Teaching The Kinesthetic Child

• Kinesthetic learners are a hands-on kind of people. They like being physically involved and don’t mind breaking a sweat to do it. They often have lots of energy, especially the nervous kind. You won’t find them sitting still for long unless something has really captured their attention. They tap pencils, drum fingers and bounce knees just to be doing something.
  
  My oldest son is a kinesthetic learner, which proved taxing for his school teachers. When it was time for him to be focusing on his worksheet, he thought the gerbil cage was a much more interesting subject and would just get up and go visit them for awhile. One time he thought sitting in his seat was kind of boring, so he just slumped over with his head on the floor and his feet up in the air.
  
  He was always very cooperative and there was never a single teacher who had a bad thing to say about him, except they couldn’t get him to focus on his seatwork. Several suggested he be evaluated for ADD and even Ritalin, but the problem was in the teaching methodology and not in his brain. Kinesthetic learners need to be active and physically involved with their learning. Being corralled with a bunch of visual learners is downright boring to them.
  
  So if your child is a bundle of energy, likes being outdoors or playing sports, prefers projects to books and finds it hard to sit still, try some of these ideas for making Bible reading more interesting:
• Let him choose how he sits, as long as he’s paying attention. As long as his fidgeting isn’t proving a distraction, let him expend his nervous energy by bouncing a leg or rocking.


• Switch off reading paragraphs. You read the first, him the second, you the third, and so on. This will create more focus on his part since he has to pay attention for when his part comes up. It’s also very interactive.


• Act out the reading passage afterwards. For example, reenact Daniel in the lion’s den or Jesus overturning the moneychangers’ tables (well, that might not be a good example). This is something that will involve his whole body, and will make Bible reading something he really looks forward to.


• Let him doodle while you read. Stop periodically to ask questions about what you just read.


• Consider building models or dioramas of Bible settings. Especially if he’s project oriented, he’ll want to hear more so he can get the details to work on the model.

Your goal for your kinesthetic child is to get him to “experience” God and His truths by engaging his body along with his mind. It may be a bit more challenging, but family devotions will be a ton of fun.