ILT Blog | Integrated Learning Therapy

Boosting maths skills with board games

Feb 26, 2026 | I'm a Parent, I'm a Teacher, ILT Blog

Children’s board games often involve moving pieces along a straight numbered path (like snakes and ladders, for example). These games can significantly strengthen children’s maths skills, according Joe Golfen, in a report published by the University of Oregon.

Even better, the report found just a few short, 10-minute sessions of game play may have lasting benefits.

The findings are from a meta-analysis, or systematic review, of 18 studies looking at number board games and early maths skills in children from preschool through second grade.

“We selected this topic because early math skills are a powerful predictor of children’s later success in school, and number board games are easy to use and affordable,”

“This review shows that brief play sessions with linear-number board games can meaningfully improve foundational early math skills like counting, number recognition and understanding quantity,” said Gena Nelson, associate research professor at the Center on Teaching and Learning at the UO’s College of Education.

Image supplied by Freepik.

How the body helps the brain develop

Feb 18, 2026 | I'm a Parent, I'm a Teacher, ILT Blog

The body isn’t just there to serve as a vehicle for our large heads and heavy brains. Instead, the body has huge impact on the brain’s development. In fact, without having a body that moves, we would have very inefficient brain function because the all-important connections between brain cells wouldn’t form. We would be about as intelligent as a rooted plant. We need movement to reach our human potential.

In spite of what we know, too many people still believe that learning happens in the brain and the body doesn’t play a role. See how teachers insist that children sit still without any fidgeting with any part of the body when in the classroom.

In the past, children could make up for this body neglect by using their bodies in all kinds of activities after school hours. They used to climb, run, tumble, dig, fall into ditches and fall out of trees. The change isn’t all due to TV and screen time but also because today’s families live in small homes without access to open play areas. Long hours are spent in commuting to and from school. The streets have become dangerous places. It’s been estimated that children are spending 25% less time on free play than they did in their grandparents’ time.

The reality is that the brain needs the body’s movement in order to create the neural pathways that make ease of learning possible. You can’t make a child learning ready with workbooks, i-pad games or computer programmes. It develops as children’s brains mature along with experiences occurring as a result of bodily sensation and movement.

Important movements are the early reflexes, followed by large body movements such as climbing, jumping, swimming, playing hopscotch, catching and throwing balls, riding bicycles, running, skipping, sweeping and digging. Smaller body movements develop fine motor skills, such as cutting vegetables, drawing, building with blocks, moving to music and learning rhythm through clapping, singing and so on. Movements that need crossing the midline help build the pathways connecting the two brain hemispheres and are crucial for learning to read, write and understand maths.

Children love to move; they need to move. If their bodies are given the chance needed to move in play, they will develop to a stage of learning readiness. Perhaps not all of them will reach this stage at exactly the same time but we do have the genetic potential to be wired to learn.

So limit sedentary time. Push your children out of doors. Make sure you spend quality time in play parks or open spaces over the weekends. Buy body healthy toys like trampolines, skipping ropes and balance boards rather than the latest hi-tech toy. Go back to basics if you really want your child to reach his or her potential at school

Image supplied by Freepik.

Four-year olds shouldn’t be sitting still

Feb 11, 2026 | ILT Blog

Children aged four and five and attending pre-school should not be sitting still at tables for any length of time. Lucy Sors and Louise Whitfield, experts in primary education, express their belief that expecting children to sit and formally learn how to write at this early stage conflicts with widely accepted theories around cognitive and physical development.

Research emphasises the importance of active play and exploration, leading to children understanding their world and supporting their language, communication and thought. In addition, physical play develops strength, coordination and motor skills which are necessary before being given a pencil to write. They should be encouraged to move and explore through free play instead of sitting still.

Through role playing, they learn how to communicate, question and hold conversations before following instructions.

At these young ages, children’s enjoyment of learning should be the priority. For every child this will, of course, be different and education practices should respond to children’s preferences and interests. Countries following the belief in the power of play in childhood include Finland, where children start primary school at the age of seven years. In New Zealand, early childhood education follows a “play-based” curriculum which promotes the power of storytelling and play to build foundations in reading, writing and maths.

Sors and Whitfield emphasise that when we play, listen, read and talk with children, we give them a great start in life. This begins with looking at them as individuals. Learning in the early years should foster a love of learning, promote positive relationships and help children to understand the world. Nurture, care, play and exploration should be prioritized to develop confident, resilient, and adaptable learners who can navigate a fast-changing world.

Supplied by The Conversation

Image supplied by Freepik

Bread and ADHD type behaviours

Feb 4, 2026 | I'm a Parent, I'm a Teacher, ILT Blog

Is bread really the staff of life for all people? The answer is almost certainly that it might have been once but in our modern times, the preservatives that are used to keep it fresh for longer might be underlying the difficult behaviours associated with ADHD in some children.

These days there is a lot written about how diet affects learning and behaviour. Some families try to avoid certain foods – sugar and highly coloured foods are examples. But if you have a child who is struggling with really challenging mood swings, fatigue, defiant attitudes, eczema, asthma, poor progress at school, perhaps you need to look more closely at bread.

One of the major preservatives in bread is Proprionate. If you take this post seriously and read the labels on the breads your family eats daily, you’ll see that it is added to virtually all commercially available bread and rolls. The official name is Calcium Proprionate and it is a mould inhibitor, also found in various cheeses. The food scientists claim that it is harmless and they base this opinion on the fact that it occurs naturally in the human body. That may be so, but there is limited evidence as to how much is tolerated by our body and how high doses may affect the body.

Many South African families rely on bread for meals and snacks throughout the day. Breakfast, school lunches and afternoon snacks are often based on bread. It is an easy, relatively cheap and quick hunger satisfier. But this high intake of bread is accompanied by a high intake of proprionate.

One person who realised the link between proprionate and a myriad of mental and health problems is Sue Dengate. She is an Australian researcher and writer who spent years trying to understand the underlying reasons for her own children’s extreme behaviour and learning challenges. Her efforts have resulted in her founding the FAILSAFE eating approach which is widely followed in Australia and elsewhere. Her website is a font of knowledge about how intolerances to food and food additives – including proprionate – affect both brain and body.

For example, she mentions how some breastfed babies stopped their constant screaming when their mothers switched to preservative-free bread; how children were able to first reduce and then stop their ADHD medication after giving up preserved bread, even how high-functioning adults suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome regained their energy after excluding certain breads.

Bread preservative may not be the only additive causing problems but this post focuses on it because it is probably the additive eaten most often by people who think they are eating a healthy diet. So many of us can cope with preservatives, colourants and flavourants but that isn’t an argument for closing our minds to the possibility that the challenging ADHD-type behaviours that we struggle with daily might be caused by or at least worsened by modern foods. The children that we’re focusing on are more vulnerable to many of the potential offenders found in our environment, including foods. The fact that other children are not affected by these things is not an excuse to ignore the possibility that one or many more potential offenders are affecting the brain, immune system and other bodily systems in an ‘ADHD’ child.

So what bread can be eaten? I don’t have a list of breads free of Calcium Proprionate but recently found a brand at Pick ‘n Pay that was free of it. Otherwise, ciabatta is a bread that is proprionate free. The reason is that the preservative would kill the micro-organisms that produce the gas that form the holes in the bread. Artisanal breads available at the increasingly popular farmer’s markets may also be free of preservatives but you would be wise to check on this before buying. Investing in a bread making machine would be another option.

For more information about Sue Dengate’s amazing work, and full instructions as to how to follow her FAILSAFE diet, visit her website at www.fedup.com.au.

Image supplied by Freepik.

Getting children back into a sleep routine

Jan 28, 2026 | I'm a Parent, I'm a Teacher, ILT Blog

During school holidays it is common for children to stay up a little later, spend a little more time on screens before bed and generally fall into less regular sleep routines. During term time, however, its important for children to have predictable bedtimes. We are well aware that sleeping helps to support brain development, consolidate learning, the processing of emotions and allowing the body to recover from the demands of the day.

When children’s sleep patterns become disrupted, you might see the results. Children start having difficulty falling asleep, waking in the morning, feeling groggy and tired during the day.

Yaqoot Fatima and Danielle Wilson are specialists in sleep at the University of the Sunshine Coast and Jasneek Chawlafor, at the University of Queensland offer three ways of how to get children back into a sleep routine.

Have regular bed and wake times.

Set regular times for going to bed and waking both during the week and weekends. If your child has been staying up later over the holidays, gradually bring bedtime earlier by 15 to 30 minutes every few nights until it’s back in line with their usual routine. Do the same for waking up time. Earlier waking can be encouraged with exposure to daylight in the bedroom and a healthy breakfast.

Have a wind-down routine.

Going to bed earlier can be challenging for some children. A calming bedtime routine of relaxing activities may help. Also, a warm bath, soft music, reading a book or cuddling with you may be helpful.

Make bedrooms quiet and dark.

The sleep environment is important. A quiet, dark, comfortable space helps the brain realise that it’s time to sleep. Younger children can be motivated to follow a routine by sticker charts or other reward systems. This helps children understand that sleep is a positive and predictable part of the day.

Getting sleep routines back on track may take a week or two so don’t delay. At the beginning of the new school term, start immediately and stay consistent.

Content supplied by The Conversation.

Image supplied by Freepik.

How to have a conversation with your child

Jan 14, 2026 | I'm a Parent, I'm a Teacher, ILT Blog

Why are children seemingly so reluctant to talk about school? How many times do you ask them ‘How was school today’ and they respond with a curt ‘Fine’.

Shelbie Witte, writing for The Conversation, says that teachers may have the same problems in the classroom, with some learners showing unwillingness to offer more than brief or vague answers to their questions. They show nervousness if asked for clarification or explanation of their responses. Shelbie believes that this can have consequences: such children may become adults or avoid asking questions or admitting what they don’t know.

As an educator, researcher and parent who atudies adolescent education, she offers five strategies you can use with children to make them better conversationalists and to cultivate their curiosity.

Be creative with your questions

Try to avoid questions that need only a one-word response.

Children want to know whether the adults in their lives are genuinely interested in their day. Asking the same, rote questions each day says otherwise.

Try shaking things up and ask more specific, open-ended questions instead: “What was the most interesting thing you did today?”

“If you could turn back time and change how you handled something at school today, what would it be?”

“If you were in charge of your class tomorrow, what would you teach?”

Engage with their curiosity

As important as it is for adults to ask questions that convey genuine interest, it’s just as valuable to engage with questions that children ask.

Young children ask “why” so often that adults can find themselves falling back on a classic retort: “Because I said so!”

When a “why” gets shut down, a child’s curiosity and wonder are also snuffed out. Instead, try acknowledging and engaging with this curiosity: “Good question. Here’s my thinking …” or “Let’s talk about why this is important …”

At the same time, you can also model other ways to ask questions: “I’ve wondered that too. Do you think it’s because …?”

Bottom of Form

Think out loud

When adults verbalize their thinking out loud, they’re showing children how their brains work and how problems get solved.

“Do you ever wonder why cats purr?”

“Do you think I can mix the dry and wet ingredients for the cake at the same time?”

“I noticed the flags were at half-staff today in front of your school. Could you ask someone to find out why?”

Doing so encourages children to listen to their inner voice—and to trust the questions that emerge, no matter how silly they might seem.

Be a seeker

Admitting you don’t know the answer to something can be uncomfortable, especially because children often expect their parents to know everything. But simply responding “I don’t know” to a question isn’t enough. It’s important to show children how to find answers, whether it’s through assembly manuals, recipes or a nutrition label.

If you come across a confusing passage in a book, you can show youngsters how to use the tools contained within the book: a glossary, table of contents or index.

Then there are the questions that don’t have a single, simple answer. You can explain how more than one internet search might be necessary and it’s probably not a great idea to simply accept the first answer that pops up.

By showing children that it’s OK to not know all the answers, you give them the confidence to ask more questions.

What I heard you say was …

Children can have a hard time articulating what they’re curious or confused about.

For this reason, active listening is a critical behaviour to model. If you’re confused about what you’re hearing, rather than saying something like, “I don’t get what you’re saying,” you could repeat what you heard, and then ask, “Is that what you’re saying?”

If they give a meandering answer to your question—even if they go off topic—you can highlight what stood out to you to show that you were really listening: “What I really appreciated about your answer to my question was …”

Avoid the temptation to multitask when children approach you with questions. If you put your phone away, make eye contact and ask follow-up questions, kids will be more willing to keep asking questions in the future.

Children are born with a natural wonder and enthusiasm for learning. As Carl Sagan said, “The complex and subtle problems we face can only have complex and subtle solutions and we need people able to think complex and subtle thoughts. I believe a great many children have that capability if only they are encouraged.”

Prodding children to tap into their own curiosity while respecting their needs, limitations and fears can have a powerful impact on their ability to ask and answer questions about the world, big and small—or, at the very least, give them the confidence to try.

Supplied by The Conversation

Image supplied by Freepik

« Older Entries

Next Entries »