If you know or, at the very least believe, that your child learns best when he's moving, touching, feeling and working his body, look for a school that can accomodate his learning needs. This doesn't mean the curriculum should include all-day recess every day or that the kids run on the spot during math class. A variety of programs that engage students with bodily-kinesthetic learning types will, however, keep them happy and motivated.

What to Look for:

  1. Learning Centers. Since the kinesthetic child learns best through movement, choose a school whose classrooms are designed around learning centers rather than desks lined up in a row. Such an arrangement will give your child ample opportunity to move freely from one part of the classroom to another, thus minimizing the frustrating feeling of confinement characteristic of the traditional classroom. 
  2. Lab Project Areas. When learning, kinesthetic children like to manipulate objects. Schools that provide areas for using tools such as building blocks, sculpting clay, or three-dimensional science models provide kinesthetic learners valuable opportunities for optimal learning. 
  3. “Real Life” Learning Experiences. Schools that offer frequent “real life” learning experiences, such as field trips, are excellent choices for the bodily-kinesthetic child. Such learning styles activities allow your child to broaden his knowledge through his or her unique learning modality. 
  4. Sports Programs. Choose a school that offers a sport in which your child is interested. Sports provide an excellent outlet for the abundant energy so characteristic of the bodily-kinesthetic child. 
  5. Music Programs Involving Movement. Schools that offer marching bands, drill teams, dance classes, and drum corps are also excellent choices for the bodily-kinesthetic child. Combining music with movement significantly enhances the learning process. 
  6. Competent Counselors. Bodily-kinesthetic children are often misdiagnosed as having ADD or ADHD. Competent counselors will know how to evaluate your child to rule out such wrong diagnoses. 
  7. Knowledgeable Teachers. Be sure that the teachers in the school you choose are aware of the various learning modalities and know how to deal with the bodily-kinesthetic child. Too often, such children are labeled as troublemakers when, in reality, they simply learn in their own unique way.