Stacey Shoecraft - Teaching Through Movement: Setting Up Your Kinesthetic Classroom

It is sometimes the journey that takes the longest that is the sweetest in life. Sounds deep, doesn't it? However, it is true in my case. I consider myself to be a real life Mulan. Remember her, the girl in the Disney movie who saves China from the Huns? Mulan's father told her not to worry about being like everyone else. His advice was, "The lotus blossom that blooms last, blooms best", or something like that. I haven't saved a nation from the Huns, but I feel that there is a mission out there worthy of a crusade. Problem is, I don't have an army like Mulan did. This is where YOU come in, I need your help! Don't let this stop you from reading this book; I think you picked it up for a reason.

Disclaimer: In this book, I will be mentioning kinesthetic tables a lot. I do not work for the company that produces the tables, nor am I affiliated with them in any way except I use their product. That is important for you to know, my sincerity is genuine and not so you will purchase anything. My purpose in writing this book is to teach, share, and encourage others. We CAN make a difference but often it is hard to figure out where to start. Therefore, I want to provide some help and insight from what I have experienced in the classroom.

**Did you really just read this or did you skip the page? I never usually read the introductions, as I am thinking why bother? Now that I am writing one, I see that it is purposeful, so go back and read!

P.S. I have the attention span of a gnat, I promise I will to try to keep these chapters relatively short. Hopefully, so short you could read them while in the bathroom. But don't do that because it would be gross!

P.P.S. Wash your hands before you leave.

Everyone has a story. I include mine only to let you know I have been "that student". From the age of six or seven, I played teacher and created materials for my cousins and friends, also known as my "students". As much as I loved playing school, I did have some issues with the one I attended. Not anything bad, just always having my name on the board for talking or daydreaming A LOT. All in all, I coasted by until puberty hit and things started to unravel in middle school. I was distracted by tv, phone, boys, lint, anything that moved! My grades tumbled from honor roll to average and just coasting. You know the type, "Stacey is so smart, she really should work to her potential." My grades started to slip, slowly each year until I ended up graduating from high school with a "C" average and no longer thought of going to college to become a teacher. I didn't think I was smart enough, and I had that one teacher who reaffirmed it to me on a daily basis. He always caught me daydreaming and then would chastise me in front of the class.

Fast forward ... now I am a parent with a young child in school. It was when my son was in first grade and his teacher said he might have a problem with paying attention. I was incensed and did not want to put my kid on medicine. Instead, I read a huge stack of books to try and fix the problem myself. You're not going to believe this; not only did I find out that yes, my son was probably ADD but ... so was I! My husband just shook his head when I told him my epiphany and reaffirmed he had known this, as he had suffered from my erratic behavior for some time. Poor guy! I eventually put my son (and myself on medicine) and it did help a lot. However, I have learned so much since then and think I was a little premature putting him on medicine. Why, do you ask? He only ate "Slim Jims" (beef jerky) and drank Capri Sun for his lunch during his fourth grade year and barely grew an inch because of his lack of appetite.

That, my friends, made me very sad and helped me to realize that we need to tackle teaching from every angle. Just last spring I saw our local newspaper with a sticker on it advertising, "One in five kids has ADD". Mind you, this was right after report cards were issued for the county. There was a number you could call to check to see if your child might have ADD too. I can envision this scenario: a parent looks at his or her child's report card and then wonders if it might help their struggling child to improve their grades. Am I against medicine? Yes and no, there are some children that might really benefit from taking it. I am not here to make a diagnosis as I am not qualified as a doctor. What if we did something really crazy ... what if we changed our approach to teaching?

My goal with this book is to simply tell my story and what has worked for me. It is my hope the tips I provide will help you as you find your way. Changing the way teachers have taught for decades isn't easy. We are changing a mindset that students must sit still and be quiet. Change takes a lot of time and tons of patience too.

I can still remember my first day as a substitute teacher. It was a fourth grade class in a nice, suburban school. I didn't even teach the whole day, just the last half. Things started out well enough until I saw the math. I know that I probably blanched inside as I saw geometry figures and terms I had not seen in 16 years! I can remember feeling my ideal day slipping away from me, minute by minute. By the time it was over, I felt defeated. Being ever the optimist, I thought about what had gone wrong and reflected (as all good teachers do). I came to the conclusion that I probably needed to brush up on my math. Maybe I would even arrive earlier to look over the sub plans to ensure I really knew the material. Oh yeah, and one more thing, I was getting rid of the dress I was wearing because deep down, THAT was the problem. The dress was in the trash that night.

Moral of the story? Reflect, reflect, reflect. Think about what works, know your strengths as well as your students' needs. You need to consider what isn't working, and go shopping regularly, you're going to need it!

I started my teaching career in a private school where all the children seemed to be homogeneously the same. No one had IEPs ((Individualized Education Program) or 504s (modifications and accommodations for students to perform along with their peers). After three years of teaching, I knew I needed to hone my skills because children aren't all the same, and I wanted to learn how to service all of them.

I went to a new school with children of all ranges. My first year I had a child, "Billy", who was never diagnosed with anything other than ADHD but had issues every year with his teachers and peers. I was asked to do certain exercises to help calm him. At the time I wondered how I would make this happen when I had so many other things to do in my day. Sound familiar?