More Play Means Less Fidgeting

Fidgeting is a problem where kids are unable to sit still while being taught. Fidgeting students have shorter attention spans, are constantly moving and maneuvering in and out of their chairs, and are unfocused. To examine why we may be seeing an increase in student restlessness, let’s compare our Gen X primary and elementary school days with those of our Gen Z children. Maybe we can help explain how many changes affect our kids’ behavior—and in ways parents have never experienced.

Public School Curricula Changes

Today’s kids are taking many more tests and are being taught tests than we did. As public school districts teach STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math skills—students are not learning via engagement. Rather, they are learning via rote.

Plus, they are being taught faster than our generation with little opportunity to learn at their own speed. In other words, no individualized learning if your child doesn’t get it the first time.

At Lifetime Montessori School in Santaluz, we teach concepts first as a precursor to specifics. For example, we introduce mathematics through as many as nine concepts—rather than two. Our children learn to understand concepts within an individualized learning time frame to grasp the ‘why’ rather than just the ‘what.’

Parents who have joined our Montessori Method community from a public school have said their children were s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d. Surely, some of that is on us as parents—we’ve always wanted the best for our children. But, when elementary school students feel pressured to do well on tomorrow’s test, then the next, then the next—well, public school districts are not teaching as much as forcing memorization without exploration.

Workplace 2037

In 2037, our employment needs will be far different than today. We’ll undoubtedly see new technologies and businesses emerge in industries and categories that do not even exist today. Many of today’s kids will be able to master their job. But, via the Montessori Method, we focus on creating the type of person who can master skill sets—not just a job. And those workers—your kids--will be the few whose cumulative educational and social abilities will always be in workplace demand.

Let’s Play!

Which parents are up for allowing supervised, unstructured play in the neighborhood?

Want to help stop fidgeting? Let them play!

And, cut down after-school computer and TV time, too!

At LMS, we think that playing in the mud is okay; however, throwing mud at a car is not. Even unstructured play has appropriate and inappropriate actions—which we teach.  

Using the Montessori Method, we seek to find the joy of exploring and the joy of learning but within the context of structure, rules, and skills. As a result, we can let ‘kids be kids’—especially within the guidelines of being given the teacher and parental boundaries, responsibilities, and behavioral expectations.

Food Choices

Certainly, consumers and parents have come full circle here since we were kids. Today, our food choices are based on knowledge. Have antibiotics, hormones, sugars, and preservatives made our kids physically antsy? Are these items contributing to early puberty?

As a parent, you rule: choose your child’s diet, and you may help control his or her behavior.

So, mom, decide: Lunchables or smart choices.

ADHD/Asperger’s Syndrome

Did these two now-common behavioral problems exist when we were kids, or do we understand them better now?

Are we over-diagnosing ADHD?

Or is it partially because of food and overstimulation via high-tech games?

Maybe we had more creative outlets like physical education, music, art, and drama when we were kids than our own kids.

Summary

As you see, it’s different today than when we were kids, and we face different decisions than our parents did. Still, fidgeting may result from a lack of unsupervised play based on endless, non-engaging curricula, outdoor play with other kids; food choices, and overstimulation. This philosophy is a core difference between the Montessori Method at Lifetime Montessori School in Santaluz and San Diego County’s public school systems. We shape and train the whole child via a seamless connection rather than via a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach. We use the successful 100-year Montessori Method with all eyes focused on supervising and highlighting your child’s individual expression, strengths, and abilities via a STEAM—not STEM--approach. We produce gifted students.