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The Learning Doctor has Brain-based Learning Strategies
for Teachers and Parents |
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A Newsletter that
Helps You Help Your Children
Brain-based Learning Resources
for Parents, Teachers and Anyone who Works
with Kids
February
2008
published by Dr. MaryJo Wagner
©the mjwagner company |
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Here's What's in your February "Brain Boosters for
Your Kids" Newsletter |
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Listen to the Learning
Doctor: Audio of this
month's feature article,
"Playing in the Snow"
Note from the Learning
Doctor: Find out why
outdoor winter play is
important for our kids
Workshops and
TeleChat Schedule:
Brain Gym
Basics TeleChat starts
February 26, 2008
Managing ADHD TeleChat
starts March 18, 2008
Brain Gym 101, Piscataway,
NJ, May 22-24, 2008
Brain Gym 101, Colorado
Springs, CO June 17-19, 2008
Brain Gym 101, Denver, CO,
Oct. 2-4, 2008
Feature
Article:
"Playing in the Snow"
Brain Quiz: Tell us
what you like in your
newsletter. What you'd like
to see. O.K. not really a
quiz but you can win a prize
Just for
Teachers:
Snowkey
Pokey; using snow for math
and science
Resources You Can Use:
How to play in snow, build
igloos and snow forts
Brain Gym
Tip:
"Brain Gym
in the Snow"
How to Get a
FREE Brain Gym Balance:
It's my gift
to you.
Important reminder:
The next
Brain Gym TeleChat starts
Tuesday evening February 26.
Lower your stress while kids
calm down to improve test
scores, reading, and math.
You get handouts and a web
audio recording to listen to
if you missed something.
If you're a teacher, you can
get credit for salary
upgrade and recertification.
So what're you waiting for?
Discover Brain Gym next
week. By the way, it's not
just for kids! You'll love
it too. Brain Gym's quick
and easy. And it works.
Teachers,
sign up today and get
information about the
Brain Gym
Basics TeleChatsforTeachers
Parents,
sign up today and get
information about the
Brain Gym
Basics TeleChatsforParents.
Please add
mjw@mjwagner.com
to your white list or
address book in your e-mail
program so you won't have
trouble getting future
issues of "Brain Boosters
for Your Kids." I know it's
hard to believe but
sometimes SPAM filters eat
up your Brain Boosters
Newsletter!
Read back
issues of the
Brain Boosters for Your Kids
Newsletter |
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Listen to the Learning
Doctor |
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Listen here
to this month's feature
article, "Playing in the
Snow," with Dr. MaryJo
Wagner, The Learning Doctor.
Find out why
it's important to get the
kids outdoors even when it's
snowing. And learn some some
fun things they can do once
they're in the snow.
Click the button
on left. It may take several
seconds to start. |
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Note from The Learning
Doctor |
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Hi:
The propane guy came the
other day to fill our
tank. Told me he hadn't seen
this much snow in 20 years! Luckily this house just down the lane
from us
isn't occupied!
The
neighborhood dogs are loving
it. So are the fellows who
make a living
with their snow plows. Worried about not getting enough exercise?
Just
shovel some of this snow! |
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Unfortunately plenty of us,
including this editor and way too
many kids, aren't getting nearly
enough exercise right now. In the winter, it's too easy just to stay in the house,
sit in front of the fireplace,
and
turn on the TV. Not good.
So I've devoted this issue to SNOW. How
to get kids out in it, having fun
and getting exercise
(And
won't hurt you guys in Florida
and Southern California to read it
too.)
Stop dreaming about spring. Enjoy what's left of winter.
MaryJo
P. S. Don't
forget to let me know what
you like about your "Brain
Boosters for Your Kids"
newsletter.
What else you'd like to
see. Just e-mail me at
mjw@mjwagner.com. You
could win a free Brain Gym
Basics TeleChat. |
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Workshop and TeleChat
Schedule |
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Brain
Gym 101
We're only
doing one class in Colorado
this summer so mark your
calendars now. Enrollment is
limited.
Brain Gym
101, Colorado Springs,
Colorado: June 17-19, 2008
Plan your Brain
Gym vacation now. Fly into
Denver or Colorado Springs.
Discover Brain Gym and then
hang out for a couple days.
Ride the cog railway to the
top of Pikes Peak, explore
the
stunning Garden of the Gods.
Sign up for this and get
more information at
www.BrainGymClasses.com.
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We're also scheduling
Brain Gym 101 in New Jersey
in May and in Denver
in October.
Find information at
www.BrainGymClasses.com
Or take a
Brain Gym class
FREE.
For more
information, go to
http://www.braingymclasses.com/FreeBrainGym.htm
Set up a
class in North Dakota,
Arkansas or any one of the
lower 48 and we'll come to
you. You don't have to come
to Colorado although we'd
love to have you. Of
course, you can set up a
FREE
class in Colorado too.
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"Playing
in the Snow"
Dr. MaryJo Wagner
Summary: It's all too easy to stay in the
house during the winter, watching more TV,
playing more video games. But it's time to
get out in the snow. Great exercise and
loads of fun. Discover why snow is good and
what to do in it.
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The phone rang: "Hello. Is this
Alison's Dad?" "Yep." "This is
Alison's teacher and Alison needs you to
bring dry shoes, socks and pants to
kindergarten. Alison had such fun playing in
the snow before the bell rang that her boots
and snow pants are wet and filled with
snow." Wow! What a great teacher. What
a terrific school.
Meanwhile, Alison's brother, three-year-old
Andrew, decided he'd had enough of Legos.
Enough of Grandma reading stories. Enough of
being in the house. He'd only be happy
shoveling snow on the deck. No time to look
for his missing hat.
And older
sister Abby had a dilemma earlier in the
season. Should she continue with figure
skating lessons or join the junior girls ice
hockey team?
Clearly, the only solution . . . do both.
O.K. so these are New Hampshire kids where
snow and ice are worshipped. Where folks
follow college hockey like people in the
Mid-west put life on hold to watch the
Michigan-Ohio State football game.
But in terms of
health and increasing brain power, the New
Hampshire kids have it right. Playing
in the snow combats obesity, builds strong
muscles and fit bodies, and gets kids out of
artificial light and stale, dry indoor air.
When the sun's shining, kids get a good dose
of vitamin D.
And playing in
the snow is great fun.
One time during
a class, a loving but overly-protective Mom
asked me if I thought it was o.k. for her
daughter to make snow angels. And did I know
what a snow angel was. I answered "yes" to
both. Mom was afraid her daughter
might catch a cold if she was lying in the
snow. Well, I suppose maybe if she
stayed there without moving for an hour or
two. But to make a snow angel which involves
lots of movement and takes only a minute or
two? I'm just not worried about pneumonia.
Bundle them up.
Then get them warm and dry when they come
inside, and they'll be just fine.
Ten Things to do in the Snow:
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Build houses, forts, and igloos
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Make snow men, women, families, animals,
dragons, dinosaurs, cartoon figures
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Throw snow balls at targets (If you're
having a snowball fight, make sure the snow
is soft and that
it's against the rules to throw at a person's head.)
●
Invent games. Start by making tracks in the
snow, packing them down enough that they
become
"trails" and then make up the rules for run-fast-and-you-win games.
A circle with spokes and the first
person to get to the center wins, for example. A caller tells
everybody to run around the circle. Then
says "run to the center." The child who finds the closest
spoke and gets to center first wins. Have
kids make up variations on this game.
●
Take a walk
●
Use snowshoes (Don't want to buy them? Lots
of sporting goods stores will rent them.)
●
Make snow angels
●
Draw snow pictures and paint them. (Get snow
paint at toy and craft stores.)
●
Cross-country ski. Don't have skis?
Slide your feet on the snow instead of
walking.
●
And don't forget sledding. No worries
about the required hill. Your kids will
figure out how to build
one. (No head first sledding.)
Well, it's time
for me to get out in the snow. We've got
about four feet in the backyard. Perfect for
snowshoeing.
By the way, if
you don't know how to make a snow angel,
you'll just have to email me at
mjw@mjwagner.com I'll send
directions.
© MaryJo Wagner, 2008
MaryJo
Wagner, Ph.D.
The Learning Doctor
"Helping You Help Kids Learn"
mjw@mjwagner.com
www.BrainGymClasses.com
www.brain-based-learning.com
Sign up today for the
Brain Boosters for
Your Kids newsletter
to
help your children learn easily and without
struggle. At home and in the classroom/
* * *
You're always welcome to duplicate this article,
distribute it to
parents and pass it around to teachers.
Got a school or PTA newsletter or e-zine? Your own
parent, teacher, or learning Web site? A community
publication? You can reprint this article.
Just print the whole article with my name under the
title and my contact information at the bottom. When
the report is published, please send me a copy or
the url to find it on the Web. |
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Not
exactly a quiz
this month, but I'd like to
hear from you.
What do you most enjoy about the "Brain
Boosters for Your Kids" newsletter? What
would you like to see added? Changed?
E-mail me at
mjw@mjwagner.com I'll choose one
of the responses at random for a free Brain
Gym Basics TeleChat. Could be you. |
Snowkey Pokey for Little Kids
You put your right mitten in
You put your right mitten out |
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You put your right mitten in and you
shake it all about
You do the snowkey pokey as you turn
yourself around
That’s what it’s all about
Continue with left mitten, right
boot, left boot, hat, ending with
"your snowself"
Get
more snow activity ideas for early
childhood at
http://www.saisd.net/ADMIN/earlychildhood/Handout%20-%20Extensions%20for%20Snow%20Theme.pdf
Learning
with Snow for Older Kids
Math: Measure the snow; compare snow
depths; stomp around the snow to make a
square path and then figure the size of the
square--length, width, square feet.
(You can do this approximately by simply
figuring that each step is a foot.) If
you've got as much snow as I do, you'll need
yardsticks instead of 12 inch rulers.
Measure snow and do calculations just as you
would anything else.
Science:
What is snow? What conditions are
necessary for it to snow? Measure the snow
as it starts to melt. What does the
temperature have to do with melting snow?
What does the night time temperature need to
reach in order to turn melted snow into ice?
Does it melt faster when the sun's out?
Does snow melt quicker on the north side or
the south side of the building? Why?
Why is there more snow in the mountains than
in the city. What does altitude have
to do with snow fall? Why is it harder
to walk in snow? Why can you walk on top of
snow with snowshoes? What animals
hibernate in snow? How do they survive? Why
do they hibernate? |
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Doing Brain Gym in the Snow
Oops,
now he's missing hat and mittens, but
Andrew's getting the idea
about crossing the midline. You'll notice he's got the shovel in the
right
place.
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Lazy 8's make a perfect snow activity. Helps kids cross the mid-line
which is essential for just about every kind of activity from reading to playing
ball. Just stomp around until you have a firmly packed track in the shape of an infinity sign. Now you've got a Lazy 8. Walk around the Lazy 8, always remembering to start at the center and move up to the left first.
Cross
Crawling in the snow's a bit harder than
on the floor, esp. if the snow's deep, but
it's great for brain integration and just
plain fun. (Lose your balance, fall in the
snow, laugh, try again.) Or let the kids
make up their own in-the-snow ways to cross
their center midline.
How to
Cross Crawl: Like marching in place.
Lift one leg while touching the opposite
hand or elbow to the knee. Then reverse.
You'll find
more brain Gym resources in
past issues of the ezine including
information about the importance of crossing
the center midline for reading, other
academic skills, and physical coordination.
And you can
learn more about Brain Gym, why it works
with all kids to raise test scores, lower
stress, and improve academic skills at the
Brain Gym Basics TeleChat beginning February
26. Just four 90-minute sessions. All you
need is a telephone.
Teachers, sign up today and get
information about the
Brain Gym Basics TeleChatsforTeachers
Parents, sign up today
and get information about the
Brain Gym Basics TeleChatsforParents.
Looking for the "big"
class? Brain Gym 101 takes place in
Colorado Springs, June 17-19, 2008. Sign up
and get more information at
www.braingymclasses.com
Teachers, you
can get salary upgrade and recertification
credit from
the University of Colorado-Denver for both
the TeleChat and Brain Gym 101.
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How to Get a FREE
Brain Gym Balance |
Receive a
FREE Brain Gym
balance over the phone with MaryJo
If you've taken Brain
Gym from me or anyone else, you can get a
FREE
Brain Gym balance over the phone with me.
It's my gift to you. (I
normally charge $75 for a balance.)
Even an intro to Brain Gym's enough. You
don't need to have taken the 3-day Brain Gym
101 to be eligible for a
Free
Balance.
But you
must have
some knowledge of Brain Gym to take advantage of
this gift.
Use a Balance
to improve a skill, set a new habit, learn
anything more easily, even improve your golf
game.
If you don't know
anything about Brain Gym, sign up for the Brain
Gym Basics TeleChat, and you'll also get a Brain Gym
Balance FREE
as one of
the bonuses. So a total of two
FREE
Balances--worth $150.
Check out
www.brain-based-learning.com/BrainGymTeleChatforTeachers.htm
or
www.brain-based-learning.com/BrainGymTeleChatforParents.htm
P.S.
I'm not trying to be manipulative here
and talk you into taking the TeleChat
although I'd love to have you in the class.
It's just that you can't do a Balance, even
if I'm facilitating it for you, unless you know
some Brain Gym movements.
P.P.S. This
offer is a basic Brain Gym Balance, not an
In-Depth or other advanced balance.
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© 2008 MaryJo Wagner, Ph.D.
the mjwagner company * 970-963-4077
334 Meadow Lane * Marble, Colorado 81623
Brain Gym® is a registered trademark of
the
Educational Kinesiology Foundation, Ventura, CA
www.BrainGym.org
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