5. Week
Welcome back to another week of our joint training! It's hard to believe that a month has already passed since we started exercising together. I hope that everyone is doing well and ready for some more challenging exercises. This week, we will begin focusing on graphomotor activities, but we won't be starting with worksheets right away. To achieve proper graphomotor skills, it's important to first relax the shoulder and elbow, and the best way to do that is by getting down on all fours. So, we will be drawing on the floor while on all fours. If the weather permits, it would be great to take this activity outside and draw on the sidewalk with some chalk!
Video, download and description of exercises
Up and down
Have the child lay supine (on his back) on the floor with the knees bent and feet flat on the floor, place the hands on the chest or stomach
Holt the child’s knees and gently begin to rock back and forth (the feet relay on the floor), so the trunk and head will move upwards and down too. As you rock, the child breathe deeply and rhythmically.
Continue the movement for several minutes, focusing on the rhythm and the sensation of the body moving.
Goal:
Ability to let rock the head (the head stay not stiffen on the trunk, but gently rocks up and down)
Inhibit Moro reflex, if persist
Beetle
Have the child lie on his back on the floor. Put some small toys or colouring pencils between his toes. If your child’s feet are too sensitive, you can stick something on his/her socks)
Have the child raise both legs and both arms in the air and let him pick the toys one by one (you can say: “can you give me something with a yellow colour?”), without rocking side-to-side.
Goal:
Ability to stay stable on the back, even the arms and legs are lifted (he/she does not fall sideways)
Strengthen deep trunk muscles
Inhibit Moro reflex (if persistent)
Reduce over-sensitivity feet (if there is one)
Improve the perception of the feet and toes (prevention of flat feet)
Donkey kick
Have the child standing in a forward bend with their hands on the ground.
Then, the child kicks both feet into the air simultaneously, as if performing a handstand and aiming to touch their heels to their buttocks. It is important for the child to maintain stability in their hands while performing this exercise.
Goal:
Improve coordination of movement,
Strengthening the arms and deep muscles of the trunk.
Drawing on all fours
Let your child to draw on a big paper by sitting on all fours, positioning the hands under the shoulders and the knees under the hips. In this position, the shoulder and elbow are more relaxed, and the child can develop better fine motor skills.
Goal:
Improve graphomotor skills by relaxing the arm and elbow when painting
Strengthen the core
What's that?
You can do this game everywhere. In bed, on a walk, in the car...
We give riddles: think of something big, it has a roof, windows, doors. What is it? Child: "house". Or try superlatives- late, latest, old, older oldest…. Or: what have dogs, cats, and birds in common? They are animals
Goal:
Improve logic thinking
Learn gradations (big, bigger, biggest;
Learn generalization
How did you like the exercise “Beetle”? Now it is time to go outside and look for some real beetles! I'll look forward to seeing you next week.