Fun

fun category

Bringing Fun to Learning: Priming

By Shannon on April 14th, 2011

fun category

Brain Rule #1: Exercise Boosts Brain Power

By Shannon on April 1st, 2011

I am a HUGE fan of Dr. John Medina’s Brain Rules books and videos. And as it turns out many of his rules perfectly correlate with the IdeaLearning Group philosophy. Over the next few days I’ll be uploading some of these funny and smart clips.

Rule #1: Exercise Boosts Brain Power. Wow – this reinforces our Think, Feel, Move™ model.

Enjoy!

fun category

Brain Yoga: Get Fit to Learn

By Jillian on January 29th, 2010

Grow smarter with this fascinating technique that takes just 2 minutes a day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSwhpF9iJSs Before you dismiss this as just for kids, remember, a Yale neurobiologist is doing this every day.

According to research done by Carla Hanford,  PhD and discussed by Eric Jensen in his book Brain-Based Learning, ” Since the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice versa, engaging the arms and legs in such a way forces the brain to “talk to itself”. A brain which is fully engaged is far more efficient and effective.”  And is  “particularly effective for students who are sleepy, overwhelmed, frustrated, or experiencing a learning block.”



How to do it:

  • Remove any jewelry before proceeding.
  • Take your left hand and hold your right earlobe with your left pointer finger and thumb. Your left thumb should be on the front of your earlobe. Make sure that the thumb nail is facing away from you.
  • Take your right hand and hold your left earlobe with your pointer finger and thumb. Once again, make sure that your thumb nail is facing away from you.
  • Press your tongue to the roof of your mouth as when saying LLLL.
  • Inhale through your nose and slowly squat down to the ground. Stop gently; do not bounce.
  • Exhale through your mouth as you stand back up to a standing position. Continue holding your earlobes and sticking your tongue to the roof of your mouth as you perform this exercise.
  • Repeat a total of 15 times every day. You may not notice a change immediately, but after a few weeks an improvement in concentration should become apparent.
fun category

Laugh to Learn

By Jillian on January 27th, 2010

Research indicates that children smile or laugh 400 times per day while adults smile or laugh only 15 times per day. At IdeaLearning Group we know that laughter is an important component of learning; it reduces stress, is emotionally engaging and enhances creativity and cognitive thinking.

Want to laugh more?…I am a big fan of Laugh and Learn by Doni Tamblyn. Also try subscribing to a RSS feed of daily jokes:
http://www.funnycleanjokes.com

http://www.cleanjoke.com/humor/bestaverage.html