Brain Health - Spatial Reasoning

The brain needs to be able to work out where we are in the area around us

Spatial reasoning and Kinesthetic perception are organized in a part of out brain.

We need to be able to 'see' maps in our mind when we drive the car to the supermarket, leave the car in the supermarket yard,  when we walk around a shopping centre and to get ourselves to and from work or school.

It is the organization in our brain. So it is very important to have a healthy brain.

Spatial reasoning helps us find lost objects, like the air conditioner remote that I lost down the side of my chair - it was missing for a week right through the time of a heat wave.

If something is not visible, some people have trouble finding it. It is often said in our family that the 'man look' will not find things in the back of the refridgerator or cupboard. Only things at the front can be found. Men often have this difficulty.

So you can see the spatial reasoning is important in our lives.

Kinesthetic Perception
Kinesthetic perception allows us to know where our body is in relation to the objects around it. We need to be able to coordinate the movements of our arm, hand and fingers to pick up a glass. Kinesthetic perception allows us to hold the glass upright so that the liquid does not pour out of the glass on the way to our mouth.

We also need kinesthetic perception to bring the glass to our mouth and to place it on the table or bench again.

How Spatial  Reasoning and Kinesthetic Perception Affects Children

Toddlers learn these kinesthetic movements and spatial relations when they learn to feed themselves and drink out of a cup. They need a sense of spatial relations and kinesthetic perception when trying to dress themselves. They need to know where their body/arm/leg is in relation to their clothes and the surface they are resting on, eg bed or floor.

Young children also have to learn left and right.

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