Coordination Activities for the Body

Looking to Practice Coordination Activities for Kids?

All children benefit from coordination activities.  You would be amazed at how many skills require coordination at school from writing with a pencil to gym class, bilateral coordination and eye hand coordination skills are important to practice.

Some children who receive pediatric occupational and physical therapy may also have goals related to bilateral coordination for the whole body. You can download a FREE handout with this information about coordination activities at the bottom of the post.

Quick and Easy Ideas to Practice Bilateral Coordination Skills in Older Children

Here are 10 simple coordination activities for the body for kids:

1.  Marching to music and clapping hands at the same time.

2.  Cross crawls – touch your right hand to your left knee and then the left hand to your right knee.  Repeat touching the opposite feet.

3.  Traditional jumping jacks

4.  Cross Country Jumping Jacks – place right arm and right leg forward jump and switch left arm and left leg forward.  Try opposite sides – place right arm and left leg forward jump and switch left arm and right leg forward.

5.  March in place sitting down while drawing circles in the air with both hands

6.  Try a task using both hands or both hands and feet at the same time – ie: dribbling a ball with both hands, kicking a ball and dribbling a ball.

7.  Play hopscotch – the skill of jumping feet apart and together requires coordination of both sides of the body

8.  Perform motor activities to the beat of a metronome

9.  Jumping activities – jumping rope, jump up and clap hands, jump up and touch your heels behind your bottom, jumping activities through a floor ladder, etc.

10.  Animal walks that use both sides of the body – ie: crab walk, bear walk and crawling

Resources that Provide Coordination Exercises for the Body

Exercises for the Classroom and Home is a set of 5 posters to encourage simple fitness activities for students.

25+ Bilateral Coordination Exercises – Download of 28 bilateral coordination exercise sheets including QR codes with links to video demonstration of exercises. Also includes hand out explaining bilateral coordination.

Teaching Catching, Throwing, and Kicking Skills –  Help children learn how to catch, throw and kick with this digital packet full of information of age progression of skills, visual picture cards, tips, letter to parents and more!

Download your FREE Handout Here

You can download a FREE two-page handout to provide this information to parents and other professionals here.

Read More on Coordination Activities Here

Coordination Exercises for Kids

The Ultimate Guide to Bilateral Coordination Skills