How some of Ypsilanti’s littlest learners are ‘getting the wiggles out’ to focus in class

YPSILANTI, MI — One by one, first-graders took turns walking up a wedge-shaped incline mat and jumping off on to another cushy mat below.

Nearby, classmates spun around on knee-height twisty seats, while others carefully stacked giant wooden blocks into a tower — all of it in a newly designated area at the back of Perry Early Learning Center in Ypsilanti Community Schools

The gross motor sensory room was unveiled with the start of the school year and gives youngsters close to a dozen grant-funded features to help expend their extra energy. Organizers say the space, dubbed the “Cub Cave,” aims to better ready students for in-class learning.

Perry Principal Brian Dickerson said it is helping combat challenges that come with post-COVID attention spans among kids who increasingly “need a lo