Good Sensory Learning Blog

Kids never strive to be careless, lazy or unmotivated and referring to a student in this way never helps a situation. In fact, many kids that hear these labels again and again develop a negative inner voice as well as a case of learned helplessness.  A Student Story I’ll never forget a student of mine coming into one of our sessions in a terrible frame of mind.  He exclaimed, “I’m careless and unmotivated!” He slid a graded assignment across the table in front of me. Red marks cut across his work and in bold, scarring letters the teacher had told Jake that...

One of the most valuable things we can teach children is how to cope with making mistakes. Making mistakes is a human quality that all students need be comfortable with. They need to know that if we didn’t make mistakes, there would be nothing to learn.  Students Strive for Perfection Most all students strive for the recognition of a perfect score on assignments and tests. Even a single mistake can create anxiety and disappointment. Unfortunately, perfect scores continue to be rewarded and mistakes frowned upon. So what can we all do to help? Here are ten suggestions: 1) Be comfortable...

Concrete learners, as well as those who struggle with higher order language processing, often experience difficulties when shifting to more abstract ways of learning.  What does this all mean? What is Abstract Thinking? Abstract thinking is the ability to make sense of concepts that are real, but not visible in the world such as wisdom or freedom.  It enables us to infer meaning and understand ideas that are not tied to physical objects. What are Multiple Meanings? Some words have more than one meaning, or multiple meanings.  For example, the word bolt can mean to run quickly, it can refer to a metal...

Mindfulness in education is a rising topic of discussion. Mindfulness refers to being completely in touch with and aware of the present moment, as well as maintaining a non-judgmental approach to one's inner experience. It helps to develop emotional intelligence and it teaches students to pay attention on purpose. What’s more, mindfulness can help improve test scores, classroom behaviors, and stress management. So how can teachers integrate mindfulness into the classroom? Here are 5 comprehensive suggestions: Teachers must practice mindfulness in their own lives If a teacher does not have the time to meditate and listen to his or her...

Weaknesses in language processing can be difficult to remediate, and finding fun activities that can help strengthen this cognitive processing area is a further challenge.  I designed the Following Directions - The Fun and Easy Way series to offer activities that help students develop listening skills, attention to detail, vocabulary, mental flexibility, spatial skills, and more. They were initially created for my own private practice, and now they are available to the public. Each page is filled with colorful images and students get to draw, complete mazes and work through process of elimination exercises that are fun and engaging. For added...