School-based occupational and physical therapists frequently recommend and educate PreK teachers on the benefits of motor skill activities throughout the day. An important question to answer is how often should preK students have movement groups? A systemic research review was conducted on exploring the relationship between fundamental motor skill interventions and physical activity levels in […]
Motor Skill Interventions versus Play-Based Lessons for Preschoolers Preschools provide many opportunities for play and motor skill development. Recent research attempted to answer the question regarding the outcomes of motor skill interventions versus play-based lessons for preschoolers. The study participants included 149 Hispanic pre-K children from low socioeconomic status. All of the children were evaluated […]
I Can Go Up High Movement Song Are you in search of a quick movement activity that requires no equipment? Maybe the children that you work with need body awareness, motor planning, and coordination practice. You will want to download this freebie – I Can Go Up High Movement Song. This movement song challenges body […]
Fundamental Motor Skills, Executive Function Skills, and Reading Learning and Individual Differences published research on the association between fundamental motor skills, executive function skills, and reading. The study included 145 socioeconomically disadvantaged kindergarteners of diverse ethnicity. Each participant was assessed with the following: The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function–Preschool Version to measure executive function skills, PE Metrics™ […]
Exercise Interventions for Children with Cerebral Palsy Disability and Rehabilitation published a systemic review to determine the effectiveness of active exercise interventions for improving gross motor activity/participation of school-aged, ambulant/semi-ambulant children with cerebral palsy. The systemic review included 34 studies with seven interventions that reported on gross motor function although a limited number studied participation […]
Modifications for Toilet Training In order for a child to be completely independent and physically ready when using the toilet, it requires a significant amount of higher level gross motor skills. If a child has delays in gross motor skills that are affecting toilet training, you may need to provide modifications for toilet training. Here […]
Beanbag Alphabet Fun: Beanbags are a wonderful tool to encourage physical activity, body awareness, motor planning and coordination skills in children. They are inexpensive or you can even make them yourself with socks and some rice. So grab a beanbag for each child and try moving through the alphabet with your beanbag. You can download […]
The Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders published research investigating the connection between motor skills (oral-motor, manual-motor) and speech and language deficits. Data analysis was performed examining a registry from children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 1781), 2–17 years of age, who completed a multidisciplinary evaluation that included diagnostic, physical, cognitive and behavioral assessments. After adjusting for […]
Do you need groundhog day activities in a hurry? Take the Groundhog Day Motor Minute Challenge. You can print this freebie at the bottom of the page and your students will have a blast trying to complete these fine and gross motor activities in under two minutes! Can you complete all the visual motor and […]
Winter Challenge is a fun, NO PREP, Winter themed activity to encourage fine motor, gross motor and visual motor skills. Just print the black and white page and complete each of the Winter themed challenges. Can you trace the ski tracks, draw snowflakes, walk backwards, pretend to ice skate, hold snow tube pose and finish […]