Every cell in our body is part of a perfectly engineered masterpiece. Here you will find easy and fun brain gym activities exercises for toddlers that can improve their concentration. The movements are surprisingly simple yet very effective.
If you want to learn how to raise smart kids during this crucial period of development, then Raise-Smart-Kid is here to help you to gain the latest updates on brain development in early childhood, early child development in general and child development research.
But remember …
To optimize the learning experience, the activities should be fun!!
What we don't always realise is that our kids practice this every day through their daily activities.
Daily living skills
* Eating
* Washing hands
* Putting on their clothes
* Taking off their shoes
* Picking up the toys
* Brush their teeth
* Wipe after they have spilled
Brain Gym consists of 26 easy and enjoyable targeted brain gym activities exercises that bring about rapid and often dramatic improvements in concentration, memory, reading, writing, organizing, listening, physical coordination, and more.
During my research I came across a few brain gym exercises (or brain gym excercises as some people prefer), some of which might be too complicated for babies or toddlers. I’m briefly going to discuss it for you to be aware that they exist.
* Drink Water
Water comprises more of the brain than of any other organ of the body. Water is the substance that can help “grease the wheel”. It is important that your child drinks lots of water. Promote water consumption from an early age. Children perspire a lot during the day because of all the activities they undertake. They are very energetic and dehydration can negatively affect their concentration.
* Brain Buttons
This is one of the exercises I feel is too complicated for our little ones. In a nutshell, this exercise helps improve blood flow to the brain to "switch on" the entire brain specifically when needed. The increased blood flow helps improve concentration skills required for reading, writing, etc.
* Cross Crawl
This exercise is a very simple yet effective one. It helps coordinate right and left brain by exercising the information flow between the two hemispheres. It is useful for spelling, writing, listening, reading and comprehension.
* Stand or sit. Put the right hand across the body to the left knee as you raise it, and then do the same thing for the left hand on the right knee just as if you were marching.
* Just do this either sitting or standing for about 2 minutes.
* Hook Ups
This is another exercises I feel is too complicated for our kids. This works well for nerves before a special event such as making a speech or singing in front of people. Any situation which will cause nervousness calls for a few "hook ups" to calm the mind and improve concentration.
* Mind Maps
Mind maps (or similar concepts) have been used for centuries, for learning, brainstorming, memory, visual thinking, and problem solving by people in general.
According to the dictionary, a mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radically around a central keyword or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, problem solving, decision making, and writing.
The mind map utilizes the full range of left and right human cortical skills and balances the brain.
Exercise this with your child to let them get used to using mind maps. An example of this might be to take something simple such as making a cup of coffee. Break it down into the logical steps. What ingredients do you need to make coffee? What utensils are best suited? Draw a picture to present these ideas around a central keyword “making coffee”.
Your toddler will enjoy these brain gym activities exercises while you stimulate his/her brain.
Problem-solving skills
* Provide games and toys which involve problem-solving skills, such as puzzles, shape bucket, blocks etc.
* Try not to interrupt when a toddler is busy
* Show them more than one demonstration on how something works.
* Give them things to figure out how it works.
* If a child struggles, don’t jump in and help him immediately, first see what he does.
* Take an empty toilet roll and a piece of material. Put the material inside the toilet roll and let the toddler pull it out. Later on the toddler can put it in by himself.
There are lots of brain gym software and brain gym cd's available that can be used to do gym brain training. Brain gym research is still a hot topic for discussion and there exist criticism against the whole brain gyms concept. You have to decide yourself if you would like to have a brainy child (or at least give it a try).
All brain gym movements and each brain gym activity will help your child become positive, active, clear and energetic for learning and learn you how to raise a smarter child.
hanz
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