Sensory Path Gets Students Skipping, Jumping, Squatting and More

Sensory Path Gets Students Skipping, Jumping, Squatting and More

Count off with each step. OK, now circle around the petals. Tiptoe and reach for the stars. Wait, now duckwalk. OK, back on your toes. That's how the new sensory hallway at Ward Elementary School begins. It's a lot of physical activity for a school filled with young children who need to get the "wiggles" out. That's what Principal Dawn Ripple and special education teacher Kristi Newton called the energy the elementary students have just before moving through the eight different stations set up outside the school's cafeteria. "This isn't only for our special education students. It's for everybody. There are students diagnosed with ADHD who have extra wiggles, and they need to get some of their fidgetiness out so they can get back to class," Ripple said. "We have some older kids who are coming through here in the morning, and they're a little sleepy getting off the bus, so they need to wake themselves up. Read More