Is your child having a really hard time sitting still for their lessons? I found a couple of things that have helped me out with my wiggly students:
- Yoga balls: these are great for students who like to move around while studying. They keep the body busy while their brain is focused on something they may not want to do or find difficult to do. When they need a break to work out tension and physical movement, they can do yoga moves on it, such as laying on their stomachs and rolling around, bouncing on it (be careful they don’t bounce to hard or they may cause it to slip from under them and then they’ll land on the floor), doing push-ups while laying on the ball, and so on. Be careful to get the right size. If it is too big they can hurt their posture and/or not be able to hold their balance while working. Too small and they’ll outgrow it quickly and it is bad for their posture. A good rule of thumb is 90/90. Their knees should be at a 90 degree angle (or their thighs should be parallel to the ground) and they should be able to sit at a 90 degree angle to reach their work.
- An alternative to an entire yoga ball is something I’ve always called a wiggle cushion. It is a rounded cushion students can sit on and, because of its rounded shape, allows them to wiggle around in a similar fashion to a yoga ball. I recommended getting one that is bumpy on one side and smooth(er) on the other side. They can also put them behind them. It is nice in that it is portable, tends to be easy to store, doesn’t get under foot, and students have a choice in how they want to use it. A disadvantage is that you don’t have a built-in exercise tool for breaks.
- Another great activity that I have found to have an incredible effect, even though it is simple, is just jumping. Depending on the kid, you can manage it in different ways. One is just to ask them to see how many jumping jacks they can do, how many within in an allotted time slot or give them a random number to reach. Younger kids like to hold on, usually to you, to do their jumping. If it doesn’t cause you physical problems, I’ve found the best way is to brace my arms on my knees while they hold my hands and they jump. The love it when you count with them (then they learn their numbers too). I start off long sessions with my students with having them jump and then if I see them getting wiggly, before I “lose” them, I do another short session of jumping. Other activities, such as running, push-ups (can do push-offs on a wall), and so on work too, so you can vary it. However, there is just something about including a bit of jumping that works fantastic wonders, it is portable and doesn’t require much space. I do recommend, though, to vary it some or they might get tired of it. Essentially, what you are looking for are ways to give their joints some pressure.
- Fidgets are really good too. I used to keep a basket of them on the corner of my desk. Students were welcome to come and get one or bring a quiet, portable, easy to play with and not messy one from home. They learned quickly that if they are playing too much and not interacting, then they lost the fidget for the day. Again, it keeps the body busy while the brain focuses on the material/lecture. It works all the way through high school. What are fidgets? Essentially, small hand toys like Koosh balls (careful of latex allergies when you are picking them out), flat balloons filled with rice or sand, and small toys that their hands can play with. Your imagination and/or tolerance is key.
- I’ve also put Velcro, or something similar, under the edge of their desk or chair. They can pick at it while doing their work or listening to a lecture.
Times are tough right now and everybody, parents, students, and teachers are really feeling it and we are all having to come up with new ways to do things we probably all took for granted. Learning what we each can offer to help the others is how we are going to get through this. I hope these things help you out!
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