I took a class By Margaret916

On brain gym and a K teacher and I (5th grade at the time) implemented with our kiddos. We saw dramatic increases in concentration and focus across the board. The kids were implementing it in many different ways -- the

K did it as a whole group (everyone stop, do the activity, go back to what you were working on) and the 5th group did it where we learned them all, started to figure out what they are good for individually then the students would use them as they needed to refocus, calm and get back to work. Parents noticed the difference and the PTA requested we do a presentation. The students in my

grade used the movements to calm and focus at times like swim team, before presentations or concerts. It was fun to watch them implement during standardized testing when they'd do the movements as they needed them.

A few of the parts of the training were a little "out there" for me. I enjoyed most of it and "bought in" to most of the background. It's a lot of work on connecting both sides of the brain and helping them to work together by using movements that cross the midline and use both sides of the brain at once. By "training the brain" to use those bi-lateral neural pathways, the chance of both sides interacting on a regular basis increases.

Some of the basics like hydrate and do "PACE" (a short series of movements incorporating some deep breathing) work well, if for nothing other then to hydrate and promote healthy processes like deep breaths for calming and drinking enough water!

http://www.braingym.org/BG_Research.pdf

that's the link for the research provided by braingym.org

http://www.braingym.com/html/our_products.html

That's the link for the bookstore. The little book "Brain Gym Teacher's Edition" is good for an introduction.. Also, the "hands on" book is helpful with ideas of how to implement in a classroom.

I like this as a structure, calming and centering activity. I've seen it work wonders with my autistic and LD diagnosed kiddos. It's great for my AD/HD kiddos (and I fall into that category too!) Whether it's significantly "rewiring" their brains and creating new pathways or it's just a routine that calms and allows them to re-center, I can't say. I'm not a neuropsych! But I do believe it's helped my kids year after year.

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