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Learning Gym provides brain workout

Continuing Education at Capilano College is moving in a new direction this term with the addition of a program for kids that helps deal with learning frustrations.

Continuing Education at Capilano College is moving in a new direction this term with the addition of a program for kids that helps deal with learning frustrations.

"We call it a learning gym because it involves physical exercises as well as the more traditional paper based activities expected in a learning program," states Michelle Lebeau, who runs a similar program with adults at the college.

Lebeau spearheaded a Learning Gym for Kids pilot project with a Community Innovation Grant from the United Way in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters Squamish. The pilot ended late October.

Parents were pleased with the changes they were seeing in their children.

"I noticed my daughter doing more reading and writing without my help, and her self-confidence really improved," noted Barb Patura, the mother of a grade 6 student.

The parents' concern over the project ending was the impetus for Capilano College to keep the program.

The Learning Gym uses a set of exercises developed by professionals including developmental optometrists, occupational therapists and others who have discovered that learning problems are often rooted at the physical level. Physical exercises deal with balance, vision and sensory integration problems, which are linked to learning difficulties.

For example "most people don't realize that vision is more than just 20/20 sight. It also includes tracking and saccades," explains Dr. Jim Thompson, one of a small number of developmental optometrists working in the Lower Mainland.

"If not rectified, vision problems can cause significant learning difficulties that can sometimes even lead to behavioural issues in frustrated learners."

The exercises and pen and paper activities chosen for each child are based on the results of two assessments, so the program is individualized to each child's particular needs.

The program starts Feb. 2. For more information about this program, contact Capilano College at 604-892-5322.

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