LITMIR.BIZ

      • Jumping jacks can be done in place.

      • Various yoga poses are appropriate for the classroom.

      • Call out a letter and ask students to try and form that letter using their bodies (similar to the YMCA dance).

      • Do chair push-ups. With feet placed on the floor and both hands on sides of the seat, lift your body up slowly and hold for a few seconds. Slowly lower yourself back down. Don’t help with your feet!

      • Finger push-ups can be done at the desk. Place fingertips together. Bend and then straighten the fingers. Make sure the fingertips are always touching each other.

      • Table push-ups can be done at the desk. Ensure feet are flat on the floor. Place the hands and forearms on the desk. Ask the student to lower his upper trunk down toward the desk and then use arms to push back into a seated position.

      • Assign each student a small portion of putty or dough and place small items such as beads into the putty. Ask students to find them. Roll putty into a hot dog and use fingers to pinch the roll into smaller pieces. Form letters with the putty.

      • Make circles with arms at shoulders, wrists, and thumbs. Start small and gradually increase the size of the circle. Reverse.

      • Draw large figure eights with each arm ten times. The importance of the figure eight is that it requires students to cross their body’s midline. This skill is an important one and can be adapted in many ways. Draw or tape a figure eight racetrack on the floor. Ask child to sit in the middle and roll cars along the entire track with the right arm. Repeat with left arm. Use a large sheet of craft or poster paper and place on student’s desk. Draw a “lazy 8 lying down.”

      • Ask students to give themselves a big hug for a job well done.

      What Are the Skills Needed before Writing?

      Often times, OTs work with children on their handwriting skills before they are expected to form letters. These skills are called “pre- writing” skills. Handwriting is a complex process because there are several areas of our body and brain that are used when writing. The cognitive (brain) abilities include: attention, visual-perceptual skills, interest in handwriting, and sequencing (first, then, last). The sensory motor-body awareness includes: posture and body control, motor planning, knowing right from left, crossing the body midline, and using both hands together. Handwriting also includes the ability to hold the pencil, scribble or mark on the paper, copy shapes, make “strokes” in all directions (vertical, horizontal, circular, and diagonal). As the student advances in school, copying from the board and from books makes the task more difficult as the skills required place more demands on the muscles of the hand, the eyes, and the attention required.

      What Is Crossing the Midline?

      A midline is an imaginary line in the middle of the body. When we are babies, we learn to bring our hands together and reach for toys with our hands while sitting on the floor. The ability for your student to cross her midline is extremely important for developing motor skills. It goes hand-in-hand with bilateral integration. As we develop, one of our hands becomes the dominant one and the other is the helper. If we do not develop a dominant hand, we do not refine the skills of either hand for writing, dressing, eating, and scissoring. When we read a page, our eyes must scan across the entire page. During writing, a student should be able to draw a horizontal line across the entire page with one hand and not switch hands in the middle. Many children prefer to use their right hand for activities on the right side of their body and their left hand for things on the left side of their body.

      Many of my students demonstrate the lack of ability to cross their midline. Here’s an example: A student in pre-school is observed during snack time. The juice box is on the left side of his placemat and the graham crackers are on the right side of the placemat. You observe that he uses his left hand only to pick up the juice box and his right hand only to pick up and eat the crackers. He does not change how he’s reaching for items during the entire snack time. You encourage him to try to pick up the juice box with his right hand and you notice distress when he tries. You may need to provide encouragement for your student to cross his hands across his body. Have fun with the activities listed below and be sure to ask your student not to move his body (trunk) side to side, but instead have his arms move to cross the imaginary line across the center of his body.