5 minute read
Developmental activity ideas that are heaps of fun too
Whether you’re taking a break from therapy or just want to sneak in a bit of extra development work at home, take a look at a few of these ideas that are so much fun your child won’t even realise they’re working!
Activities to help core strength
Good core strength is the essential foundation for not just gross motor skills but fine motor skills too!
BE AN ANIMAL: Getting down into a squat position, crouching and being on all fours are all great for core work. Put a bunch of animal names on paper into a hat and be ready to move like whatever your child pulls out – frogs, kangaroos, bears, crabs, dogs and more work here! WHEELBARROW WALKING: Hold your child's knees or ankles as they walk forwards (and backwards!) on their hands. You can have races with siblings or have your child throw balls into a basket to up the fun level! HOP SKIP AND JUMP: You can keep things simple and play on the trampoline, have a game of hopscotch or jump with a skipping rope. All of these things build lower extremity strength and activate the core muscles. SUPERMAN STYLE: Get your child to lay on their stomach on the floor and encourage them to fly like Superman by lifting their legs and arms off the ground – separately and then together. Motivate them to reach as far as possible by holding out stickers or a toy. The same activity can be done over a gym ball. CROSSING THE MIDLINE Draw an imaginary line down the middle of your body, starting at your head – this is your midline.
Crossing the midline with our hands/ arms is something the majority of us do every day without even thinking about it and it’s an important developmental skill children need to acquire to assist with writing, cutting, sport, tying shoelaces, and more. • Paint a vertical surface. Grab some large paintbrushes and paint a fence with water. • Wash the car. • Sorting objects into piles encourages crossing the midline to place objects into the correct pile. • Dance with scarves or ribbons.
Make up a dance with lots of cross body movement.
• Using a spray bottle and towel, your child can wash the windows in your house or on a flat surface such as the table. • Squirt gun target practice – set up paper cups and let your child take aim with a water gun! • Place finger puppets on one hand and encourage your child to remove the puppets with their opposite hand. • Trace a large lazy 8 on its side (infinity figure). If you are working on the vertical, make sure your child is standing square on and in the middle of the figure.
Activities that encourage writing practice
Shaving cream
Try practicing writing numbers and letters in shaving cream on a tabletop or tray, or even on an upright mirror to encourage wrist extension.
Games
Playing Guess Who can become a sneaky, secret game where players have to write questions and pass them to each other. Or a classic game that encourages writing is the always entertaining Hangman!
Create your own story…
Try writing a creative story together; take turns writing sentences or every second word and mix it up! Your child can also draw a picture to go with the story creating more opportunities for creative expression.
Finger gymnastics
Take little fingers to the gym! Kids can manipulate a pencil in different ways; rotate it around like a baton using the fingers; roll the pencil back and forth between the fingers; flick it around. All these little exercises help strengthen the muscles needed for writing.
Three wheelie fun ways with scooters Scooters are a great way to work on gross motor skills, balance and coordination. Mix it up with different games and activities to work different muscle groups.
Superman:
Have your child lie tummy-down on the scooter. Hold their legs and have them reach out forward with outstretched arms as far as they can go. This is awesome for core strength.
Superman chase:
Repeat the previous activity, however this time scatter some toys around for your child to grab with their hands. Increase the speed of the scooter to make it a faster game. Smaller toys will work for enhancing fine motor development, and larger toys will help with grasp and co-ordination.
Simon says:
Lead your child through a variety of movements with the board. For example: Simon says, kneel on the board and push yourself forward with your hands five times. Simon says, sit on the board and push yourself backwards with your hands three times, and so on.
Ways to work on dressing skills
Sticker hunt: You can help kids practice reaching for different parts of their bodies with tape or stickers. Pop them on the bottoms of feet, ankles, back pockets, shoulders etc and challenge your child to pull them off.
Instead of socks, you can use loom bands or jelly bracelets for your child to loop over their feet. The bands will need to be stretched just like socks but there is no floppy fabric to deal with that can make learning the initial stretching over the toes step difficult. Button it: Work on the fine motor skills needed to master buttons by posting coins or buttons into a money box, or cut a slit into cardboard or card-stock and 'post' the buttons through. Cutting a slit into fabric will up the level of skill required to pass the buttons through.
Simple socks:
Dress ups: Dressing up provides heaps of opportunities to learn the mechanics of getting dressed. Provide a box of clothes that are just a little too large to help your child practice the necessary motions without the tight fit of their regular clothes.
Freedom is choosing where you want to explore.
Wizzybug!
Exciting and fun powered mobility option for young children
Wizzybug is a powered vehicle for young children to experience early years in an adapted mobility device. It has a range of controls and seating adjustments and can be used with close adult supervision indoors and outdoors in accessible areas such as level gardens, playgrounds and parks enabling children to have a fun experience with their first wheels.
Independent mobility has been proven to assist and encourage important developmental skills, along with giving your child the freedom to safely explore their environment.
