Physical Development

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Body Position in Space Sense

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In doing this month’s series of blog posts on brain development and kindergarten readiness, I learned that we have more than 5 senses. Apparently, we have 7. In addition to taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing we have the sense of movement and of our body position in space. In a way, would that mean that we are all Space Cadets? If we add in our 6th sense and these 2 body ones, would that mean we have 8 senses?

The best way to explore body position in space is Saturday morning, calmly horizontal while sleeping in. Sigh…somehow it’s not the same as it was BK (before kids). Plus, Saturday morning seems to have an entirely different agenda for children.

No matter, what your plans are for the day, there are ways to help kids explore and strengthen this sense of body position. Babies smile and giggle when we snuggle them in our arms and tip them to each side. Kids turn and twist their bodies every which way on playground monkey bars. A yoga mat on the floor can be lots of fun for little ones as they discover different ways to bend.

Here’s a fun video I found on Youtube from My First Yoga.

There are other ways to help your child play and have fun while learning about body position. Does your weekend have time for an activity like swimming or a visit to the playground? Inside the house, tip toe on toes or walk down low like big dinosaurs. Have your child balance on just 1 foot then the other. This can be quite challenging. Kids often try to walk on a low wall or curb. This is a great way to practice body position in space, as long as it’s safe. Learning about their own bodies and making these brain connections are indeed part of kindergarten readiness.

What are some other ways to support children as they discover this body/space sense? Wonder how long at a time they could do the Mummy pose?

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Body-Smart Activities for Kids

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You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out. You put your right hand in for kinder-gar-ten read-i-ness. You do the Hockey-Pokey and develop brains and that’s what it’s all about!
body-smart-activities
And that really is what kindergarten readiness is about. Developing kindergarten readiness tags along with developing children’s brains and all their multiple intelligences. Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence is body-smart in kids’ words. This seems to be a natural for kids; when are they ever not moving? But some children will crawl and walk much earlier than others and go on to develop a good sense of timing and well coordinated movements. Whether this seems to be a strength or a challenge for your child, all children need opportunities to explore what their bodies can do and ways they move and position in space. Some of these might be:

  • having a space where kids can move safely; a yoga mat makes floors softer for rolling around
  • playing some music for dancing and movement exploration
  • building with different kinds of construction toys
  • hopping, jumping, tiptoeing, sliding, walking and runnnning to catch the bus
  • body-smart-activitiesputting together puzzles of different difficulty levels
  • squishing play-dough
  • digging in the sand box
  • splashing around in water
  • saving some clothes that munchkins can use for dress-up and imaginative play, not just dresses but a few hockey shirts or sports clothes for both boys and girls

body-smart-activitiesCheck and see if your community has some gym time for tots with balance benches, balls, hoops, and mats or other fun programs. An entire house can seem too small for kids’ energy levels so some space and time at the playground or park allows them to explore sliding, stepping, reaching, running, climbing, and more (and hopefully channels that energy). Moving promotes the development of all kinds of neural connections. Talk with your child too about how different sensations  and ways to move feel. Encouraging movement helps kids grow brains and promotes kindergarten readiness. How will you help your child become body-smart and even smarter?

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Learning/Thinking Strategies #1

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At the beginning of the month, because I write kindergarten readiness posts from Mon-Sat but not on Sunday, I missed doing one for April Fool’s Day. I had a great idea, too. Instead of blogging about something kids can learn from us, for April Fool’s I thought of doing the opposite — something that we can learn from kids.

craft-activityWhen doing some crafts with a 3 year old, I saw how she struggled with some of the small coordination skills. As I was helping, my right hand needed to hold part of the project still which meant I had to reach and do with my left-hand. This was really challenging for me because I am not left-handed. I found my left-hand would not do what I wanted it to do and I felt very clumsy and uncoordinated. I realized this must be how kids feel as they are learning to coordinate eyes, fingers, hands and other parts of the body as they develop physical skills. It’s easy to see this with babies as they learn to clap their hands and wave bye-bye. Toddlers fit blocks and other toys together, turn shapes to fit in holes, slide clips open and closed, and pile blocks higher and higher. Older kids begin to use crayons and brushes as they draw and paint, and pencils as they learn to print their names.

While helping with this project, one of the things I learned was that sometimes we need to do things a different way. I had to use my left-hand instead of my right even though this was difficult. This is a strategy that we can share with kids. When we see them struggling with something we can ask, “Is there a different way that you can do that?” As your child is working and playing, there may be an opportunity to suggest that s/he do it differently. Learning isn’t just about what, it’s also about how. What can you and your child do differently today?

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Spring Fun & Learning Activities #5

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Exploring the sense of touch is a great kindergarten readiness activity for babies to older children. This morning we saw pussy willows and were able to bring a few home to touch and feel. They were so very soft and not just for fingers; I rubbed them on L.’s cheeks, too. To extend the activity … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Spring Fun & Learning Activities #5 →

Physical Development

Spring Fun & Learning Activities #3

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The calendar says today is the first day of spring although the sun crossed the equator yesterday; that gave me the idea for today’s kindergarten readiness activity. The Equator is the mid-line of the planet. Our bodies have an imaginary mid-line too but it goes from the top of the head to the nose, tummy button … Continue reading Spring Fun & Learning Activities #3 →

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Spring Fun & Learning Activities #1

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St. Patrick’s Day means that it’s almost spring. Kids seem to be made of them — springs , that is — at this time of the year. Days are certainly longer especially with the time change, but are not always warm enough or dry enough to be outside. And all that energy needs to move. Here’s a … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Spring Fun & Learning Activities #1 →

Physical Development

Readiness for Kindergarten, Learning With Dr. Seuss, #11

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Hop on Pop (by Dr. Seuss) sounds like a fun activity. Well, maybe not for Pop but for kids that like to hop. Did you know that hopping and jumping is great way to develop skeletal strength?  Childhood is the most important time for a healthy skeleton. Activity makes children’s bones stronger and can even change the … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten, Learning With Dr. Seuss, #11 →

Physical Development

Readiness for Kindergarten – Learning With Dr. Seuss, #6

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The Shape of Me and Other Stuff by Dr. Seuss talks about shapes. Evaluations for kindergarten readiness sometimes check if children have a basic understanding of shapes, not because it is fundamental knowledge but it gives an idea of the level of children’s learning. For instance, shapes belong together in a group so can be used to tell … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten – Learning With Dr. Seuss, #6 →

Physical Development

Readiness for Kindergarten -Hearts & Other Parts, Part 5

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Watching babies develop an awareness of their own bodies is fascinating. Have you seen a baby watch it’s hands and fingers in wonderment, moving them slightly and slowly as if questioning how they got there and what they do? Then babies discover their feet and curl themselves into balls as they hold onto their toes. … Continue reading Readiness for Kindergarten -Hearts & Other Parts, Part 5 →

Physical Development

Kindergarten Readiness – Super(Bowl) Half-Time Show at Home

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During the Superbowl half-time show I saw a lot of music and dancing. The only thing I noticed was that Madonna somehow changed costumes. I did think that we enjoy the same thing as adults that we do as kids except that for kids the music, costumes and dancing is something they do rather than … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness – Super(Bowl) Half-Time Show at Home →