I had the opportunity to volunteer in my grandson’s kindergarten classroom the other day. Kudos to his teacher and to all kindergarten teachers. Oofta…it is a busy place. Lots of learning going on in there…

…Learning to write, and read, and listen, and count…

…Learning to follow directions, and sit still on their assigned square, and sequence a story, and use the greater than/less than sign, and write the numeral 7 by chanting “across the top, down from heaven, that’s the way to make a seven”…

…Learning to raise their hand to speak, and to not pick their nose and use a Kleenex instead, and to set their bathroom clips on the table when they leave the room…

…Learning to freeze then give the teacher their eyes, and to be kind to each other, and to be independent learners.

Oofta!

Thank goodness for brain breaks. Those moments in the classrooms when teachers give the children a break from working and allow them to play and talk and smile and laugh and sing and dance.

My grandson’s teacher introduced me to the brain break program called Boost Up Stations®.  I have been in education a long time, and this was the first time I had heard of it. Maybe you already know what this is, but I was intrigued and loved what I saw.

The children were in charge of setting up the stations. Once the stations were ready to go, the teacher assigned her kiddos to specific stations and off they went…

Station 1 – Hanging Ball: A tennis ball hung from the ceiling and directions were to tap the ball gently alternating hands while counting to 10.

Station 2 – Mazes & Wagon Wheel: Children traced the wagon wheel, the curved line, and the straight line while covering first their right eye, then their left eye, then with both eyes open.

Station 4 – Color Boxes: Children named the color of the boxes as they played hop scotch.   

Station 9 – Stacking Cups: The students each took two turns building a pyramid with the plastic cups.

Station 12 – Ball Bounce: Students bounced a ball while alternating hands and saying the alphabet or counting by 10’s.

See what I mean? Oofta! 🙂 When 12:30 lunchtime rolled around, my grandson and I were starving. We gobbled down the hamburgers and fries then headed out to recess to play tether ball.

According to the MN Learning Resource Center (2015), the Boost Up Stimulating Maturity through Accelerated Readiness Training (S.M.A.R.T.) program is a multi-sensory approach, intended to develop and boost the physical and neurological readiness skills students need to succeed in school. The program has been designed to help students progress at their own rate and enhance their abilities in a positive, play-like atmosphere.

Thank you, Mrs. G. for allowing me to help in your room (and also for lending me your S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum). I had a fabulous time.

To our SMSU teacher candidates…if you have not heard of this Boost Up S.M.A.R.T. program, take a moment to check it out. It will be worth your time.  

Stay Calm & Boost Away!
Profs Dr. Wendy & Dr. V.