What can parents do to help promote the sensory and motor development in their children to lay the foundation for early

1. What can parents do to help promote the sensory and motor development in their children to lay the foundation for early school success?

2. Balance Balance is the foundational skill of all movement. It is the ability to move your body under control. Ideas to work on balance: • Standing on one foot (with eyes open and closed) • Walking down a line, curb or balance beam • Hopscotch patterns • Cross crawl patterns • Statues • Bike riding, skateboarding, rollerblading, gymnastics, swinging, dancing

3. Laterality/Directionality Laterality is knowing the difference between your left and right, forward and backward and up and down. This is essential in learning where to start to draw letters, where to begin to read on a page, and which side of a word to begin reading.

4. Laterality/Directionality Ideas to work on laterality/directionality: • Balloon Up • Throw beanbags to Arrows • Dribble Directions • Jumping Turns • Throwing, Mazes, Hokey Pokey, Simon Says, Drawing a map of the house, Tracing, Setting the Table

5. Visual-Motor Coordination This is the ability to coordinate vision with movement. This is important in academics because: • Helps a child to copy things and to write, color, and cut things properly (fine motor type skills). • Helps a child to track when reading. • Helps a child line up letters/numbers in columns & rows.

6. Visual-Motor Coordination This is the ability to coordinate vision with movement. Ideas to work on Visual-Motor: • Ball catching activities • Throwing to a target-underhand • Balloon Hits • Ball Dribbling • Juggling • Legos, pick-up sticks, ball & jacks, puzzles, hammering, coloring, drawing, cutting, copying

7. Bilateral Motor Skills Bilateral motor skills involve learning to coordinate both sides of the body. This reflects the ability to coordinate the right and left sides of the brain usually in combination with other sensory input. Children with adequate bilateral motor skills are better prepared for early school

8. Bilateral Motor Skills Ideas to work on bilateral motor skills: • Jumping jacks • Skipping • Dribbling with Alternate Hands • Jumping Rope • Cross crawls • Balloon Taps Between Hands • Swimming, Marching with Cross Crawl Pattern, Gymnastics, Running and Rollerblading

9. Other Gross Motor Suggestions • Swinging • Sliding • Climbing the Monkey Bars • Spinning on a Sit & Spin (controlled) • Tire Swing • Obstacle courses • Races (running, wheelbarrow racing, dribbling a ball with hands or feet, skipping or galloping,etc.)

10. By enhancing your child’s motor skills, you will: Help him/her start down the path of early learning success. Build the foundation of learning for life!

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