A Moving Child Is a Learning Child: How the Body Teaches the Brain to Think (Birth to Age 7)

Everyone knows that a healthy diet is important for a growing child, but did you know that physical activity is absolutely essential for brain development? Many don’t, but Gill Connell and Cheryl McCarthy aim to fix that with A Moving Child is a Learning Child. This book, geared towards teachers as well as parents and childcare providers, offers a detailed explanation of how movement, brain activity, and early learning are connected. The early part of the book is devoted to all sorts of things related to physical and cognitive development: automaticity, reflexes, the senses, intuition, coordination, and more. They introduce their Kinetic Scale, a visual map of how active learning happens on an individual timeline for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and primary graders. They offer tons of suggestions on ways of guiding play for youngsters without actually interfering with the learning process. There are tons of games scattered throughout the chapters, so you can get started with active learning even before you finish the book. Downloads of various handouts are available, including games and various sections from the book itself. With a wealth of information and a plethora of ideas for implementation, this book is a must-read for parents as well as anyone working with young children.