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Helping Students Focus: The Wiggle Strategy

by

Cindy Johnson | Wichita Collegiate School | Wichita, Kansas

This activity helps students release their extra energy so they can calm down and focus on the lesson. The teacher and students stand, stretch, and move around before sitting down again for the lesson.

Read Transcript

Hi! My name is Cindy. And, today I want to talk about getting your wiggles out. Sometimes you just have children that just aren’t wanting to concentrate or sit down at circle time. Sometimes children are touching each other, he’s looking at me, and not paying attention to the story, not wanting to do the alphabet. It’s a great time to stand up, and start stretching, and moving. It gets the kids motivated. It gets you distressed, and then, they have fun. After you do your wiggles, sit back down, try it again. Today the letter of the alphabet is A. If it’s still not working stand up, and do it one more time. Believe me, when you get the wiggles out, they calm down. “Make a tree, open up the tree. Close the flower at night, goes to sleep. Go to sleep. Alright when the morning comes, we sprout back up again. Stay on your letter for me, please. Wave, good job. Up high, to the side, and pike, and straddle, and pike, and straddle, and sit down for me. And pike, and straddle, and pike, and straddle. Good, can you show me butterfly? I can’t do the butterfly, but can you show me the butterfly? Put your feet together, do you remember? Blake’s got it. Hold your feet. There you go. Good job! Stand up. Touch your head. Touch your toes. Touch your friend, and go to the other side, and touch this friend. Put your arms to your side like a soldier, and march stop! Roll your head around. And, roll it back around here. Good, and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, and wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, freeze. Stay still, don’t move. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, freeze. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, freeze. Alright, good job. Put your hands down. Take a deep breath. I want you to take in a deep breath like the big bad wolf, and I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down. Good one more time. I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down, okay.

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