A Snapshot of Kinesthetic Learning

I’ve been writing a lot lately about how to meet your kinesthetic learner’s needs. I thought it would be worth  giving an example of what teaching to these needs looks like. Here is a snapshot of what kinesthetic learning looks like in my home school.

Recently, we went on a hike with our adventure bag to the Garden in the Woods to see the art installation of big bugs. The bug sculptures can be found along the one mile hike, and the signs next to them have information about the bugs. We took some time to read the information in between running and enjoying the scenery along the way. One of the signs gave us a comparison of damsel flies and dragon flies, and in order to explain the comparison better, I had the children act it out. Apparently, damsel flies hold their wings behind their backs while dragon flies hold their wings along their sides. So we pretended to be a dragon fly and a damsel fly by positioning our arms as if they were the wings.

We also spent time using or magnifying glasses to make observations of the bugs on the ground, the plants, and around the pond. We tried to find the bugs that were in the sculptures in the art installation. They were especially interested in finding damsel flies and dragon flies and were proud that they were able to identify them. The kids drew their bug observations in their journals.

At the end of the hike we reviewed a few of the things that we learned, and surprisingly, the kids remembered that particular fact about dragon flies and damsel flies. They were even able to correctly identify a damsel fly sculpture that was for sale at the gift shop and proudly demonstrated the difference between the two bugs to a naturalist there.

So why did this work? The hike itself gave the children the opportunity to run, walk, climb, and touch things in a productive way. Using their bodies to explain what the two bugs looked like allowed them to get a clearer picture in their minds of the description of difference between them. The big sculptures also gave them the chance to really see what the bugs look like. After all of the movement, the kids were able to focus enough to use magnifying glasses and write in their journals, an activity that requires a fair amount of concentration.

I hope that this example helps you as you plan your school work.

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