Why Your Child Needs Movement to Learn | Angelique Chaverri
Why does a reading teacher require a pull-up bar?In this episode of the Orthodox Health Podcast, Angelique Chaverri, M.S.Ed. joins Dr. Michael Christian & John to explore a question modern education often misses: What is the rest of the child doing while we’re asking the brain to learn?Angelique works with students through Scholé Academy & the Center for Students for Learning Differences. Her approach brings together reading instruction, movement, posture, proprioception, vestibular function, primitive reflexes, cognitive timing, visual tracking, rhythm, & what she calls classical physical education.We get into why ordinary childhood movement may matter for learning; the relationship between crawling, walking, balance, posture, eye tracking, & reading; what primitive reflexes like ATNR have to do with development; why older models of physical education included hanging, stall bars, health wands, music, rhythm, & self-defense; what modern schooling may have lost by pushing formal academics earlier; & why Angelique believes physical literacy belongs alongside academic literacy.But underneath all of it is the question Orthodox Health keeps returning to:What is the body actually for?Orthodox Christianity never treats the human being as a brain carried around inside an inconvenient body. We pray, fast, stand, kneel, bow, prostrate, sing, work, play, suffer, & worship as embodied persons.So why would education be different?Chapters: 0:00 - Coming Up - When We Got Rid of the Horses00:56 Orthodox Health Intro2:25 - Why the Body Participates in Learning7:14 - Homeschooling Led Her to Orthodoxy10:32 - Body, Mind, Soul & Child Development17:15 - Why Does a Reading Teacher Require a Pull-Up Bar?19:33 - Classical Physical Education24:37 - Phonics, Sight Words & Modern Reading32:40 - Cognitive Timing, Rhythm & the “Brain Clock”40:16 - Primitive Reflexes & Neurological Development43:29 - ATNR & Learning Differences47:57 - Primitive Reflexes, Martial Arts & Movement53:43 - Eye Tracking, Reading & Dyslexia55:49 - Crawling, Walking & Processing Speed58:19 - Posture & Learning1:01:20 - Proprioception, Spatial Awareness & Math1:06:14 - Swedish Stall Bars & Classical PE1:11:12 - Did We Push Formal Academics Too Early?1:13:38 - Why Two-Year-Olds Should Move1:15:13 - Why Age Seven Keeps Showing Up1:17:03 - Jump Rope & the Scholar-Athlete1:19:58 - Physical Literacy & What Needs to Change1:20:52 - Where to Find Angelique1:21:40 - Orthodox Formation Is Embodied1:26:20 - Marina Becomes the Longitudinal Case StudyIf this conversation made you rethink what learning is supposed to look like, subscribe to the Orthodox Health Podcast, leave your biggest takeaway below, & share this episode with a parent, teacher, homeschool family, or educator who needs to hear it.Work with Angelique: Scholé Academy Website & their Learning Differences CenterThe Renaissance Video & The Motivation FactorThe Lean Berets - YoutubeWork with Dr. Mike Signed Copies of Orthodoxy & The Medicine of the Future: OrthodoxHealth.com/bookOrder Orthodoxy & the Medicine of the Future on AmazonDonate to St. John the Theologian hereSupport the Show with a One-Time or Recurring donationIntro & Outro Music: St. John of Chicago Orthodox Church Choir (Arkansas) - Please support their building fund by buying the whole album hereOrthodox Health Instagram & Telegram
