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Do you have students who are constantly moving? In and out of their chair, constantly changing their body position, falling over even? Or maybe you are noticing students who are slumped over in their chairs, almost spilling their body across their desk?
These classroom behaviors are indicating the need for vestibular stimulation! Why vestibular? Our vestibular system governs movement, balance, and body awareness and is deeply connected to our ability to remain attentive and stay regulated. If your students are showing you that they need vestibular movement, here are some quick in the moment movement breaks that can work for you and them! 👉 Download Movement Snacks – Vestibular Poster
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Month three of our school year S.M.A.R.T. newsletter is all about vestibular stimulation. What CORE movement should be incorporated into your daily schedule? Pencil Roll! The Pencil Roll is essential for helping students build the vestibular endurance they need for balance and coordination, along with the ability to be still and focused in the classroom. This simple yet powerful CORE movement activates the brain systems responsible for body awareness and self-regulation. When practiced consistently, the Pencil Roll strengthens students’ ability to process movement, leading to improved posture, attention, and readiness to learn. How do you keep it fun? Scatter leaves (real or cut out) to mimic rolling in the leaves, add a texture like bubble wrap or small bean bags to roll across for added tactile input, roll down inclines, or do some puzzle rolling.
Drop puzzle pieces at the beginning of your Pencil Roll area and the empty puzzle board or box with a photo of the complete puzzle at the end. As each student rolls, have them hold a piece about their head and work together to complete the puzzle.
If you have been slowly adding CORE activities to your course, this activity should now be in a circuit of movement along with the Alligator Crawl and Slap Track.  We recently completed our final S.M.A.R.T. workshop of 2025! We have had an amazing line up of educators, therapists, and support staff this year.
One S.M.A.R.T. Teacher, Priscilla from Warren, MN, shared a simple yet effective variation of Rainbow Tracing. With this activity, we recommend tracing a word, letter, number, shape, etc with many colors, providing inputs into the brain for correct spelling or formation. Priscilla said her students have really enjoyed writing their sight words multiple times when they get to trace with a colored pencil, a pen, and a marker. Offering a variety of writing tools makes this activity new and novel to the students, adding to the intensity to the brain. Bonus…it helps to keep them on task 🙂 Not sure how to incorporate Rainbow Tracing? Use your reference guides to refresh your memory on how this activity can be a great way to practice spelling words, sight words, names, and letter formation. Reference: S.M.A.R.T. Curriculum Guide page 88 S.M.A.R.T. PreK More Guide page 97 Our vestibular system governs our sense of balance. It is how we learn good posture, balance, concentration, and alertness. We work to stimulate our vestibular system by incorporating specific movements in our day. We spin, we roll, and we often seek to be upside down. Do you know much about this system? Watch this short video that highlights the importance of the vestibular system and the behaviors it can show up as. |
AuthorSCheryl Smythe Archives
December 2025
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