Make Your Kid A Genius!

How to Awaken Your Child's Innate Intelligence

Irene Helen Zundel, Editor, artwhiz@greenepa.net

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IN THIS ISSUE

Feature Article: Educational Kinesiology

Product Reviews: Vision Gym ®, Brain Gym ® 3 Day Rotation Pamphlet

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Educational Kinesiology

by Irene Helen Zundel

Educational Kinesiology. The term sounds awfully complicated -- or even mysterious -- but what it is and how it works is very simple. Kinesiology is the study of movement. Educational Kinesiology is the study of movement as it relates to learning. Movement plays a crucial role in the development of children's physical and mental skills, starting in the womb. When a fetus kicks and changes position, it is doing more than just alleviating physical discomfort from being confined in a small space. The unborn child is actually initiating patterns of movement that he or she will use later in life, and is developing the inner ear. The inner ear is what gives us a sense of balance and depth perception and enables us to track objects. Those abilities are necessary in the process of learning to read.

In fact, the development of good motor skills is important to all facets of learning. Education and child development experts agree that movement helps to facilitate academic readiness in preschool children and can increase any child's motivation, confidence, and ability to learn.

Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K) uses movement to put the brain in a state of balance, so that learning occurs with greater ease and efficiency while retention and memory are improved as well. To help you understand how this occurs, here is a simple explanation of the brain and how it works:

The brain is divided into two distinct hemispheres or sides. The left side of the brain organizes and analyzes information, thinks rationally, and sees the parts that make up the whole. It is the verbal side of your brain that responds to speech and forms the words you use to identify and name things. It keeps track of time and defines actions in terms of consequences. The right side of the brain is emotional and intuitive, and sees things as a whole rather than in distinct parts. It is the visual side of the brain, and responds to colors, shapes, and pictures. It is affected by music, touch, and emotion. It follows gut reactions and acts on hunches. Connecting the two sides of the brain is a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. These fibers transmit messages to and from both sides of the brain. The brain tends to organize itself in three dimensions, known in Edu-K as laterality, focus, and centering.

Laterality is the ability to coordinate the left and right sides of the brain, especially where the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic regions overlap. This region is where skills are developed related to reading, writing, and communication, as well as the ability to move our bodies in a fluid manner and to think and move at the same time.

Focus is the ability to coordinate the front and back areas of the brain. This region is related to comprehension, and gives us the skill to find meaning and interpret experiences within their proper context. People lacking this ability generally have attention disorders.

Centering is the ability to coordinate the top and bottom areas of the brain. This region is where we learn to organize, ground, feel and express our emotions, and react rationally.

Edu-K uses natural body movements to integrate all the regions of the brain so that it functions effectively as a whole.

I find the Edu-K learning exercises marketed under the trademarked name of Brain Gym® to be excellent. If you are interested in knowing more about them, you can visit the Web site of Brain Gym International at www.braingym.org. They have an online bookstore with a wealth of informational products--- books, audiotapes, CDs, and instructional videos---as well as information on workshops and training programs to become a credentialed Brain Gym Instructor.

I also recommend that you read the following books and articles:

Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All in Your Head

Carla Hannaford

Great Ocean Publishers, 1995

Brain Gym

Paul E. Dennison and Gail E. Dennison

Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc., 1986

(This is a book written for children. If you want an adult book with the same instructions for the exercises plus explanations on how and why they work, purchase the Brain Gym Teacher's Edition.)

Natural Health magazine, Sept-Oct, 1998

"The Brain's Balancing Act"

Kari Watson Parks and Recreation, June, 2000

Jungle Gym or Brain Gym?

(Child Development and Physical Activity)

Teresa B. Hendy Parks and Recreation

June 1, 2000

REVIEWS: Vision Gym ®, Brain Gym ® 3 Day Rotation Pamphlet

Product Title: Vision Gym®

Publisher: Edu-Kinesthetics, Inc.

Ages: Teens and Adults

Suggested Retail Price: $30.00

Synopsis: This is a vision-improvement kit consisting of a 158-page instructional booklet written in three languages (German, English, and French) and 35 color cards depicting various simple Vision Gym® exercises. The exercises are designed to improve visual skills, relieve eye strain, enhance one's ability to see beauty and to better sense one's orientation in space, thereby improving balance.

The cards are divided into five categories:

Star Catchers relax and tone the eye muscles, and improve skills of centralization and visual receptivity.

Hugs relax the body, restore gross- and fine-motor control, and help to develop an integrated visual and postural focus.

Bubbles are designed to improve directionality and depth perception.

Space Crossers enhance near-to-far visual flexibility.

Rhythm Circles exercise the ability to coordinate eyes, ears, and whole-body movements while relating to gravity.

The booklet describes clearly and concisely what visual skills are targeted in each exercise category and how to properly do each individual exercise. The techniques are very easy to learn and take little time to do. The program is also flexible. You can select one card a day to work with, do all of the exercises in one category, or select one card from each of the five categories to work with. It is recommended to start with one-to five-minute periods and to repeat the exercises, perhaps with variations during the day. The idea is to have fun, relax, and not push yourself. The goal is to get the eyes to move, blink, and recenter themselves naturally while you breathe and explore.

Here is a sample exercise for you to try from the Star Catchers section:

Heliotropic Breathing: "As you inhale, close your eyes; as you exhale, open them and lightly blink as you look around. Relax and wait for an automatic inhalation, continuing to coordinate breathing and blinking. As your eyes open, allow them to automatically adjust their focus on whatever attracts your attention."

Benefits: ease of blinking, release of the staring habit, better depth perception as eye-teaming skills improve, and increased diaphragmatic breathing.

In this world of intense computer usage, TV viewing, and required reading for school and jobs, our eyes are overused and strained on a daily basis. These simple exercises are very useful in releasing that strain, and the resulting bodily tension that accompanies it. I highly recommend that everyone in your family have fun exploring these easy and effective visual exercises.

Brain Gym ® Three-Day Rotation Pamphlet

Ann RaNae Meders

Certified Brain Gym Instructor

Inner Connections Institute

Suggested Retail Price: $1.00

This little pamphlet details the Brain Gym Three-Day Rotation program, which serves as a comprehensive tune-up for the body and mind. The exercises take eight minutes and are performed twice a day, resulting in a feeling of physical, mental, and emotional balance.

The exercises always begin with the PACE routine. It consists of:

Drinking at least one glass of water (to conduct electricity throughout the body)

Doing Brain Buttons (to improve communication between the left and right hemispheres of the brain)

Doing the Cross-Crawl in all three dimensions (cross left/right midline to activate the cerebral hemishpheres, cross front/back midline to connect the brain stem and frontal lobes, and cross top/bottom midline to access the mid-brain and cerebrum)

Doing Hook-Ups (to restore balance and equilibrium to the body)

The three-day exercise routine is as follows:

First day

In the morning, do the Owl,the Thinking Cap, and the Double Doodle.

In the evening do Belly Breathing, Space Buttons, the Calf Pump and The Energizer.

Second day

In the morning do Earth Buttons, the Elephant and the Foot Flex.

In the evening do Lazy 8s, the Rocker, Arm Activation, and the Energy Yawn.

Third Day

In the morning do the Grounder, Balance Buttons and Alphabet 8s.

In the evening do Cross-Crawl Sit Ups, the Gravity Glider, Neck Rollls and Positive Points.

After the three day program is completed, most people notice a marked improvement in many areas --- greater balance and coordination, improved communication skills and ease in reading and writing, enhanced self-esteem, more vitality, and a greater sense of well being.

In the pamphlet there is a little picture to jog your memory as to the type of exercises you are doing, but the actual instructions for doing them is missing. Instead, there are page numbers that refer to where the exercises are explained in the book Brain Gym Teacher's Edition by Dr. Paul E. and Gail E. Dennison. You either have to buy the book, own the instructional video, or be taught by someone who is familiar with the routine.

I recommend you learn the exercises and use them daily because they really help! I have my son begin and end his homeschool day with these.

Brain Gym ® is a registered trademark of the Educational Kinesiology Foundation.

Vision Gym ® is a registered trademark of Dennison and Dennison.

Contact information:

Educational Kinesiology Foundation

1575 Spinnaker Drive, Suite 204B

Ventura, CA 93001

(800) 356-2109

Fax (805) 650-0524

To order books and products:

Edu-Kinesthetics Inc.

P.O.Box 3396

Ventura, CA 93006-3395

(888) 388-9898

Fax (805) 650-1689

COMING UP in the next issue:

The Montessori Method

Learn about the pioneering work of Dr. Maria Montessori and her outstanding methods of child led learning. A great inspiration for mothers who homeschool. Tell your friends to subscribe. They won't want to miss this!

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Little Language: Give your child a great start in the new year with a 40 minute fun and educational music CD produced by a speech and language expert that is designed to enhance communication skills in children birth to age 5. There is also a resourceful companion book for parents and animal castanets for kids. To learn more, visit our website at http://littlelanguage.com, or call 1-877-755-5402.

These products are reviewed on my website at www.fadco.net/~artwhiz/littlelanguage.htm.

This article will appear soon in Wonder Years magazine. Visit www.partnershipforlearning.org for information about this excellent publication, and their other magazine, Michigan Learning.

Parenting from the Heart: Telephone counseling by Jan Hunt, M.Sc., The Natural Child Project. Free initial call. jan@naturalchild.org. (541) 593-1547.

Wonder Years: ages 0-5, a bi-montly publication helping parents and caregivers make the most of a child's early years. Everything you do during the first years of a child's life affects brain development that will shape a lifetime of learning. Make the most of these critical learning years, and have fun at the same time. To subscribe, call 800-832-2464 or visit www.PartnershipForLearning.org..

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Irene Helen Zundel

Freelance Writer

artwhiz@greenepa.net

www.fadco.net/~artwhiz

©2002 Irene Helen Zündel