Strong muscles in the arms, chest, and back help children with everyday tasks like carrying a backpack, climbing on the playground, or maintaining good posture while sitting at a desk.
This ball passing game can be done in groups or during a 1×1 session.
Sit back to back with the child. Make sure the child is sitting cross-legged or on their knees. While seated, pass a ball or any other object around to each other.
Make sure to switch directions after a few times.
Make sure the child is crossing the midline while passing the ball without rotating the trunk.
Use the construction paper, the pen and the scissors to cut out letters of the alpha-bet. You will need more than 1 of each letter. You can also use pre-cut letters.
Spread the letters on the floor or a mat in a random order. Help the child lay prone on the therapy ball. The child should be able to touch the floor. Instruct the child to use his hands and reach out to grab one letter at a time, then to walk back and place the letter in front of them. After the child gets all the letters he needed, he can spell the word.
You can also use magnetic letters and a magnetic board, or use math equations where the child has to walk out and grab the correct answer.
For this activity, all the materials should be green colored and spread across the room.
Hang the stockings at different corners of the room at a child reach level.
If using a scooter board, have the child lay prone and propel the scooter board around the room to collect the different items and place them in the stockings.
If you do not have a scooter board available, ask the child the perform different animal walks to collect the items and to receive the sensory input (i.e. bear walk, crab walk, frog jumps, etc.)
Help the child cut 4 equal pieces of masking tape. Each piece should be about 3 feet long.
Use the masking tape pieces to make a large tic tac toe board on the floor.
Use the construction paper to cut shapes (each player should have his own shape). You will need 5 pieces of each shape. Let the child help you with a cutting of the shapes.
If working on writing skills, each player can write his name on his shapes.
Instruct the child to lay prone next to the tic tac toe board.
Using the pieces you cut, play the tic tac toe game by placing the pieces while keeping your body prone and reaching with your arms out to place the pieces on the board (i.e. crossing midline).
For grading: instead of writing your name on each shape, you can write your initials or any other word as appropriate.
Have the child lie on the floor in prone.
Give the child a ball.
Begin by rolling the big therapy ball across the floor in front of the child.
The object of the game is for the child to roll her ball and hit the moving therapy ball.
As the child becomes successful, decrease the size of both balls.
varying the size of either the therapist or student rolled the ball, varying the speed of the therapist rolled ball or changing the distance between the child and the ball. The position can be varied as well.
