This school year, Antwerp Elementary added a sensory pathway to its kindergarten through second grade hallway. The pathway provides students with additional movement to promote focus and organization throughout their day.
A sensory pathway is a series of guided movements for kids to follow, shown by markings on the ground. It’s a great way for children to stimulate cardiovascular health, improve muscle strength and endurance, and support the development of motor skills like balance, hand-eye coordination, and spatial awareness. A sensory pathway provides a safe environment for movement, which encourages appropriate proprioceptive and vestibular sensory input to help decrease sensory seeking behaviors and increase cognitive function.
Antwerp Elementary students have access to the pathway throughout the day as they walk to and from specials, lunch, recess, etc. Individual students can access the pathway when they take a restroom break, are walking to the office, or are with a staff member if they need some additional input, a break from the classroom, or a refocus moment so they can return to learning.
Antwerp Elementary School would like to thank the following people for their help in bringing a sensory pathway to the school: Lisa McClure, Executive Director of Paulding County Area Foundation, and Lora Lyons, Executive Director of United Way of Paulding County, both donated funds. Cathy Ruiz, Parent Mentor at Western Buckeye Educational Service Center, Lyndsey Miller, Intervention Specialist at Antwerp Elementary, and the Occupational and Physical Therapy Departments of Western Buckeye Educational Service Center all contributed their time and organization to this project.
