Trinity North Sensory Path is solution for kids who can’t sit still
For many kids, sitting still and being quiet through an entire school day is difficult.
Recess and gym offer a break, but that sometimes isn’t enough.
That’s why Trinity North Elementary School installed a Sensory Path, an interactive solution for fidgety children.
The path, with large, brightly colored stickers affixed to the floor and wall, stretches a length of hallway with instructions to do things like hop, push-ups, and recite the alphabet while walking.
Trinity North Principal Eric Lauver said the staff recognizes that not every student learns the same way or needs the same thing – some may be able to sit at their desks for a few hours at a time. Others, though, need to get up and stretch.
“We know that kids struggle to stay still for a long period of time. They need that movement break,” said Lauver. “We saw the benefit, and the ability for kids to just take a break if they need to come out and move through it, and maybe re-enter the classroom after a minute or two.”
On a recent weekday morning, first-grader Lydia Scott walked the alphabet path, leaned against the wall to complete 10 push-ups, and finished with a game of hopscotch.
Trinity North purchased two sensory paths from Image 360, a Robinson Township-based company, and recently installed them.
Sensory hallways are part of a nationwide movement to increase students’ physical activity.
Fewer than one-third of children in the United States are active to a healthy level – defined as having 25 minutes of high-calorie burning physical activity three times a week – according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The decline is linked to factors including more time on smartphones and computers and watching television, fewer physical education classes, and more time in cars instead of walking or biking.
But research shows that physical activity can improve student focus and behavior, and increase academic performance.
Lauver said teachers have seen benefits of children using the sensory paths.
“It allows them to move and to clear their minds a little bit, so they can return ready to focus and ready to learn,” he said. “You’ll see kids walking back from the bathroom and walking the path. They love it.”