The Waldon learning facilitator (parent and practitioner) in the non-interactive learning lesson is aware that:
- The child learns primarily through its own movements in the available* space close to the body (*sometimes physical limitations restrict the range of movement).
- How? Movements activate sensory receptors in the muscles, joints and tendons that send nerve impulses to the central nervous system (CNS), where patterns of receptor activity are organized to make sense of an ever-expanding world.
- The activities of the lesson and the materials used are merely a means of getting the child to produce movement patterns that are deemed essential by the facilitator - "essential" to the child's earliest learning or to the Learning how to learn.
In general, use medium and large (not heavy) materials that are easy to grasp and have as few materials on the table as possible - only as many as are needed to promote a good flow of activities.
Sensible motto: less material that is versatile.
As an accompanying person, you support the child sensitively and carefully with
- the use of the entire available space close to the body
- physical integration‡
- the Griffin
This means that the child must make large, clear, well-defined movements with their hands and arms from a stable sitting position in order to to achieve something, to stretch, to grasp and to let go.
Care should be taken to use the vertical plane (at least up to head height) so that the child can stretch its shoulder muscles not only outwards but also upwards, if the physical conditions allow.
Most classroom activities should be bilateral, with the hands often crossing the midline into the space on the other side of the body to promote physical integration.‡
Activities that require a strong grip are suitable so that the child can fully exercise its "power grip" with the whole hand. Lifting, scraping, raking, scooping and tapping are excellently suited.
It is best to use larger materials that vary in shape, texture, density and size so that the child has to automatically adapt their grip to the activity at hand. In this way, a range of adaptive grips will develop naturally, including the triple and pincer grips.
These considerations apply regardless of how "advanced" the teaching activities are.
Author: Terry Buchan (Waldon Practitioner), 2024
