Wyckoff Kids Are Hop, Skip & Jump Away From Doing Better In Class

WYCKOFF, NJ – Kids in Wyckoff may just be a hop, skip and jump away from doing better in class.

In a corridor at George Washington Elementary School, a color sequence of decals was recently affixed to the floor, creating a pathway that directs you to leap, jump, march and hop your way to the end.

Now, when students at the K-5 school are fidgeting, unfocused or having trouble sitting still in class, teachers can send them out to the “sensory hallway” and through the path, according to Paula Rubenacker, a Washington School social worker and guidance counselor.

So far, students love the pathway and are using it individually and as a class, she said.

The idea is that youngsters will burn some energy and return ready to learn. Research has shown that sensory exercises – movement that impacts the nervous system – can be helpful for kids who have processing issues, stress, anxiety and ADHD. I

Students are also using it “to increase energy levels if they need a boost,” she said.

Rubenacker said, “I have been working in public schools as a school social worker for 19 years and have visited many therapeutic environments in that time, sensory pathways are always a great tool for students. The paths can be used to help students who need to increase their energy level or for students who need to calm bodies. They help with both motor skills as well as providing sensory input."

Rubenacker, along with Washington School's principal, Scott Blake, worked to bring the pathway to the school. According to Rubenacker, they received funding from the Wyckoff Educational Foundation for the path to support wellness initiatives in township schools.

Sensory hallways are part of a larger movement to get students, well, moving.

Fewer than one-third of children in the U.S. are active to a healthy level, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That’s defined as having 25 minutes of high-calorie burning physical activity three times a week. And the percentage of kids who meet the goal has been falling.

The decline has been attributed to a few factors: more time on smartphones and computers and watching television; fewer physical education classes; less participation in sports; and more time in cars instead of walking or biking.

New initiatives to get students moving at various points in the school day are known as “brain breaks,” “energizers” or “brain boosters.” The common goal is to help students refocus their learning.

Research has shown that physical activity can improve student focus and behavior and increase academic performance:

• A 2013 University of California study found that physically active students pay more attention and do better on standardized tests because activity stimulates blood vessels in the brain.
• A 2013 Institute of Medicine study concluded that kids who are more active “show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed and perform better on standardized academic tests that children who are less active.”