Non-Screen Life: Training your Inner Ear
Hey everybody! We are here to talk to you about:
PLAYING OUTSIDE!
GETTING DIRTY!
Finding that SAFE DANGER!
We know with the pandemic, 2020 has been a year of hand sanitizer and indoor quarantine. But it has also been a year of finding your own fun! Going into the woods and rolling down hills. Climbing trees and hanging upside down. Going out in fields and spinning like tops.
According to Pediatric Occupational Therapist Angela Hanscom, not only are these things incredible for attention and sensory issues, they are a KEY ROLE in developing The Vestibular System. This is the system our bodies use to know where we are in space! It is even more important than it sounds. Without serious play, children are more frail, more clumsy, less able to pay attention, and much more likely to struggle with emotional regulation.
Our children spend a long time sitting upright with little movement. Help them train their inner ears by:
Going Upside Down
Rolling Down Hills
Spinning In Circles (10x in each direction ought to do it… with hilarious results)
Climbing Trees
Jumping off Swings
Tossing them in the air
Sliding down slides on their bellies
Teachers and Parents should be life guards in play rather than consistent active participants. We want to ensure the children are safe and healthy, but too much structure and restriction has been shown to be detrimental! Let the kids fall. The dirt can offer so many essential lessons to growing up healthy!
We will be posting more on the benefits of outdoor play here so keep your eyes out! In the meantime, go have fun and WORK THOSE EARS!
For more on Angela Hanscom’s research and Timbernook Program, click here!
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