By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

Special education teachers will soon have a new resource for students who need a “brain break” during the school day.

The Sensory Path, a path of activities laid out on a floor, will be purchased using a $1,500  PEECh grant teachers received from the Chilton Education Foundation.

Teacher Brittany Yeargan said The Sensory Path was developed by a teacher after meeting with occupational therapists and physical therapists.

“They all formulated a plan that they thought would be beneficial to students who are experiencing blocks within their brain while they are in school,” Yeargan said.

The vinyl stickers of the path allow them to be placed on a non-carpeted floor.

“We want to be able to use this to pull them out when kids need just a small break, 10 minutes,” Yeargan said.

She said it has different movements for students to do at each step on the path.

“We are so excited to not only be able to educate our kids but also to get in their brains,” Yeargan said. “What’s going on at home? What’s going on on the playground? What is going on with these kids that causes them sometimes to just not be involved in the education process.”

The goal is to eventually have a sensory room at Maplesville where The Sensory Path is placed permanently.

Yeargan said the resource is especially helpful for students who have “sensory processing disorders” but is also helpful for any child “that is just not having a good day.”

The path features letters, numbers and lily pads with jumping, hopscotch, cool down and other movements.

“The research behind it has the different types of movement that need to be exhibited in order to break those brain blocks,” Yeargan said.