In an earlier article on gross motor development, we focused on the upper body as the development stages go from the head down (and the core outward). Today, we would like to revisit gross motor early intervention with a focus on strengthening balance. This is a task that can easily be accomplished in the small moments of daily routine such as while waiting - give the child the challenge to stand on one foot, switch feet, put arms out to the side to help them balance, etc.

We have touched on this topic before in the blog so we'll put some links as well as some additional ideas here for you:

• put a long piece of yarn on the rug making straight lines, then curvy lines along with more ideas listed under pretend balance beams using large steps and small steps (more difficult)

As mentioned previously, children today are learning to type but their hands aren't strong enough to write or do other tasks like being able to eat without spilling on themselves which is a skill that requires hand strength and coordination. People want and need to write legibly and quickly. Arts and crafts, the playing of musical instruments, cooking, measuring....all parts of life require finger strength.

Here is a list of some ways to build finger strength:

• climbing trees or jungle gyms
• folding clothes (make a matching game out of the socks)
• crawl through toy tunnels or cardboard box tunnels
• pretend to be animals and crawl around
• sweep with a child-size broom
• wash the car (or make a car wash tunnel with a garbage bag cut into strips - this can also be seaweed that they can crabwalk through on the ocean floor)
• cooking! stir, knead, cut, roll
• play with playdough or clay (which is even better for strengthening)
• give the baby doll a bath or handwash the doll clothes - wring them dry and hang them out on the line with clothespins
• sewing cards that progress to learning stitches, sewing on a button, and more
• ball puppets (see below)

How to make a ball puppet:

The most common use of fine motor muscles today may be learning to use a keyboard which is a wonderful skill to have but has the touchscreen surpassed that, or voice commands? We urge you to not forget to work on the development of finger and hand muscles in your wee ones. There is a fine motor progression we will follow to give you a better idea of how to work your way into this.

In all of these activities, it is important for the adult to participate with the child in the activity before letting them do it on their own while the adult is involved in something else nearby.

At around the age of six months or as soon as they can sit up, sit them next to the drawer where the plasticware is kept and let them take everything out and put it back in again. This will speed up the myelination (development of their nerves) of their arms, hands, fingers. They will be wobbly at first but progress to becoming on target. The next step could be to introduce a shape sorter toy.

Strengthening large muscle groups (gross motor skills) helps with balance, strength, eye-hand coordination, eye-foot coordination, and overall body coordination (proprioception). This can be done in many ways and starting from an early age. It is important to help your child learn to be aware of where there body is in space. As we go through some techniques to developing these skills, there is a general guideline to remember: Children develop from the head down and from the center of the body outward...the head develops before the feet and the shoulders before the hands.

In all of these things it is important to remember to never tease a child by calling them a clutz. Even if they have these tendencies, early intervention can help with that.

From early on, eye-hand coordination can be developed with the use of a mylar balloon hanging from above (on a mobile, etc.) so that the child can watch it. It is light and small enough that the child can make it move easily. Infants move their bodies to practice using their muscles. If they can make something else move at the same time, they will do it more! 

As mentioned before, Kirby believes that teaching sight words and phonetics together is the best way to set kids up for a future of reading well. In this post, we'll cover some sight word games to play and the words to use when making these games.

When making your own sight word cards, it is important for us to start by mentioning that young eyes need the sight words written very largely (1-2 inches high). The muscles of young eyes are learning how to focus on things. Another helpful tip is to write mainly in lower case letters on pieces of cardboard or another sturdy card paper. 

In choosing which words to begin with, use the names of family members including the child's name with upper and lower case letters. Write the child's name, then Mama (use upper and lower case m with Mama to make it easier), and the names of others who are around a lot. Once these are written on a card, lay them out on the table and pick them up several times throughout the day and say the word that is on the card. Depending on the child's level of interest, this will take varying amounts of time to stick with them- they will learn in their own time. This is a no-pressure, fun way to learn. Eventually, they will say the word before you when they see which one you are about to pick up and then you'll know they have it. This is when you add a new word to the table, keeping the first word in the mix, and so on.

However abstract learning letter names and sounds can be, normally children can do it. It is not too different and equally abstract when a child who has never been to a farm looks at a picture of a cow and says, "Cow...mooo." As you may have read in the previous post, the Alphabet Hotel homemade game can be a great way to get your child learning letters. Now, we'd like to give some options to grow this tool into a toolkit!

When you sense that a child may be interested in reading, start with games like Alphabet Hotel. It can be played by different ages and levels of pre-reading children. A two-year-old may play by matching the letters while an older sibling can name the letters as they match them, and an even older child can give the name and sound that the letter makes. If a child is not interested, leave it and try again in another month. Try using 3D letters, colorful letters, visually attractive and interesting letters.

Alphabet Hotel can be expanded with lower case letters. Suddenly Mrs. B has a baby ("b") that needs to get back to mama in her hotel room. Again, start with two to three letters, then move up to more letters. It is important to note that it is advised never to use these letters together: E & F, C & G, H & A. As you can see, these look too similar and could be very confusing.

The first step in pre-reading is reading to your child as they grow inside and can hear what your saying, the rhythms and sounds of reading. When they are born, start naming whatever they are looking at (get other people to do this too). Name whatever they hold...if it's a rattle, name it but if they shake it, say "shake".

Once the child learns the sounds to make their own "sound language" treat those as real words. For example, in giving the child the choice of milk or juice to drink, pronounce each option very correctly then if they respond with "mmmm" say, "You want milk." You will know if this is not what they want as they will show you with their unhappiness. At that point you can respond with, "Oh you want juice." This is real talking for them at this stage.

A lot of children learn the alphabet song while having no idea what the letters look or sound like. There are games that can introduce children to these shapes and sounds. When playing matching games to learn letters, use no more than three different letters as a start (and use three letters that look very different from one another, ie ABC). One game that is very basic and fun for the child is Alphabet Hotel. To make this game, begin by writing on large, colored cards the three letters you will be using. Then take a piece of cardboard and make pockets that the three cards will be able to fit into, labelling these pockets with the same letters (be sure to make the letters the same size as on the cards). Play begins with hiding the cards (make as many sets of these letters as there will be children playing - one set per child) then telling the story of the Alphabet Hotel...how Mr. A, Mrs. B, and Ms. C are lost. They have gone missing, and what's more, they cannot find their room! The child will search for the cards and locate which room they belong in (their match) on the board by sliding the letter card into its corresponding pocket. When playing this game be very encouraging with excitement proclaiming: "Oh you found Mrs. B! Can you put her in her room?"

Does your gene pool have learning challenges in the mix: ADD/ADHD/autism/dyslexia? Studies of children diagnosed with autism show that early intervention has helped to the point that the autism was undetectable. There are also early intervention techniques for physical challenges. Almost any problem that presents itself in childhood can be helped if we work with the child in fun and helpful ways. Involving as many senses as possible in the learning process including physical activities is a key factor. If the body can move while learning, by the time a child is school-age the brain will have made all kinds of new connections.

Maria Montessori, the first female doctor in 19th century Italy, saw children labelled "mentally retarded" and believed they could learn. She broke everything down into small components and taught using the body through doing activities that laid the groundwork for math, language, and all other learning. After Montessori worked with them, the same children with these labels on their identity were then able to pass the exams taken by "normal" children. 

Let's look at some ways to employ this technique to break math down into small parts. For a child to learn math it has to be pieced apart:

The development of the ability for delayed gratification can be done from an early age. Increasing one's attention span will eventually affect many aspects of life from saving money to controlling a temper or facing temptation to do the wrong thing. It is important to start at the beginning.

The fact is the younger the age, the shorter the attention span. Infants have needs that should be met immediately. They need to know that their needs will be taken care of and this is exactly where they should be at developmentally. Toddlers have enough ability to wait with distraction or accept help to accomplish the thing for which they're waiting. Preschoolers can be stretched to increase their ability to wait with some help.

If you're curious where your child's attention span is at, try this little test... Place a raisin or M&M under a cup making sure your child sees what you're doing. Then explain that they can pick up the cup and eat it AFTER you ring the bell. (You can do this with lunch food or anything you approve of but keep it small so they don't fill up too quickly.) For the first ringing of the bell, ring right away. On the second attempt, ring the bell after a few seconds' delay. With each subsequent ringing, lengthen the time by a little longer each turn to try to stretch them. Some children will be able to wait and some won't. If they cannot wait for the bell, still watch the clock and ring the bell anyway as they will have to wait for it on the next round. Don't get upset. This is just an area to work on. Sidenote: don't play this when they're really hungry but when they still want a little food, like at snack time.

Travelling with children can be a special time, even on a road trip! The kids have the potential to triple their vocabulary on a week-long car trip if that's what is chosen to work on. Relationships among family members can improve with interactive car games. Whether infant, toddler, or early elementary, littles can have fun and leap ahead in cognitive development and fine motor skills while en route to your holiday destination.

While technology is a very handy tool to have when travelling, make sure your children are not on their devices the whole travel time. Pack a backpack/travel bag per child that they may fill with their travel treasures. Elementary age children can usually make independent choices on what to leave and what is important to bring. This may include dolls (with add-ins of ribbons, pieces of fabric, etc.) that would be useful for making up stories so be sure to include several that can interact with each other. Comic books, graphic novels, magazines, coloring books, and educational workbooks are all lightweight for easier transportation. Crayons are recommended over markers for use in the car but be sure to keep them in a baggie in case there is weather hot enough to melt them.

A separate family trip bag can be filled with toys that are never seen except for on a trip. These toys might be:

In our final hoop installment, we'll look at how to use hoops to teach more complex ideas while keeping it user-friendly for children. Preschoolers cannot think with adult logic but they can grasp more intellectually by using tangible objects, for example using hoops to learn sorting. 

When using hoops to teach sorting make sure only two varieties (colors/shapes) are being used. For a 2 year old, place the hoops on the ground next to each other and present a group of circles and squares that can be sorted into the hoop for circles and the hoop for squares. The same could be done with two colors. In general, most two year olds can grasp this concept. For three year olds, it is always best to start with two varieties. If this is easy, move to three options to sort and so on with four varieties of color/shape, etc.

When the child is using their body to sort by placing/throwing the object into the hoop for that specific category, this helps them learn faster and better. It also helps with physical development. Keep this activity simple for the first four and a half years of life. The approach should be to try a game and if it doesn't work try again in a couple of months. Try to find a way to involve the child's body. Some children need to feel to learn (just as we do when making letters out of sandpaper for them to trace with their fingers).

How to Use a Hoop:

1. Place the hoop on the floor, one for each person (including parents), and take turns telling each other how many body parts to put into your hoop. Be creative: elbow and knee, bottom and two hands, etc….any two body parts. This aids in learning inside/outside and number of parts. (Parents/grandparents: only do what you can safely do. If you have any concerns, check with your doctor.)
2. Kukla is a Turkish game most commonly played by making an O in the dirt and piling up rocks in the center. This can also be played indoors with a hoop and homemade bowling pins or a pile of blocks inside the hoop. Once the pile is set, use bean bags or rolled up socks (socks are one of the safest indoor balls) to throw and knock it down. If anything is knocked down, everyone yells in unison “Kukla!” We celebrate any success, even a slight movement: “Look it moved. You almost got it! Let’s see if you can knock one down this time.”

Ways to Make a Hoop:

1. Buy a hula hoop.
2. Garden hose: Make different sizes on your own using and old garden hose. Cut in preferred lengths, bend it, buy dowels to connect the ends (take a small piece of hose to the store as a sample so the dowel will fit exactly). The dowel should be cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Stick both ends of the hose tubing into the wooden dowel until stuck together, then tape over that seam with clear or duct tape (hint: if children can see the seam, they may want to take it the tape off). 
3. Coat hanger: Stretch out a wire coat hanger using pliers, leaving the twisted part intact. Cut off the hook and turn down the stump. Make the remaining part of the hanger into a hoop then tape over the sharp twisted part.

Today’s activities will be toward benefiting pre-reading and pre-math skills. We will get the body and senses involved.

It is important to remember to set up everything so there will be minimal clean-up afterwards. (For instance, on top of an old shower curtain or sheet.) 

Finger Painting with Shaving Cream

1. Put pieces of masking tape (approximately the length of the child's foot) : one piece for hopping and two side-by-side pieces for jumping along a path. Wherever you put the two pieces, direct your child to "Jump!" and when they get to the single piece of tape remind them to "Hop."

This course can be as long or short as you like, indoor or outdoor, from the kitchen table to the bathroom to brush teeth after a meal, etc. This activity is growing muscles in your child's body, teaching the ability to balance (especially when hopping), and learning to follow directions is a benefit as well.

Materials:     

• Spray Bottle (the more whimsical, the better)
• Water + drop of mint oil or mouthwash

Anytime children need to be focused and giving attention one can whip out some Magic Listening Mist! This is a simple tool, easy to make, and very easy to apply.

As used by some kindergarten teachers, spraying a little scented mist into the air at the appropriate time can be a way of triggering little imaginations and therefore producing more attention. Beware of overuse or use when not needed as some of the magic slips away under these circumstances. However, when instructions are being given for the next task at hand, this little item can be very useful.