Suggested Activities

Home Activities

 

There are lots of fun family activities to do to assist your child in the area of motor development. Feel free to explore these activities. Have fun!

 

 

Swiss ballsSitting Bounce

 

Have your child sit on a thera-ball or a large beach ball. Hold your child's hands and have your child push with his/her legs as if s/he were jumping. As your child becomes more stable, provide less assistance. Hold both hands, one hand, two fingers then one finger.

 

 

Fitness Frenzy

 

Try some seated aerobics today! All activities can be done in a chair, scooter board, or the floor. Put on your favorite music and have the whole family join in!

  • Shoulder Shrugs – Shrug both shoulders simultaneously.

  • Shoulder Circles - Roll the shoulders forward. Then roll shoulders backward.

  • "Big" Hand Claps – Clap the hands. At first, clap regularly. Gradually, begin making the clapping motion bigger and bigger. Eventually all muscles of the arms and shoulder girdle should be involved.

  • Clap Thighs, Clap Hands – Take both hands and slap thighs. Then clap hands together. Repeat this motion, gradually making the motion bigger.

  • Above the Head Punches – Reaches both hands toward the sky at the same time, holding hands in a fist. Allow hands to return to lap to recover. Repeat the motion.

  • In Front of Chest Punches – "Punch" the air in front of your chest by moving arms from bent to straight, holding hands in a fist. Return hands to lap to recover. Vary activity by having child open and extend fingers during the "punch."

  • Hands on Hips Twist – Put hands on hips and twist trunk to right and then left while sitting in an erect posture.

  • Alternate Arm Pumping – Hold both arms with elbows bent so that there is a ninety degree angle at elbow. Pump arms forward and backward alternately, using the same motion that is used in running.

  • Both Hands Toe Touches - Sit erect in the chair. Bend down to touch both toes and then return to fully erect position.

 

 

Hoop Hop

 

The purpose of this activity is to practice hopping (taking off one foot and landing on the same foot). Place a hula-hoop on the floor and ask the child to move in and out of the hoop, encouraging a hopping movement. You can begin by stepping in and out of the hoop, then progress to stepping quickly, then jumping in with two feet, then hopping in. You can practice hopping left, right, in, out, over, on, and through!

 

 

Body Balance

 

Cut large basic shapes from cardboard or Bristol board. Place the shapes on the floor. Explain that squares and rectangles have 4 corners, triangles have 3 points, strips have 2 ends, and circles have 1 center. Ask the child to find a shape and cover the corners, points, ends, or center using hands or feet (or both) while keeping his/her balance. Then ask the child to find another way to balance on the same shape. Encourage balancing with just the hands or feet, or balancing using the feet and one hand or the feet and the nose etc. Continue the activity until the child has had an opportunity to balance on all of the shapes.

 

 

Magic Ropes

 

Place a skipping rope on the floor. Tell the child to imagine that he/she is high above ground as the child balances on the rope. Ask him/her to change directions by walking forward, backward, or sideways. This activity is especially fun when the child imagines balancing over a volcano, swimming pool, a river full of alligators, and so on.

 

 

Balloon Tennis

 

BalloonsThis activity requires the child to make a paper plate tennis racquet. This can be easily assembled by gluing, taping, or stapling a paint stir stick or popsicle stick to the inside of a paper plate. Then place another paper plate over the plate with the stick attached and glue, tape, or staple the plates together.

 

Give the child the racquet and the balloon and have him/her explore the pieces of equipment. Begin the activity by encouraging the child to strike the balloon in various ways – hard, soft, overhand, and so on. Continue play, suggesting that the child hold the racquet with his/her non-preferred hand.

 

Make a family game of it by lining up chairs facing each other and tying a string across the room as a 'net'. See how many times you can hit the balloon over the 'net' without letting it hit the ground.

 

For an added surprise place a small marble or a bell inside the balloon.

 

 

One Base

 

This activity is a modified game of tee-ball for a lower number of players. Place a base in front of the tee approximately where the pitcher normally stands. Place the ball on the tee and have the child bat the ball. He or she drops the bat and moves to the base and back to the tee as quickly as possible. The child tries to arrive before the fielder gets the ball back to the tee. Continue play, switching positions. Vary play by using a balloon, beach ball, or tennis ball.

 

 

Magic Scarf

 

Ribbons and scarves are easy to use and are very appealing. Paper ribbons can be found in most grocery or drug stores. Movements can be slow and floating or quick and peppy. This versatility allows the child to use ribbons and scarves with all kinds of music for any occasion.

 

Try moving the ribbons and scarves in various patterns. Move the ribbons high, low, fast, slow, in circles, making triangles, while walking, skipping, crawling, or walking backwards. Encourage the child to create his/her own pattern.

 

 

Super Boy/Girl

 

Encourage your child to lay on a large ball. Have him/her lift his/her legs and arms, while trying to balance. This activity can include lifting one leg at a time, both legs, one arm and one leg (contra-lateral), or both legs and both arms.

 

 

Earth Ball Pass

 

Sit in a circle with your family members, facing each other. Using a beach ball (or balloon), ask the children to pass the ball back and forth and keep it in the air. At first, use the hands. Then practice passing it using the feet, elbows, toes, heels, fingertips, or heads.

 

 

Balloon Relay

 

Use a scooter board or skateboard to move from one end of a solid flooring room to the other to pick up a balloon and bring it back to place in a basket.

 

Include siblings in the activity by using a laundry basket and having one child push/pull the other child in the basket. This can be done on carpet for added resistance.

 

 

Movement Block

 

Create a movement block by taping directions to the outsides of a cardboard box.  Throw the movement cube and complete the activity that is facing up (waving a ribbon, volley a balloon, clap hands, run, jump, leap frog, hop, etc).

 

 

Bean Bag Toss

 

Bean bags can be lots of fun and made easily by sewing raw beans into pieces of a sock.

 

Toss a bean bag to a piece of cardboard on the floor that has either an object, shape, color, or number on it. Design the cards so that it incorporates cognitive skills that are being taught at the time. For example, have the student throw the bean bag to the card that displays the sum of 4 + 4!

 

 

Bucking Horse

 

Have your child place his/her hands on the mat, while keeping the arms straight. Transfer his/her weight to his/her hands by lifting one leg and then the other off the floor. Before the child loses his/her balance, the child should bring his/her feet back down and stand up. Tell him/her to bring feet down one at a time. Repeat several times.

 

Helpful Hints:

The legs need not be straight overhead during this activity; just getting both feet off the ground will be challenging enough for most children. The child should be encouraged to find a natural position for the head and a focus for the eyes. Lifting the head up too high could cause the child to overarch the lower back.

 

 

Traffic lightRed Light, Green Light

 

Play "red light, green light" with two flashlights covered with red or green cellophane. The leader stands in front of the group. The leader holds two flashlights - one red -stop and one green - go. The leader then flashes alternately the two colors. Children can move forward, trying to reach the leader, only when the green light is shining; students must "freeze" when the light is red.

 

 

Push, Pull and Carry

 

Ask the child to be involved in push, pull, and carrying activities. The child should push, pull, and carry objects of different weights, different shapes, different sizes, and using different patterns. For example, ask the child to: push/pull a partner on a scooter or in a laundry basket, push/pull one child, then another, and tell which is heavier, carry a heavy bag of groceries and a light bag and tell which is heavier.