So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

my ds (6yo) im 99% sure learns mostly w/ feeling and doing
I'm a visual learner, as is abbey. dunno about kenz still
so i wanna get some math manipulatives, and some letters (I got some thin cardboard letters but i doubt they'll last long...)
what kinds of things do u encourage doing for a feeler?

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

Celeste is a kinesthetic learner and she needs daily upside-down time. :yes Every kinesthetic presents differently, but the desire to be upside down is pretty common. ;)

Math manipulatives are great. Physical activity while learning is great - doing math facts while bouncing on the trampoline, spelling words out loud during hopscotch, that sort of thing. Being able to play quietly with toys, or manipulate something like silly putty, is great during read-alouds. Celeste learns better by doing, yes, but it's also important for me to remember that she learns better WHILE doing - and what she's doing doesn't always need to be what she's learning!

I particularly recommend Math-U-See for math and, if you're looking for a formal reading program, Rocket Phonics. (I don't prefer doing a formal reading curriculum with kinesthetics, but that's personal choice).

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

my kinesthetic learner has only ever been able to learn math from MathUSee. I resisted getting it. I didn't like the way the manipulatives felt, I didn't like the U in the name...I hate intentional misspellings :bag and I didn't want to support that. I had to get over it, because it was what worked best.

making letters in a tray of salt or sand, making letters out of playdough, stuff like that works. there is a kind of flash cards that my dd's montessori school used called a kinesthetic alphabet. you might see if a google search turns it up. it would be cheap b/c you could just print it out at home and make up the cards yourself.

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

I've looked at mus quite a lot, thinking i could maybe get it in the next mt or so. but i'm doing most of this without getting formal curriculum cause of the costs

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

I like the forming letters out of playdough idea. :yes

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

he dos know his letters (and sounds they make). he hasnt connected how they make words yet though so he's not reading at all except 'nik' and 'the' and a few others that he just knows what they look like, lol!

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

Shaving cream with a drop of food coloring on a tray. Also long, thin sticks to drag through sand (or he could just use his finger).

I know you are talking about math, but for spelling....those foam alphabet mats that link together with lots of teeth (usually found in preschool or kindgergarten rooms) can be used for spelling games. Hop to the various letters and say the letters aloud to spell the words.

Math blocks and tiles are great for kinesthetic learners because they are moving the blocks and tiles to represent the problem (three groups of two for example) and seeing it visually as well. I got my set in college, so I'm not sure where you would get them:think I suppose you could use buttons in a pinch.

---------- Post added at 11:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 PM ----------

Oh, and also alphabet magnets. Some cookie sheets are magnetized.

An abacus might be fun.

Actually, stringing different colored large wooden beads might work well for addition. Three red, two blue etc.

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

Also, make sure she is actually kinesthetic. My dd has sensory issues and goes around "feeling" things and collecting different fabrics and rocks and what have you for the way they feel. But when it comes to learning, she is visual, highly visual, and auditory.

I, who do not collect fabrics or rocks LOL, am a kinesthetic learner. Which means that I go "by feel" a lot of times. HOwever, we both despised MUS because it seemed so fiddly. We are both visual as our primary style of learning, so maybe we jut don't like futzing with little pieces when we could just READ it, yk? But it does explain why I can crochet easily and well and she can't but she LOVES books on tape, and I can't stay focused .

Anyway, just a warning to actually check first, I had dd allpegged as a kinesthetic only to discover that it drove her nuts.

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

he just doesn't learn w/ nonactions :shrug there are songs he could "never remember" after hearning sooo often but 1 or 2 runs through it with motions he can remember it. he's extremely physical, he's a doer that always wants to be doing something, he truly doesnt learn by seeing or hearing, he's one of those that will refuse help when trying to do something just right but he will usually keep doing it till it's right. he learns actions by doing them while they're being shown, he 'cant remember' if he doesnt do them at the time theyre shown. i dont know how he woulnt be :)

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

make s perfect sense, I had mistaken "sensory seeking and hyper" in my own for kinesthetic LOL.

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

I also used to think my son was kinesthetic because he was so active, wanted to touch everything. And then I read somewhere that every young child is primarily kinesthetic. I'm not too sure what I think about learning styles, sometimes. I think they can be helpful but I also see them as what is "trendy" in the educational world right now. I know I am primarily visual but I learn things in all sorts of ways. My son is auditory but he learns things by doing and seeing as well.

Anyway, your post DOES sound very kinesthetic and reminds me of that movie, Akeelah and the Bee. The little girl could only remember her more difficult spelling words when she tapped them out with her hand, or jumped rope while chanting them. Or maybe that was partly auditory. :) I think as kids get older, they can somewhat adapt themselves and figure out their own tricks of how they learn best, even if the material is presented slightly differently. In other words, I think maybe as they get older, it might not be as important to "teach to their learning style".

Re: So i have a kinesthetic learner.... what should i know?
 

I was just literally reading this article (I browse in multiple windows) when I saw your question.