By: Ceciline M. Villadares
Every child is unique, and this uniqueness affects one’s personality, skill set, and learning style. The diversity found among the current academic institutions tells us that children learn through different methods. A less common method is the Kinesthetic method— for action-oriented children who learn most when there is body movement and engagement. What signs should we, as mothers, look out for to know if our children are kinesthetic learners?
Interests:
Children who are kinesthetic are physically active. They show interest in sports which allow them to expend energy and engage in physical movement. They find joy in sports, dancing, crafting, and other hands on activities.
Cannot Be Still:
Kinaesthetic children often appear hyper and restless. They are constantly crawling and moving.
Attention Span:
Most kinesthetic children tend to find traditional approach to learning dull. They find it difficult to focus on concepts unless they involve engagement. When seated for a long time in a regular class kinesthetic children tend to daydream and normally need frequent breaks during study time.
Interaction:
Kinesthetic children interact more with space through actions. They may express their emotions through body movements such as jumping and body gestures, which is why dancing is an ideal form of self-expression for kinaesthetic learners. When communicating, they may use hand gestures to deliver ideas to others.
Explores New Things:
Children who are action-oriented learners enjoy exploring new things. Out of curiosity, they may tinker with old gadgets, pull them apart then put them back on together. They learn best as they feel and explore the components of an object, and learn best by manipulating it versus reading the instruction in a manual. They participate well in group activities such as laboratory drills in class.
More often than not, kinesthetic children are labeled as hyper or suspected to have ADHD. However, by knowing the characteristics of being an action oriented learner, parents should be able to observe closely the uniqueness of their children and guide them towards growth in learning.
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http://www.eduguide.org/article/identifying-learning-styles-kinesthetic-kids
