Many young children learn by using their senses and motor skills; they learn by doing, seeing and feeling. When a child is engaged in a kinesthetic experience, they are moving, touching, seeing and interacting with their world in a physical way. Kinesthetic experiences, therefore, help children store the things they learn into their long-term memory bank by turning learning into an experience they can do rather than lectures and watching others perform tasks. So, we focus on kinesthetic (or hands-on) experiences rather than lectures, which is not as effective a teaching technique for very young children. This is why kinesthetic experiences are so important in early education. Children understand concepts in a richer, fuller way and learn in a more complete sense of understanding if they can connect it to the actions they perform rather than just being a vessel for information.

 

“Movement, or physical activity, is thus an essential factor in intellectual growth, which depends upon the impressions received from outside."  The Secret of Childhood (1936)

 

For further reading:

Moving Bodies, Building Minds

The Secret of Childhood (1936)

See, Hear, Touch: The Basics of Learning Readiness

Embodied Learning Across the Life Span

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Written by Allison Horne