Dr. Rohn Kessler
Parents are juggling so many things today that the metaphor of juggling can turn a bit negative. But juggling itself can be a cognitive powerhouse, especially for children. A cognitive powerhouse is an activity like learning to play a musical instrument, that, when practiced enthusiastically over a period of time, improves mental skills like attention, memory, information processing efficiency and spatial reasoning. This is important because in everyday life it can generalize to important skills like better goal setting, planning, map reading and reducing stress.
Learning to juggle is a cool, fun-filled activity for children and can be a terrific aerobic exercise for improving attention, endurance, balance, rhythm, eye-hand coordination and confidence.
Juggling is great for the brain. As little of 7 days of training leads to an increase in the density of the gray matter in the brain and boosts connections between different parts of the brain by tweaking the architecture of the brain’s white matter. The real significance of this finding is not only that juggling boosts brain connections but it suggests that learning a new skill is more important than exercising what you are already good at – the brain wants to be puzzled and learn something new.1
Children as young as five or six can begin to juggle with scarves. School programs which incorporate juggling into the curriculum report improvements in focus, eye-hand coordination, fine motor skills, reading and behavior. 2
These schools also report that learning to juggle increases both motivation and self-discipline and reduces impulsivity. Juggling can level the playing field because some students who don’t excel or even like athletics can juggle very well. Students who learn to juggle can also build communication and teamwork skills.
Some teachers even report that juggling helps students improve their ability to listen and follow directions. What parent wouldn’t like more of that at home!
Juggling is one of many creative, brain-enhancing activities encouraged and practiced at the Sparks of Genius Neuroeducation Center in Boca Raton, Florida. www.SparksofGenius.com
Children learn that physical fitness requires strength, speed, stamina, balance and flexibility. These five attributes can be taught with one ball. Whether juggling the 3-ball cascade, juggling 2, 3, and even 4 balls back and forth with another person, students learn that juggling optimizes their own brain by making dendrites bloom.”
My mentor, the noted pediatrician William Grant Crook, taught me how important it is that every child receives a daily dose of “psychological vitamins.” Learning to juggle can do just that for many special needs children, including those with ADHD, Asperger’s, learning disabilities, sensory processing disorders etc.
Groundbreaking research in neuroeducation connecting learning, arts and the brain confirms that when a student passionately engages in an art form for an extended period of time, attention, cognition and fluid intelligence increase. 3 Juggling could be the art form for your child.
When a child uses the Sparks of Genius Method™ and learns to juggle 3 or even 4 balls back and forth with me and then teaches this skill to a parent, it brings joy to my heart. True, most of today’s parents are juggling too many things. But how many parents are too busy to appreciate a Sparks of Genius moment like this with their child?
References
- Learning to Juggle Grows Brain Networks for Good. New Scientist. Oct. 14, 2009
- Delisio, E. (2002) Teachers Link Juggling to Improved Academic Skills. Education World.
- Posner, M. and Patoine (2010). How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition. In “Emerging Ideas in Brain Science:” Cerebrum 2010. Dana Press.
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