Why is movement so important to learning?

Learning improves dramatically for many clients when they perform specific movements prior to learning. Brain Gym® and HANDLE movements build new neural networks and when done on a regular basis, retrain the body to work more efficiently.

A Brain Gym® learning dominance profile can determine your child's favored learning style and offer the best Brain Gym movements to support his learning in the classroom.

A HANDLE Neurological Screening can pinpoint which systems in the body need support and some home-based activities to improve learning efficiency.

Once the whole brain and body is engaged, thinking is easier and perplexing behaviors can be extinguished. Learning and behavior improves!

Brain Gym®:
Read about the Brain Gym Program

Example of how Brain Gym helps with reading:

"Eighteen 8-year-old school children with reading difficulties were divided into three randomly assigned groups: a play group (random movements), a psychomotoric group (specific, traditional movements for sensorimotor integration) and a Brain Gym movement group. The children who had done the Brain Gym activities read faster, made fewer mistakes, and had better comprehension of the text material than did the other comparison groups."
— From the Brain Gym website. Read more research

The HANDLE Approach:
Read about The HANDLE Approach
Read about The HANDLE Screening Program

Example from HANDLE Institute of how it helps learning:

"...Positive gains continued. ... His mother reported being pleased at his enhanced ability to clean his room."
— From the HANDLE Institute website. Read more HANDLE testimonials.

Why is nutrition so important to learning?

Bright Moves' clients have improved dramatically when they modified their diet, avoiding high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats, junk food, and fake food. They increased their water intake, ate more fruits and vegetables, and took omega 3's to support their brain function. The children gained more energy, began to think more clearly, and cooperated more readily. Research supports this notion:

"Controlled studies of the effects of food dyes and certain foods found that some children's behavior significantly worsens after they consume artificial colors or wheat or milk. Certain foods trigger physiological changes in sensitive individuals." (Center for Science in the Public Interest "Diet, ADHD, and Behavior" 8/24/07)

If modifying a diet can bring about a desired physiological change, wouldn't it be worth a try?

Bright Moves provides some suggestions and guidelines for making dietary changes for the benefit of your child's learning.

Here is a taste:

How to Take the "Yuck" out of Eating Vegetables for Young Children

1. Invite the kids into the kitchen! Learn about how the vegetables grow, pull them apart, build familiarity, and then experiment with a small taste of the vegetable raw (if appropriate).
2. Cook with the new vegetable. Learn about recipes, how things go together, different ways of cooking, and taste the food you have both prepared!
3. Drink more water. Learn and talk about the importance of drinking water for our thinking and our health. Plants need water to grow. So do we! The body is over 75% water!
4. Use the body as a laboratory. Find out how we feel when we eat our favorite junk food. Take the plunge to experiment and learn. Ask your child: Do you want to feel this way when you need to concentrate and learn?

Make choices that feel good in the body and it will be easier to think and learn.

For more information, read Becky Holt's article: "Supportive Tips to Feed Your Children Healthier Food"

What are the kids and parents saying?