15. Week
We will be doing the smart puppet exercise again this week because it is an important but challenging exercise. This exercise not only enhances hand-eye coordination and eye movement fluency required for reading, but also promotes cooperation between the two hemispheres of the brain. As the level of cooperation increases, so does the ability to learn, comprehend, and create.
To increase cerebral hemisphere cooperation, exercises involving cross movements (alternating right arm and left leg and vice versa, or crossing the midline of the body) are recommended.
In addition to the smart puppet exercise, we will also be doing activities like Rolling barrels and Keepy Uppy. So don’t worry, we will not have time to bet bored!
Video, download and description of exercises
Files:
Keepy Uppy
Take a balloon. The aim is to simply keep the balloon in the air and not let it touch the ground. Try to walk across the room in meantime. A balloon is slower than a normal ball and also less predictable.
Goal:
Improve hand-eye coordination
Improve brain hemisphere cooperation
Improve visual perception and concentration
The smart puppet
Have the child lay on his/her back with arms alongside their body and legs straightened out.
Then he/she turns the head slowly towards the right, while the left leg bent at the hip and knee, and the right arm bents at the elbow to allow the hand to rest near the face. The child tracks their right thumb with their eyes all the way until it the back of the hand is resting on the floor.
The child now returns slowly to their original position while continuing to observe the right thumb as long as it's visible.
This exercise is then repeated on the opposite side.
Note: you can divide this exercise into two parts. First, focus on the coordination of the movement. Both the arm and leg should be fully flexed and extended simultaneously. After mastering this movement, the eye movements can be added. Encourage the child to follow the hand all the way to improve the smoothness of eye movements, which is crucial for reading. Even when reading lines, it's critical to follow the words smoothly with the eyes to prevent missing any letters or words.
If you feel that the exercise is easy and that the child is never confused about which arm and leg to lift, then try to distract the child a little. Just ask simple questions like "what is your name?". When he/she suddenly can't just concentrate on the exercise, but also has to listen to what you say and respond. See if he/she can maintain the cross-movement pattern even then. If he can practice and talk at the same time, the cross movement is automatically performed.
Goal:
Improve movements coordination
Improve cooperation of the brain hemispheres
Improve hand-eye coordination
Rolling barrels
Have the child lay on the floor on his back with his legs extended, arms stretched over his head and hands joined with interlaced fingers
The child slowly turns around by first bending one leg
The knee moves across the midline of the body and places the knee and shin on the ground (acts as a stopper)
When the knee and shin are completely on the ground, he/she can twist to the tummy completely and extend the leg
He turns back by first bending his leg, then turning his torso at the shoulder area
He rolls back onto his back and extends his leg
Repeat then the same on the other side
Note: when turning from the back to the tummy, be careful not to push the child's legs out by lifting the pelvis first, which will stretch the abdominal muscles, which will not then be involved in the movement. He must put his knee over the midline to the floor first, the rest of the body follows on its own. When turning from the belly to the back, he must not turn with a swing and an outstretched leg. The knee remains on the ground as long as possible.
Goal:
Improve reflexive rotation
Improve coordination of movement
Relax shoulders and back
Improve cooperation of the brain hemispheres
Beaded necklace
Make a necklace according to the pre-arranged pattern. E.g., blue bead, yellow, green and pink bead, then blue, yellow, green and pink bead again… You can make a beautiful necklace and bracelet set for your grandmother, your mother, your aunt... they will be happy 😊
Goal:
Improve the skill of completing assignments as per their requirements.
Improve fine motor skills
Find the Differences
Use the attachments. You have the same pictures as two weeks ago. Does your child remember? Can he/she find the differences faster this time? Try to find differences in one picture each day. When you find them, feel free to colour the picture.
Goal:
Improve visual perception
Improve concentration
Improve graphomotor skills
We have completed half of our goal! Congratulations, well done! During the remaining half, we will focus more on academic abilities and less on gross motor skills.