Apathetic?  Try Kinesthetic ~ You Won't Regret It!

by Michael Elfant
Public Health Nutritionist
California Department of Health Services

Kinesthetic activities play an essential role in our training and we always look for ways to include movement in learning events. We make liberal use of activities from the Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach workshop – such as gallery walks, carousels, and “walk and talks”. We also use paired activities that take place in shifting parallel lines (such as “a Virginia Reel”) or rotating concentric circles. And we often invite learners to “create” things using a variety of materials, such as mosaic pieces and origami paper. You can really feel the energy level rise with a good kinesthetic activity.

We also use kinesthetic activities to liven up meetings or conference sessions. They can help folks get stoked and prepare their minds for more work. As a public health nutrition program interested in promoting physical activity in our participants, we also recognize the need to encourage physical activity in our own employees. Many of our WIC agencies sponsor wellness or “walk the talk” programs and we use these activities to help model ways to be active on the job. One of our favorites is “California Dreaming” (since I work for the State of California) in which the group mimes activities associated with various California “landmarks”, such as “climbing a redwood”, “surfing”, and “picking oranges”. In another one, “A Day With the Wright Family”, attendees listen to a story and step to the “right” every time they hear the word “right” (or write or Wright) and step to the “left” every time they hear the word “left”.

We are constantly on the prowl for new physical activities and have developed a catalogue of various kinds of activities suitable a variety of different settings and attendees. We borrow many from “preschool” or early childhood curriculum. We also rely heavily on improvisation games – including “What are you Doing?” and “The Morphing Ball” or “As If”, in which participants move “as if” they are walking in gelatin or popcorn kernels popping.

So, are you ready? Get moving!

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