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Ericas Ed-Ventures

Primary Education Ideas

GoNoodle is Hoppin’ – Using GoNoodle with Special Needs Students

My students and I use GoNoodle!  Do you?  GoNoodle.com is a website with a compilation of FREE brain breaks. The energy levels of the brain breaks range from calming yoga style to get your heart rate going Zumba.  As you can see above my students REALLY get into it.   They loved that they were able to track their progress and pick their own classroom champ.  My students picked McPufferson.  How cute!!??  My computer and SmartBoard is always on, so GoNoodle is just a click away!
My classroom makeup is probably like that of most classrooms, except that I am the mainstreaming teacher for our first grade ABA students (Applied Behavior Analysis i.e. students on the autism spectrum).   When we GoNoodle, all of our students are on a level playing field and join in.  I even joy in and the kids get a particular kick out of that!  I love the joyful reactions from my normally serious students.  My wiggly students and those diagnosed with ADHD need to GoNoodle to maintain focus and get some of their wiggles out.  I am a very flexible teacher and I allow my students to stand while doing their work, but even with that, they still need to move.  I usually promise the students that after our math lesson (particularly taxing EngageNY) we will brain break.  This helps the students stay focused to get their work done.  Why focus to get your work done, if it only means you are going to have to do more work?   But focus to get rewarded?  Yup, that is way more their style. 

I have also used the calming GoNoodle brain breaks to help calm my students.  When one of the ABA students is having a tantrum, I try and ignore the tantrum and draw the attention of the class on to something else.  That is where the brain break comes in.  By ignoring the tantrum, it usually subsides.  Often, the calming brain break can often relax the student throwing the tantrum.   If the tantrum is particularly disruptive, a loud energetic GoNoodle brain break is utilized and the students are safely focused and away from the child throwing the tantrum.   The student is removed by psychologists to cool off or sent back to his/her home base special ed. classroom without causing a big show.

So for me GoNoodle has been a sanity saver and a gift for my students.  If you have not already, you need to register and use it for FREE here.

Check out my GoNoodle goodies!  Did you know you can now order your own?  Or better yet, enter to win.  You can win TWO of your own GoNoodle tumblers by entering below.  Let me tell you, these babies are quality!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Last, but not least, hop on over to the GoNoodle for the grand-prize: THREE subscriptions to GoNoodle Plus! GoNoodle Plus has all the same great features of GoNoodle, plus 6 core-aligned brain breaks.
Hop over to GoNoodle’s Blog to enter to win!