It’s always a gamble which of my Cool Koalas will arrive to class on their feet, and which will arrive sliding into the theatre room on their knees like mini Christiano Ronaldos. Our classes always start with 2 minutes of soccer, while I check in with each panting student individually about how their day was («Good!») and which team they cheer for («Barça!»).
By the time we gather in a circle to discuss the topic of the week, many of the kids are out of breath. Perfect, I think, for some active listening.
But despite their exertion, the energy stays alive. We dive straight into our Game of Concentration- a rapid-fire song where everyone pitches in with a new vocabulary word. We spend most of our time in this class on our feet, running to flashcards around the room, role-playing scenes with full sentences, and doing some dance practice for our end-of-term performance.
When we switch to the games room, we’re ready to sit down for a bit (at least, I am). This group of 7-8 year olds is a creative one, always eager to draw and describe scenes related to our weekly topic and to play hot potato with an electronic ticking bomb while practicing phonics words. My heart rate is almost back to normal when the inevitable plead is made once again:
«Football!»
«Yes, soccer!» I reply (since where I’m from, “football” is a sport that barely involves feet). It’s time for us to get moving to the dance room- my students’ endless tanks of energy are seemingly replenished.
Teaching at La Casita is a workout, I think. I’ll be in shape by next summer!
Some would say that this rambunctious, soccer-loving energy does nothing but distract these kids’ learning. But the truth is –
Physical Activity Enhances Learning and Memory
When I was a student in university, I developed a habit of taking a short jog before all of my exams. Something about the fresh, crisp air and a little bit of exercise left me feeling refreshed before entering the lecture hall. At the very least, I was able to shake the grogginess of my anxiety-fuelled TikTok-scrolling, which many of my classmates were continuing as they waited for our exams to start.
But as much as I’d love to say my intuition naturally drove me toward this routine, I’ll admit it was my coursework in psychology that convinced me to take up running…
First, there’s Yerkes-Dobson law: your focus, attention, and performance on difficult tasks is best when you’re moderately energized. Too relaxed, and your boredom will naturally impede your performance; too pumped-up, and the stress will make everything a little bit harder to navigate (Yerkes & Dodson, 1908). In other words, warming up my body with some physical activity was the perfect way for me to reach a manageable rush of alertness to ace my uni exams.
Then, there’s the neuroscience of exercise: getting your blood pumping primes the brain to think and remember things better, full-stop. More oxygen in the brain means cells start firing like crazy, and the networks of connections between them (synapses) become stronger (Guzmán-Muñoz et al., 2025). In fact, exercise can even stimulate the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, one of the brain’s control centers for learning and long-term memory (Cassilhas et al., 2015). This is a BIG deal- while the connections between our brain cells are changing throughout our lives, the ability of our hippocampus to birth NEW cells beyond early childhood is a relatively recent discovery.
All of this science holds for children, too – and not just neurotypical kids! Exercise (both short bouts and long-term routines) benefits focus, impulse-control, and overall brain development in kids with ADHD (Chan et al., 2021) and autism (Jia et al., 2024). The “traditional” classroom environment – hours a day of sitting down – misses out on the important connection between physical activity and learning.
Activity as a Tool at La Casita
Studies in children’s classrooms consistently show us that incorporating physical activity into kids’ education consistently improves their focus, motivation, and academic performance (Doherty & Miravalles, 2019). While we might call them “Brain Breaks,” the time we spend in the classroom dancing, running, and soccer-playing is a crucial part of our kids’ brain development while they learn English! This is also why, during Home Circles at Casita, we alternate between sitting and standing every thirty minutes as we transition from room-to-room. We keep our students on their toes- mentally and physically!
Maybe the perfect time for English practice at home is after- or even during – physical activity! “Kick the ball!” “Throw it to me!” “How fast can you run?” “How many jumping jacks until you’re ready for bedtime??” While the kids may not realize it, every sprint, slide, and soccer break can help their English, and their brains, stay in the game 🙂
References
Cassilhas, R. C., Tufik, S., & de Mello, M. T. (2016). Physical exercise, neuroplasticity, spatial learning and memory. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 73(5), 975–983. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-015-2102-0
Chan, Y. S., Jang, J. T., & Ho, C. S. (2022). Effects of physical exercise on children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Biomedical Journal, 45(2), 265–270. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bj.2021.11.011
Doherty, A., & Forés Miravalles, A. (2019). Physical activity and cognition: Inseparable in the classroom. Frontiers in Education, 4, 105. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2019.00105
Guzmán-Muñoz, E., Concha-Cisternas, Y., Jofré-Saldía, E., Castillo-Paredes, A., Molina-Márquez, I., & Yáñez-Sepúlveda, R. (2025). Physical activity and its effects on executive functions and brain outcomes in children: A narrative review. Brain Sciences, 15(11), 1238. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci15111238
Jia, M., Zhang, J., Pan, J., Hu, F., & Zhu, Z. (2024). Benefits of exercise for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 15, 1462601. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1462601
Yerkes, R. M., & Dodson, J. D. (1908). The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology, 18, 459–482. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.920180503