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10 Body Awareness Activities for Kids

July 21, 2011 By Heather Greutman 1 Comment

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Affiliate and Referral links are used below to promote products I love and recommend. I receive a commission on any purchases made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.

Does your child run into doors, not pay attention to where they are in space, or always falling? Maybe they seem like they are generally clumsy. They may benefit from some of these body awareness activities.

10 body awareness activities for kids, perfect for working on bilateral coordination and crossing midline.

Body Awareness is important not only to build overall strength and core muscle but to realize where their body is in space (i.e. where their body is in relation to other objects).

First of all, make sure your child has plenty of time to run around, climb, play and even do some work, such as gardening or helping with other chores outside.

If you live in the city, find a park, or a vacant lot or another suitable place where you can go and get some physical exercise. Even in cold weather, dress up warmly and go out and develop your child's gross motor skills and body awareness while enjoying the outdoors.

10 Body Awareness Activities for Kids

1 || Play with a large ball

Encourage your child to kick the ball, using one foot and then the other. Then throw the ball and catch it too.

2|| Ride a bike 

Encourage your child to ride a bike, a push bike or pedal bike with or without side-wheels, according to your child's ability.

3 || Play “Simon Says” 

Say an action that your child must copy. If your child needs a visual cue, complete the movement yourself as you describe it. You can include parts of the body, gross motor movements, silly noises etc.

4 || Teach your child about spatial relations

To teach your child spatial relations, ask them to stand in front of a chair, behind a chair, next to the chair, on top of the chair, and crouch under the chair.

5 || Improve lateral movement

To develop their sense of laterality, have them kneel on the floor, then instruct them to turn to lift their left hand, their right leg etc. Yoga moves can also be a great way to work on this.

6 || Shadow mimic play

Have your child to be your shadow and mimic all your actions as you walk about and perform simple actions (i.e. marching in place, cross crawls, bringing elbows to the knee, raising arms above the head etc).

7 || Dance or move to action songs 

Learn action songs and perform the actions as you sing them. (You can also use dance competition videos or games if you are not able to be outside). You can find some great ideas here in my 10 movement songs for kids post.

8 || Imitate animal movements

Ask your child to imitate the movement of different animals: creep like a snake, waddle like a duck, hop like a rabbit etc… the creativity on this one is endless. (I enjoy using Fundanoodle's Muscle Mover Cards for this activity – Lowercase and Uppercase cards are available).

9 || Work on balance

Encourage your child to balance on one leg, and then the other for as long as possible. Use balance beams or “walk the line” with a piece of painters tape on the floor. Nature playscapes are also great for this, they usually have large logs for balancing on.

10 || Focus on proprioception

Provide lots of proprioceptive input through heavy work ideas. This provides input of how the muscles, joints, head and trunk move and work.

msucle-movers-collage

Fundanoodle's Muscle Mover Cards are an excellent way to work on basic body awareness activities and then move into letter formation and recognition. Each set comes with 26 animal movement or sound ideas that correspond with each letter of the alphabet.

They also come with the small dry erase marker to use with each card. They easily clean off when you are done so you can use them over and over again! Uppercase Muscle Mover Cards and Lowercase Muscle Mover Cards are perfect for children ages 3-6.

For more ideas, check out my Pinterest board below.

 

Follow Heather | Growing Hands-On Kids's board Vestibular and Proprioceptive Activities on Pinterest.
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  • 10 Crossing Midline Activities for Toddlers
  • How the Vestibular System Affects Your Child's Behavior
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Filed Under: Occupational Therapy Tips Tagged With: Child Development, For Parents, For Teachers, For Therapists, Gross Motor, Preschool 3-5

 

CONTENT DISCLAIMER: Heather Greutman is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.All information on the Website is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for medical advice from a physician or your pediatrician. Please consult with a medical professional if you suspect any medical or developmental issues with your child. The information on the Websites does not replace the relationship between therapist and client in a one-on-one treatment session with an individualized treatment plan based on their professional evaluation. The information provided on the Website is provided “as is” without any representations or warranties, express or implied.Do not rely on the information on the Website as an alternative to advice from your medical professional or healthcare provider. You should never delay seeking medical advice, disregard medical advice, or discontinue medical treatment as a result of any information provided on the Website. All medical information on the Website is for informational purposes only.All activities outlined on the Website are designed for completion with adult supervision. Please use your own judgment with your child and do not provide objects that could pose a choking hazard to young children. Never leave a child unattended during these activities. Please be aware of and follow all age recommendations on all products used in these activities. Growing Hands-On Kids is not liable for any injury when replicating any of the activities found on this blog.YOUR RESPONSIBILITY The Website was developed strictly for informational purposes. You understand and agree that you are fully responsible for your use of the information provided on the Website. Growing Hands-On Kids makes no representations, warranties or guarantees. You understand that results may vary from person to person. Growing Hands-On Kids assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions that may appear in the Website.

Comments

  1. NEELIMA KURHADE says

    March 19, 2017 at 2:49 am

    I THINK THIS IS VERY INFORMATIVE …CHILDREN WILL ENJOY IT…WE CAN ADD SOME SIMPLE YOGAS ALSO.

    Reply

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Welcome to Growing Hands-On Kids, a site dedicated to parents, caregivers, educators, therapists or anyone who works with children. My name is Heather and I’m a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant with experience in school-based Occupational Therapy. I use my background to share child development tips, tools, and strategies through hands-on activities. You can read more about me by clicking here. I’m so glad to have you here!

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