23. Week

This week, as promised, we'll be crawling like a soldier. Soldier crawling, where you crawl on your belly, is great for enhancing cooperation between the brain hemispheres, body awareness, and improving postural reflexes. We will also focus on memory, graphomotor skills and visual discrimination.

Video, download and description of exercises

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns0NQ7DXvEI

Files:

Baby shark

I´m sure you know the song “baby shark”. Just for sure you find the (not very difficult ) text and the movements you do with it. So let’s dance!

aby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo (This entails bringing your thumb and index finger together and back up again to the beat. Basically like a biting motion, doing it from left to right each time.)

Baby Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo

Baby Shark

Mommy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo (This time you bring your whole hand into the move. Line up both of your wrists together and clap your hands together to the beat.Again doing it from left to right.)

Mommy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo

Mommy Shark

Daddy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo (This time you bring your arms into the movement. Using both of your arms raise them up at the side of your body and bring both palms of your hand together so they are level with the side of your body. Basically you are slapping your hands together and alternating between the left and right side of your body.)

Daddy Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo

Daddy Shark

Grandma Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo (For this move go back to using just your hands again. Bring the wrists of your hands together again, but this time curl your fingers up as well - to signify the fact Grandma Shark is probably missing a few teeth at her advanced age. Then bring both of your hands together so your fingers meet and then bring them back apart again. Continue with this movement to the beat alternating between your right and left side.)

Grandma Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo

Grandma Shark

Grandpa Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo (This move is very similar to the Daddy Shark movement with our whole arm. Except you also curl up your fingers on your hand, the same way you do with the Grandma Shark move. Raise your arms to your side to begin with one slightly lower and bring your palms together then back apart again. Do this to the beat from left to right.)

Grandpa Shark, doo-doo, doo-doo

Grandpa Shark

Let's go hunt, doo-doo, doo-doo (The next move you have to put both hands above your head. Bring your palms together and bend your arms, so your hands are resting on top of your head, basically like you're a shark. Then while moving your body left to right, bend down slightly and bring your head back up more to the right or left. Essentially you are just moving your body and not your feet)

Let's go hunt, doo-doo, doo-doo

Let's go hunt

Run away, doo-doo, doo-doo (This one is quite self-explanatory, you have to run around bringing your arms one at a time in front of yourself. Like you're doing front crawl.)

Run away, doo-doo, doo-doo

Run away (ah!)

Safe at last, doo-doo, doo-doo (This move starts with putting your elbows out to the side of your body putting your palms up in front of you with a shocked expression on your face. Then you bring one hand up to your forehead and bring it back down to the side. Like you are wiping your forehead. You repeat these two moves.)

Safe at last, doo-doo, doo-doo

Safe at last (phew)

It's the end, doo-doo, doo-doo (This is the final move and you have you make sure your hands are stretched wide. One hand should be above your head and the other at the side of your body. The hand next to your body should be in a waving motion. Repeat this to the right and left hand side of your body.Finish off the dance by placing your hands back on top of your head like a shark..)

It's the end, doo-doo, doo-doo

It's the end

Goal:

Improve auditory perception
Improve rhythm and rhyming and vocabulary
Improve memory
Improve gross motor and fine motor skills
Improve listening skills and ability to follow instructions
Improve concentration
Improve balance and coordination

Soldier crawling

Have the child lay on his/her belly on the floor with his/her right arm and right leg extended, her left arm and left leg flexed.
The child bounces first with the left leg bent and simultaneously bends the right arm. While moving forward, the child slowly extends the left arm and bends the right leg and vice versa (the belly should not rise from the floor).
It crawls like this for several meters.

Note: It's a standard crawl, done by moving opposite hand and foot together in a cross pattern. We do not want the child to just use only the foot or just the hands without helping with the feet. It’s all about the coordination and cooperation of the upper and lower part of the body.

Goal:

Strengthen postural reflexes
Improve cooperation of the cerebral hemispheres.
Improve cooperation of the upper and lower part of the body and so coordination

What was twice?

Repeat the same activity as last week but try increasing the word count a little. We tell the child 6-8 words, but one word we repeat. Which one was it?

E.g., apple, orange, kiwi, melon, orange, banana, pear,

Or: carpet, car, subway, lamp, dog, lamp, cat, car (the words don't have to be related).

Goal:

Improve auditory memory

Improve focus.

Swallows

Let's draw swallows according to the poem:

Two swallows in the sky, (draw a horizontal line)

Flying low and flying high. (draw a second horizontal line underneath)

They perch on wires up above, (draw the 3rd horizontal line)

Chirping sweetly, full of love. (draw 4th horizontal line)

We draw their bodies, long and sleek, (draw 2 loops)

And their heads, round and unique (draw 2 circles over each loop)

We give them beady eyes and a little beak, (draws little eyes and a lying "v" for beaks)

And listen closely as they speak.

They bring us joy and endless glee,

These feathered friends, so wild and free.

Goal:

Improve graphomotor skills
Improve focus
Improve memory
Improve pronunciation.

Find the same picture

Please use the three attachments. On each line there are two identical pictures. Which ones?

On the first and second day, use Attachment I. If the child notices that the task is the same and remembers the task well, on the next day (Day 3) give him the tasks from Attachment II and on Day 4 use Attachment III. Then repeat the tasks, so on day 5 use Appendix II again and on day 6 use Appendix III. If the child does not notice that the task is the same on Day 2, or if the child still finds it difficult to find a second identical picture, give him the tasks from Appendix II on Days 3 and 4 and use the tasks from Appendix III on Days 5 and 6.

Goal:

Improve visual discrimination (so that the child can distinguish e.g. the letter "b" from the letter "d").

Next week, we will play bouncy ball! See you next week!