Books and sources's from Rae Pica's training.

I did the research part of Rae Pica's course this morning:

Teaching Strategies:Handling Young Students Who Just Won't Sit Still

Rae Pica with Dr. Christy Isbell, Holly Robinson, Carla Hannaford & Susan Latanzi Roser Why won't Johnny just sit still? How can I teach a child who is constantly fidgeting and moving? In this segment our guests examine this problem and share a considerable amount of research challenging the notion that children need to sit [...]

Quotes:
Physical activity has been shown to: improve mental clarity and focus, improve memory retention, reduce stress and produce a better attitude toward school

"Children who are more active show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed, and perform better on standardized academic tests than children who are less active."
_Researchers from the Institute of Medicine

Children are going to class with bodies that are less prepared to learn than ever before. With sensory systems not quite working right, they are asked to sit and pay attention. Children naturally start fidgeting, in order to get the movement their body so desperately needs and is not getting enough of to ‘turn their brain on.’ What happens when the children start fidgeting? We ask them to sit still and pay attention; therefore, their brain goes back to ‘sleep.’"
Pediatric Occupational Therapist Angela Hanscom


"When we tell children, ‘Sit down, don’t move, stop tapping, stop bouncing,’ the kids are spending all their mental energy concentrating on that rule."Dr. Dustin Sarver, ADHD Researcher

"Who’s to say we have to sit down to learn? Why can’t we stand to learn? Why can’t we lay on the floor on our tummies to learn? Why can’t we sit in the rocking chair to learn? There are lots of other simple movement strategies. Just changing the position can make a big difference."
-Dr. Christy Isbell, Pediatric Occupational Therapist"

"Teachers Don't Like Boys, Mom"

A couple of weeks ago, I was volunteering at my son Aidan's elementary school after hours. The building was empty but for a knot of teachers clustered in the hallway. As we entered his classroom, Aidan leaped up to touch the door frame. Immediately, one of the teachers scolded him about safety.

Issues in Early Childhood Education - Rae Pica Blog

My mission is to ensure that children have the right to be children! Whether we're talking about developmentally appropriate practice in the classroom, teaching the whole child, letting children play, or understanding child development, I'm going to address it in this blog.