Multisensory Active Learning – Letter A

Multisensory Active Learning – Letter A

Are you familiar with the term “embodied cognition”?  Embodied cognition refers to the mind-body connection.  It is essentially the idea that children learn by interacting with their environment and through sensorimotor activities.  It is more of a specific term than “multi-sensory” approach to learning which is what we typically use as therapists.  Here is a great FREE printable to get kids learning the letter A through a multi-sensory, embodied cognition approach.

These two pages describe various activities to allow children to learn about the letter A through literacy, fine motor, gross motor and sensory input.  Instead of just having children listen about the letter A, try having children follow these activities to listen, look, touch, smell and move in different ways to learn the concepts.

DOWNLOAD THE LETTER A PAGES FOR FREE

These sample pages are from the ABC’s of Active Learning ©.  This digital download offers readers tons of multisensory literacy activities based on each alphabet letter.  This book, based on years of experience as school-based therapists, is written by Laurie Gombash, PT with a Master’s degree in Education and Lindsey Justice, OT.  Explore educational concepts through movement and multiple senses to give children opportunities to learn in ways they understand. The alphabet activities from A to Z are a collection of activities that can be used with children of all abilities.

The twenty-six ABC’s of Movement alphabet letters are accompanied by suggestions for:

• full body movement activities with photographs
• modification suggestions
• pre-literacy activities
• story recommendation
• fine motor craft
• gross motor game
• sensory activities for building, tracing, and writing the alphabet letters
• sensory activities for taste and smell

All activities are designed to be fun and motivating, while simultaneously providing rich multisensory input, improving motor development and learning.  FIND OUT MORE.

Need more ideas?  Check out the ABC’s of Movement® digital download of 26 educational flash cards that combine movement with literacy development.

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Exercise and Sleep Tips for Children

Combining exercise and sleep can be a tricky balance.  Getting proper sleep for yourself or your children can be very challenging in this fast paced world.  We want ourselves and our children to exercise but all parents want their children to sleep too!

For children some of the best suggestions are:

1. Limit vigorous physical activity before bed creating a calming atmosphere.  Try  yoga, tai chi or a stroll which may be more beneficial in order to help children transition to sleep time.
2. Turn off the television/computer/tablet/phone at least 30 minutes before bed.
3. Establish a routine at bedtime – brush teeth, read for 20 minutes and go to bed.
4. Try to stick with the routine especially with regular bedtimes and morning wake up times.

For children with sensory processing deficits or autism spectrum disorders, establishing healthy sleep patterns can be even more challenging.

Autism Sleeps™ serves as a thorough resource of sleep sensory strategies and suggestions for preparing the “sleep environment”. Sample bedtime and wake-up routines are provided as templates, especially to guide parents of children with sleep difficulties.  Also included are checklists to identify which of the six sensory area(s) are impacted by poor sleep. A menu of sensory strategies in each of those affected areas is available for use in preparing a person to sleep, stay asleep and transition to wake up. Additionally, a diary and graph are available for logging the impact of the strategies implemented to determine those that are most effective in helping restless minds sleep.  Find out more information here.

Source: Fix.com Blog

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