Physical Therapy

Body and Spatial Awareness Ideas

• Obstacle courses: Changing surfaces and stepping over or around objects challenges the proprioceptive system.

• Practicing building the same tower as mom/dad: This is more of a fine motor task but will help with spatial awareness. Get the Legos out and build a tower, see if your student can build the same tower.

• Completing patterns: This can be changed up lots of different ways. Try things like jump forward/jump sideways/jump forward/jump sideways, what comes next? Vary the number of skills (more skills, longer patterns are more difficult) and the type of skill.

• Soccer: Kicking, stopping the ball with his or her foot are great for timing and balance.

• Mirror, Mirror: Kids work with a partner to imitate movements and improve awareness of their movements.

• Heavy Work : Activities where kids have to push, pull, and lift against resistance.

• Core Strengthening: see handout. Core is important to control all the movements of our extremities.

• Simon says: Practice touching body parts with eyes open and closed using a Simon Says style game. Closing your eyes makes you rely on your proprioceptive system to touch in the correct spot (Did the same part of your elbow with your eyes open and closed)

• Hand Clapping Games: Work on improving timing and control of movements in a fun way. Using music and rhythm is a great way to support body awareness.

• Imitate Yoga Poses: Bonus of core strengthening through yoga while also copying body movements of a peer or adult.

• Balloon Play: Balloons float and move in unpredictable ways, play don’t let the balloon touch the ground/ try to catch it/ see if the child can keep the balloon up with various body parts.

Crossing Midline/Bilateral Coordination Ideas

• Streamers: ideas at https://theinspiredtreehouse.com/6-creative-movement-activities-for-kids-using-streamers/

• Cross crawl- marching placing opposite hand or elbow on the opposite knee.

• Chores that are good to incorporate: sweeping/raking, washing dishes, cooking, folding laundry

• Exercises: Jumping jacks, jumping rope, wheelbarrow walk

Gross Motor

• Adaptive Yoga

• NYC at Home Learning

• Pink Oatmeal

• Kneel to Stand Ball on Wall

• Home Activities

• Cosmic Kids Yoga

• Fit Kids Club with Shaun T

• GoNoodle (movement videos)

• Powerful Playground

• Choose PT Activity Ideas

• Inspired Treehouse

• Tools to Grow

Songs that support gross motor movement:

• Hokey Pokey

• Going on a Bear Hunt

• Shake your Sillies Out

• Head Shoulders Knees & Toes

• Freeze Dance Kids

• Laurie Berkner “The Goldfish”

  • • • • • • “The Airplane”

            • “I’m gonna catch you”

            • “We are the dinosaurs”

• Greg and Steve “Bop til You Drop”

• Yo Gabba Gabba “Hold Still”

• Jack Hartman songs “rock your body to the colors”

• Bari Koral on YouTube

• Teddy Bear Sun Dance https://youtu.be/bAdvS12luzA

• https://youtu.be/oyI3qukcTiI

• https://youtu.be/XLIXfjUztco

• https://youtu.be/O0Bb5T2-b1A

• Monkeys jumping on the bed

• Koo koo kanga roo (Dino Stomp and Get Your Body Movin)

• Ants go Marching

• If you’re happy and you know it

• Kidz bop dance videos

• Gonoodle videos: Pop see ko, major hit, and Zumba such as clap, stomp, jump

• Open shut them

• Walking in the jungle

Gross Motor/Physical Therapy at Home - Babies

Place couch cushions on floor and let baby play/crawl on cushions.

Set up “textured” crawl by offering a variety of various textures for baby to lie on/crawl on (yoga mats, blankets, variety of material etc)

Use playground balls of various sizes for baby to sit on (with adult support) and sing songs as you rock them back and forth, side to side etc.

Get them on the floor to play. Avoid sitting in car seats or other baby items for more than 15 minutes at a time.

Give them boxes and other safe recyclables to play with (with supervision). Empty Paper towel rolls, used up magazines (babies like to crinkle and rip paper….just don’t let them eat it).

Blanket rides by parents/older siblings: baby can sit on or lie on

Remember a VARIETY of positions to play is optimal for babies.

Use modified positions the therapists have taught you.

If you are working on standing, you can have the baby sit on a couch cushion or stool facing the couch and have them pull to stand from there. Place items of interest on the couch for them to come to.

If you are having them work on cruising, place items on either side of them while standing at the couch to work on moving side to side.

Get the baby outside: we are practicing social distancing, but you can still go for a walk or play in your backyard.

REMEMBER SELF CARE. When your child is sleeping or engaged in a TV show take time yourself to do Yoga, exercise, or if another caregiver is present, take a walk by yourself. Remember taking care of yourself is as important as taking care of your child.