Proprioceptive Senses in Reading, Writing & Spelling!

Here's one more reason why it's important to develop those proprioceptive senses (sensors in our limbs, joints and muscles that tell us where our bodies are in relation to space).

According to Susan Johnson, M.D., a behavioral and developmental pediatrician, "There is a widely-held belief that if we just start teaching children to write, read, and spell in preschool, they will become better writers, readers, and spellers by the time they reach the first and second grades. This is, however, not true. The truth is that children only should be taught to write, read, and spell when their neurological pathways for writing, reading, and spelling have fully formed... In order for children to be able to sit still, pay attention, and remember abstract shapes, like letters and numbers, they first need to have developed their proprioceptive system."

I encourage you to read the following article by Susan Johnson, M.D. of Teaching our Children to Read, Write and Spell who is a strong proponent of movement in early child education. The article is featured in Lilipoh, a quarterly magazine with Waldorf education philosophy.

You may also want to check out Carla Hannaford, Smart Moves: Why Learning is Not All in Your Head to read more about the importance of movement for brain development and learning!