounce in multiple directions. They can haul around heavy things (and each other) in wagons, carts, and sleds. They can scamper up the climber, cross the monkey bars, slide down the slide. They can build big with the wooden A-frames and balance boards outside, and with large hollow blocks and boards inside. They can climb up and sled down a snowy hill.
Children run through the yard playing chase, tag, and many games of their own devising. They jump rope, hula hoop, hopscotch, play clapping games, string games, dance, etc, etc.
Every lesson time for the first and second graders starts with movement activities.
We are very hardy at Ziji. We’re outside everyday, in all kinds of weather for an hour or so every morning and, often, at other times of the day as well.