The Body-Smart Kid

Body-Smart Kid

This is the 6th post in the series I am doing on the Multiple Intelligences or 8 Great Smarts.  You can find the first five posts here: Nature-Smart Kid ,Word-Smart Kid, Logic-Smart Kid, Picture-Smart Kid, and Music-Smart Kid.

For an overview of ALL the multiple intelligences, make sure to check out this post: Multiple Intelligences: Discovering the Way Your Child is Smart.  

This blog post contains affiliate links and any purchases made through such links will result in a small commission for me (at no extra cost to you).

This post is all about the body-smart kid. This is personally my weakest smart.  And when I see people who are body-smart, I am in awe of the things they can do!  An important distinction is that body-smart is not the same as a kinesthetic learner.  Kinesthetic learners remember things by doing them (I’m actually this way!), but body-smart people think with movement.

Body-Smart Kid
Photo cred: bottomlayercz0

What A Body-Smart Kid Looks Like:

  • Thinks with movement and touch.
  • They move when they’re excited.
  • Have busy hands and feet- whether building, “talking” with hands, playing, tapping feet, walking (or running!)
  • Have good control of their body, and usually don’t struggle with large and small motor movement.
  • May thrive in activities like dancing, sports, acting, etc.
  • Generally, have good hand-eye coordination.
  • May have a diagnosis of ADHD
  • Move to think (kinesthetic learners move to remember.)

Possible Careers for a Body-Smart Kid:

  • Hairdresser
  • Fitness trainer
  • Mechanic
  • Orchestra Conductor (especially if tied with music-smart)
  • Surgeon
  • Seamstress
  • Physical Therapist
  • Truck Driver

How You Can Nurture Body-Smart Kids:

  • Invest in activities they gravitate towards (sports, drama, etc.)  Helps them establish a healthy identity and a sense of belonging.
  • Consider chores that involve the body (sweeping, moving big items, folding laundry)
  • Give them lots of body breaks while learning.  Sitting for a long time can be hard for body-smart kids!
  • Let them move while learning.  Examples: math facts on the trampoline, pacing during read-aloud, doing bookwork while laying on their bed, or the floor, have them narrate a writing assignment to you while they move around.
  • Use lots of manipulatives with learning. These kids think with their hands!
  • Affirm their energy and movement as a positive quality.  They will grow frustrated if constantly told to “sit down” or “stop that.”

How to Strengthen Kids’ Body-Smarts

  • Model physical activity.
  • Put away the technology and get outside!
  • Make time for gross-motor and fine-motor activities.
  • Consider chores that involve the body (sweeping, moving big items, folding laundry) Yes, this action point is for both body-smart kids and kids who can grow in this smart!
  • Consider sports they can grow in individually (Taekwondo was a great one to help my kids strengthen their body-smarts!  Alternatively, running was a sport that helped awaken and strengthen my own body smarts when I was in middle school.)


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Author: Outside the Box Learners

Homeschool mom to my three amazing and quirky kiddos. Wife to my “long-suffering” husband and partner in crime, Marc. INFJ(aka the extroverted introvert). Lifelong learner. Thrives on coffee, chocolate, good music, and deep conversations. Jigsaw puzzles are my love language. Ultimately, leaning on my Savior each step of the way.

2 thoughts on “The Body-Smart Kid”

  1. I wonder if the younger boys would fall into this category. I love that explanation of moving to remember vs. moving to learn. I will keep that in mind as I try to figure them out this fall. Thanks for the summary!

    1. Yes super interesting the difference between kinesthetic learners and body-smart kids! I learned a lot while writing this post. 🙂

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