Awesome Athletics!
Successfully following directions is an important life skill both at school and in the home. Help your child strengthen listening skills and build verbal processing while playing a game and having some fun!
Invite your child to participate in a variety of athletic endeavors by saying something like, “I want to see your awesome athletic skills! Awesome athletes must be good listeners. Listen to my instructions and then show me your awesome athletic skills.”
Provide your child with a one-step request such as “Jump up towards the sky!” “Do two jumping jacks!” “Run around the tree.” “Hop like a bunny.” • Continue providing directions and escalating the number of steps. Switch up the directives to match your child’s interests, or to better suit your location
If this activity is difficult for your child, model the directions for them. Children process visual images much faster than they process verbal directions.
If your child is ready for a more challenging activity, add an additional step to the directions. For example, you might challenge: * Hop two times on one foot and then hop two times on the other * Run to the end of the yard and then walk backwards on your way back * Bounce the ball four times and then throw it in the air * Run to the tree, do a jumping jack and skip back
Nature's Playground with Aaron
There are lots of ways to get gross motor activities into your life, even when you don’t have access to a playground. You can ride a bike, climb some dunes, or help your teacher stack firewood. One of my favorite ways is to go find Nature’s Playground. It might be anywhere, and the journey is half the fun. Here is what you need:
Access to the outdoors. If you don’t have an extended outdoor area near your house, there are many places nearby that can serve this purpose.
Good shoes and appropriate clothing — remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear!
Then keep your eyes peeled for something cool to climb on.
Fallen tree trunks: these make for great balance beams, and a surface to jump onto or off of.
Steep hills: these can be challenging to climb up.
Fallen tree tops: if you find a large tree that has fallen, the tops make a jungle gym type area that is a blast to climb through. Just make sure that the branches are thick enough and stable enough to hold the weight.
Streams: a thrilling challenge to jump across.
Rocks: Wait. Are there rocks here? I grew up in New Hampshire, and we had ROCKS. If you do find a large rock, the size and texture can be a good challenge for hand strength. And tell me where it is…I miss big rocks.
Climbing trees: these trees will have big, low branches that allow for hanging. climbing, stretching, and even relaxing. Be sure the branches are alive and sturdy.
