Written by Hulet Smith, OT
Every person who’s been to school remembers two things distinctly:
One, we were all taught that we have five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Two, we all remember that one kid in the classroom who could never sit still, was always fidgeting or falling out of his or her chair, distracting all the other students sitting quietly at their desks.
Neuroscience has proven the “five senses” lesson wrong, or at least shown it to be woefully incomplete.
And as for that restless, troublesome student, if his other senses had been attended to in the classroom setting, he might have been less of a distraction and more of a success.
KidsFit is a company that understands both these things, and is working to design products that change the way all children are educated.
Since 1999, they have been manufacturing rehabilitative and fitness equipment for children and young adults.
In 2012, they began working with brain research experts and teachers to transform classroom learning, particularly for “the child LEAST likely to succeed, LAST in line and LOST in the system.” Like that fidgety kid who kept causing distractions.
The result: the Kinesthetic Classroom, a line of standing tables, motion chairs, and other classroom equipment that allows students to use their other senses – their kinaesthesia (sense of movement), their sense of balance, and their sense of proprioception (awareness of where their body is in space) – to help them focus and be more successful in the classroom.
Research shows that when a child is allowed to move, it fosters their ability to read, learn, and study. This helps nurture their unique learning style, and enable them to be successful.
KidsFit designs desks, tables, and seating that in various combinations make up a more accommodating learning environment.
This equipment allows students to move, stretch, bounce, or do whatever their body requires to keep their brains engaged, and makes it the norm, not an interruption.
The range of truly unique desks offered by KidsFit's Kinesthetic Classroom includes:
In a Kinesthetic Classroom, students may be seated on a wobble chair, a pedal stool, a Minion Chair, which is an exercise ball covered in brightly colored mesh fabric and placed on steel legs for stability, or they may stand at one KidsFit's comfortable and effective standing desks.
All these KidsFit products are based on brain research that tells us definitively that children learn best when they are allowed to move freely.
Whether doing math problems, reading a book, or studying with classmates, movement facilitates learning especially when supplemented with a range of different activities tailored to different learning styles.
Tactile and kinesthetic learning activities are especially helpful for a variety of children who may have trouble with traditional learning styles.
The kinesthetic classroom is not just for students who are “fidgety” (today, that’s called anxiety or ADHD), or who have learning challenges. Research shows that physically active kids perform better academically and achieve higher test scores.
Schools at all levels, in 47 states, are using Kidsfit Kinesthetic Classroom equipment. Kidsfit even offers formal teacher training so that teachers can develop a truly different classroom that’s based on the principles of brain science and the need for movement.
While all students can benefit from KidsFit kinesthetic classroom equipment, those with learning challenges respond especially positively. Research shows that kids engage at least 12 percent more when they stand in the classroom. For distracted learners, these alternate desks mean better attention and more learning.
And, because movement stimulates the prefrontal cortex, which controls impulses, those “impulsive”, disruptive kids can benefit by walking, spinning, or bouncing – quite the opposite of how they're supposed to engage in most traditional classrooms.
For the full line of KidsFit Kinesthetic Classroom products, view our catalog at RehabMart.com.
Co-founder/CEO of Rehabmart, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, husband, and father. Passionate about connecting special needs kids with superb nutrition, sensory integration, and complementary health strategies. Excited about Rehabmart's mission to become the premier online educational platform which empowers caregivers by spotlighting innovative devices and interventions to achieve optimal patient response and recovery.
