Does your child seem to learn best by “doing”? If so, your child, like most children, is more likely to learn, understand and remember new material when a multi-sensory approach is used. Although the traditional classroom approach is a tried and true method of teaching, many children may find that it goes too quickly or that the concepts are not presented in a way that builds on what they already know.
A multi-sensory and kinesthetic (movement) approach uses specific teaching techniques that include sight, hearing, touch, smell/taste, fine motor dexterity and gross motor skills to teach new information. It provides an individualized approach that can be tailored to specific learning styles and that builds upon your child’s strengths, which allows for successful learning.
Examples of some methods used to help with reading include using tiles to pair sounds with letters, using textures, modeling clay, songs to keep track of specific word rules (eg., blends, silent e), pictures to improve reading comprehension and inference, measuring cups with rice, playing string games to learn math concepts and much more!
If you think this sounds like “play time”, you are right because this type of teaching engages students, it makes learning fun, and provides different ways of teaching the material. The multi-sensory and kinesthetic approach lays down the important foundations of math, reading and study skills so your child can be delighted when they recognize the newly learned material, “Hey, I know that!”, which serves to build confidence “I can do this!” and encourages more participation in learning “I want to ask questions and learn!”.
The multi-sensory approach links the new information to what a student already knows and then builds on those connections in a way that can be carried over into the classroom.