By Jessica Fashun

“My daughter and I did remote learning for 10 months. Virtual school was fine, but not very engaging. Sit behind the screen, type answers, the end. Math is something she’s good at, but it’s not her favorite and she is so slow on her math facts. It made our lessons excruciating some days. Also, basic simple facts seemed to be eluding her. She’d know 4x3, and two problems later, it was gone again. She was not tracking and using the part of her brain that accesses these kinds of operations. Also, we were both frustrated and needed to get away from the screen!

One day, I saw my BrainSpeed Ball, and lightbulb!

Well, there was an immediate improvement in overall attitude and affect. For both of us!!! We were getting playful and laughing and engaging in something new and physical and something that required very different use of our bodies and minds. Thankfully!!!

We went back to math, and lo and behold, she was able to re-center herself and get. It. Done!!! We have used this technique again and again.

My girl likes physical play. She’s a gymnast. Not great with a ball, so this really asks her to pay attention. She also likes getting to play with me as we always end up laughing.

I also like to pull the ball out when emotions are running high for a reset. It is almost always immediate for lowering what I call a kind of “worms and ruminating”!

Kids learn best through play. The research on this is well-documented. Grabbing a ball and tossing it, playing games with it, throwing each other off-balance with it, is a very inexpensive and effective way to get yourself out of sticky parenting situations as well as help your kiddo focus, reset, move forward when they’re stuck, and feel successful.

The ball. So simple. A tool for play for a very long time!  

Engaging with the Brain Speed Ball is next level because it asks us to move and think at the same time. Try it! (And parents, use it for the same reasons when you’re stuck, ruminating, needing to find creativity, working through a problem! You can throw it with your spouse or at the wall!)"