Active Adults class participants learn to handle one, two, three...then four...objects simulataneously. Once there is mastery of basic skills, sensory integration is further stimulated by executing specific pattern sequences while standing on a variable difficulty balance board.




Special classes are suitable for less mobile adults. The program also uses energizing and balancing movements.

Eyes follow tossed bags.
The sandbags have specific colors, weight, fabric texture, and bright sandy auditory "plop." The balls have distinct colors, surface texture, rubbery feel, bounce, and resonant sound. All work together to promote multisensory pathways in the body and brain.

Classes are fun!

Bags, Balls & Brains is a sensory motor program to enhance visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, and fine motor skills.  It is a whole brain learning approach, utilizing a simultaneous multi-sensory system, which creatively combines movements from the learning systems of Brain Gym®, Belgau Learning Breakthrough Program and Bal-A-Vis-X.

Brain Gym® is a learning readiness program. Belgau Learning Breakthrough Program and Bal-A-Vis-X (herein called Bags and Balls) are strongly rooted in rhythm, require full body coordination, and enhance visual and auditory skills.  All of these movement activities benefit students physically, emotionally and academically.  Both the Brain Gym® Movements and the Balls and Bags Activities have been proven to increase academic success, social awareness, physical coordination, and the self-esteem of students involved.

The innovative, creative and unique aspects of this program include:

• It combines several successful academic readiness programs to in a synchronistic way.
• It provides a positive, engaging, and a physically active, fun-filled combination of activities.
• It employs the basic neurological, developmental processes underlying perceptual-motor integration as a mechanism to improve academic and social skills.
• It utilizes a simultaneous, multi-sensory approach involving the eyes, the ears, the hands and the feet while crossing the three midlines of the body.  The left to right midline enhances communication, the top to bottom midline enhances organization, and the front to back midline enhances comprehension, focus and attention.

Students are likely to see improvements in the following areas:

Gross Motor

• Balance, which is coordinated in the inner ear, underlies vision and hearing. Therefore, improved balance directly enhances vision and listening.
• Controlled body movements
• Relaxed, natural posture
• Grace and sense of ease with movements
• Improved physical coordination

  Attention

• Balanced muscle tone
• Ease in distinguishing left from right
• Ambidextrous: opens the pathways for both sides of the body
• More interest in learning
• More alert
• Focused attention 
• Attention span lengthened to be able to easily handle longer academic assignments
• Relaxed concentration
• Less physical anxiety
  
• Frustration decreased
• Improvement in cognitive integration

Visual Skills

• Breaks ocular lock (staring) that can occur from too much TV or computer screen viewing
• Strengthening eye muscles to enable tracking written texts more easily
• Eye tracking and eye teaming improve
• Visual discrimination of details improve (notice similarities and differences)
• Gains in eye hand coordination
• Ability to control eyes
• Increase in decoding skills

Auditory Skills  

• Ability to process verbal instructions improves
• Pronunciation improves Attention to details improves
• Increase span of auditory memory

Fine Motor

• Handwriting more intelligible
• Relaxed pencil grip

Rhythm

• Rhythmic cadence with reading aloud and talking
• Improved sense of timing in physical movements as well as social context

Social Behavior

• More socially aware
• Calmer behavior
• Impulsivity decreases
• Stress reactions diminish

Self Esteem

• Confidence and self esteem improve
• Academic achievement requires less effort

Website © 2007 Bags, Balls, and Brains.
Photography, slideshow, and website by Carol Wright

NEW! VIEW PHOTOS OF OUR CLASSES.
Images show Brain Gym® poses, bags and balls routines for less mobile adults, standing exercises for active adults, advanced routines, and photos working with middle schoolers.
Click to view slideshow.
If you can't view images, you will need to download free Flash program.