Hopscotch

Have you ever played hopscotch before? I think hopscotch is an universal game.  I spent my childhood in Korea and remember playing the game with my friends in school yard. We called it "Naeng-Jang-Go" meaning refrigerator.  It looks like a refrigerator.  At that time, the school yard was not covered with concrete but covered with dirts and sands all over.  We just drew the hopscotch box on the ground and started playing the game during recess, after school, over the weekend, and any free time.

Hopscotch requires SKILLS! A child needs visual skills and eye-hand coordination skills to toss an object (i.e. beanbag or pebble) to a targeted number.  He/she also requires physical skills to hop on one foot, to switch to two feet, to maintain balance on one foot, etc.  Hopscotch encourages social interactions when children play it as a group.

These are my first graders in the picture.

We practice throwing the beanbag to the target.

We use color dots for visual cues.  Child hops on the green single dot with his/her one foot.  Red dots for two feet.  I usually make the activity either easier or harder by adjusting the space between red and green dots.  For some of children, it is not easy to switch their feet (one feet to two feet, vice versa) and to hop at the same time.

In the school where I work, we have a pre-drawn hopscotch box in the school backyard.  When the weather gets better, children can play hopscotch after lunch.
You can play hopscotch with your children.  Be creative drawing your own hopscotch box at your local park.  You can draw it with sidewalk chalks.  Have fun playing~!     

Toss the ballon. Read the letter.

I introduced a balloon tossing game on a previous blog post, which was published on March 6th 2015. That was a group game. Two groups of kids toss a balloon to each other and try to tell the alphabet letter that was attached to the balloon.

This is another balloon tossing game.  The child is instructed to toss the balloon with her hand and tell one letter at a time when she toss the balloon.  This is a great and simple eye-hand coordination activity.  However, it can be not too easy.  The child has to locate the balloon and hit the balloon with her hand.  At the same time, she has to spot one letter and read it out loud.  If things are happening all at the same time, you know it may not be easy to handle.  It doesn't mean that the child cannot do the activity.

So can this activity be modified? Of course!!  These are the things that you can change to make it a little bit easier.

1) Size of the balloon: Make the balloon bigger.  Therefore, child can track the balloon and toss it easily.

2) Less number of the letters on the balloon: Do not write so many letters on the balloon.  Less number of letters will be easy to spot one at a time.

3) Draw shapes: If child did not master all the letters yet, start with different shapes.

4) Use colors: You can write letters with different color markers.

5) If you want to make it more fun or more sensory, you can drop some beans or uncooked rices in the balloon.  It will make some sounds each time your child toss the balloon.

Enjoy playing~!  

Swap the scarves!

This is a fun game which encourages visual skills, eye-hand coordination, and motor coordination skills.

A simple rule! Throw your scarf and catch your partner's scarf. Swap the scarves.

It looks simple but you have to try this with your child. Throwing the scarf and looking at the other scarf to catch it at the same time is not too easy, especially for younger children.

Enjoy playing~!

Alphabet Plate

This is the alphabet plate which my OT friend introduced to me. And I like it as much as my kids do.

You can simply write down letters randomly on a paper plate and need a penny.

 

These are my kindergarten kids and they're trying to maneuver the dish, side to side and up and down, to move the penny from A to Z.  Find alphabet letters in order.






Then they spell sight words on the plate.  They put their index finger on the penny and move around on the plate.

Remember. This activity looks simple but kids may show some difficulty. I would like to suggest parents to try it first and feel how it is easy or difficult.

Enjoy playing~!

Matching Colors

This is another exercise that can help kids'  visual skills.

What you need:
Color chart (Use different color dots in random orders; Do not make any patterns of the colors; More dots and small dots will be harder and more strenuous to the eyes.)  
Color Markers that can match the color dots on the chart.

How to play: (I will call them Student A and B.)
Student A, who is sitting on the therapy ball, holds two different color markers on his hands, one on each hand.
Then he will simply match and touch his markers on the dots in the chart from top to bottom and line by line.  He cannot skip any lines or colors that he has in his hands.
Student B, who is standing behind, is an observer.  He is also visually following how Student A performs this activity.  When Student A makes a mistake, Student B shouts "STOP".  Then Student A has to start from the beginning.

I believe this is a pretty simple activity to make with your child at home.  Try it and see how it is different than you think it is.

Why is the student sitting on the therapy ball?    
First of all, most of my kids like to sit on the ball.  It's bouncy and fun!! If they ask me, "Ms. Su, can I sit on the ball?" My answer is usually "Yes".
The therapy ball gives different feelings to their body.  It also helps with their trunk posture and control.  It can help with their task attention as well.

If your child has difficulty with completing homework at home due to his/her decreased attention span, try to use the exercise ball or air cushion.  Hopefully, it works for your child.  

This is a research article about Therapy ball use.

Enjoy Learning~ Enjoy Teaching~!

Toss the balloon! Did you see the letter?

I think this is the first gross motor activity that I post on my blog.
These are my second graders.  In this picture, two of them are participating in OT session and other two are attending PT session. Competition! Competition!!
OT vs. PT students! :)

Competition is sometimes a good motivator for kids.  I would not make them compete each other 1:1.   I like group competition. I want them to support each other when they did not win the game.  It encourages their social skills while they're playing.

So this is the game rule:
2 kids plays in one team.
They will toss a ballon.  The balloon has a letter attached by the Velcro. (You can tape the letter or write down multiple letters on the balloon.)
Each team tosses the balloon to each other.  When it's fell down on the floor, the other team gets a chance to answer what letter it is.
If the team answers correctly, they'll get a point.  If not, the other team will get a chance to answer.

Why are they playing this game?

This game enhances kids' visual skills and visual motor coordination skills.  In order to play this game, they have to look at the balloon and should track the balloon to toss it back to the other team.
In addition, they have to pay attention to the letter that keeps moving. It is not easy to keep the balloon in the air and to keep their eyes on the moving balloon and the letter at the same time.

How does visual skills affect kids' school function ?

I guess this is a rhetorical question. In school, kids need visual skills for playing, participating in gym, looking at teachers during lesson, and copying assignments from the board, etc.  Enhance their visual skills by playing and having fun with them.  They will also improve classroom participation and function.  



Enjoy playing~!