WEEK 12 SESSION

Duration: 45 minutes AIM OF SESSION: Core strength and body awareness

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS FOCUS EQUIPMENT

Warm-up: (5 min)

 Sleeping giants The children must run around the room, being careful not to bump into one another. When the researcher shout “sleeping giants”, the children must all lie on the floor on their stomachs and pretend to sleep. When the researcher claps his/her hands, the children must get back up and start to run again.

 Endurance  None

1. Simon says Children stand in a circle of no less than 3. Each child gets a turn to instruct the rest of the children top perform certain movements such as:  Stand on 1 leg

 Touch your toes

 Put your hands on your head  Do star jumps

 Wave your hands in the air

 Put your right hand on your left foot  Touch your elbows

 Hop on 1 leg

 Body part awareness  Listening skills

 None

2. Body letters (10 min) Children are divided into teams of 2 or more. The researcher instructs the groups to make certain letters by using their bodies. The children lie on the floor and form the shape of the letter for example, P, B, S, N, L

 Body awareness  Social interaction and communication  None 3. Stations (10 min) 2. Caterpillar walks Balance mat

1. Throw and catch

4. Rope 3. Traffic cones  Dynamic and static balance  Core strength  Body coordination  Proprioception  Motor planning  7 x traffic cones  1 x balance board  1 x wall target  1 x tennis ball  5 x colour mats  1 x soccer ball  3 x ring set

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5. Mats

Each child begins at a station. After 2 minutes, the children rotate until each child has completed 2 minutes of each activity:

1. The child stands on a balance mat with 2 feet. The child throws a tennis ball at a wall target and catches the ball again with 2 hands (repeat).

2. Caterpillar walks: The child starts by bending down forwards onto his/her haunches. The child needs to walk slowly through 3 phases. Phase 1: The child walks forwards with hands into a push-up position. Phase 2: The child holds the push-up position for 1 second. Phase 3: The child walks slowly with his/her feet back onto his/her haunches. The 3 movements are repeated. The child will crawl like this from 1 cone to the next cone and back again.

3. The child bends down onto his/her hands and knees. The child has to push the soccer ball in between the cones with his/her head (no hands or feet allowed) (repeat).

4. The child walks along the rope heel-to-toe. When the child reaches a therapy ring, the child bends down slowly and picks up the ring on the side of the rope and squeezes it 3 times in each hand and the ring is placed back next to the rope and the child continues walking.

5. The child hops on 1 leg on the mats (repeat). Cool-down: (5 min)

 Balance heel-to-toe and thread (10 min)

Children are divided into teams of 2. The children are instructed to stand heel-to-toe opposite 1 another (1m apart). Threading beads are placed on the floor in between the partners. Each partner has a string in their hands. 1 at a time, the partners need to bend their knees to pick up a bead 1 at a time. The child stands up straight, still remaining in the heel-to toe position, and threads the bead on the string. The game is completed once all the beads have been threaded (repeat 2 times).

 Static balance

 Manual dexterity  Beads  Thread

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WEEK 12 SESSION 22

Duration: 45 minutes AIM OD SESSION: Core strength and body coordination

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS FOCUS EQUIPMENT

Warm-up: (5 min)

 Builders and diggers CONEs are placed all over an area. The children are divided into 2 teams. 1 team represents the diggers and the other the builders. The diggers must knock all the cones over and the builders must place all the cones upright. When the researcher blows the whistle, all children freeze and the researcher counts how many cones are down and how many are up. The team with the most cones wins.

 Endurance  Whistle

 20 X traffic cones

1. Under the Parachute (10 min) The children are divided into teams of 2. Each group represents a colour. There is a parachute on the floor with different colours on it. The children stand on the edge of parachute next to his/her colour (each team has the same colour). All the children are instructed to grab hold of the parachute, lifting it up into the air. The children are instructed to slowly lift the parachute up over their heads and back down again (hip height). The researcher will shout out a colour. The partners that represent that colour will run under the parachute when it is up in the air and swop places.

Progression: Once all partners have had 3 turns swopping places,

The researcher places small balls (the children pretend the balls are popcorn) on top of the parachute. The children need to gently lift the parachute up into the air and back down again, making sure the balls do not fall out of the parachute.

 Body schema  1 x parachute  6 x small balls

2. Colour crawl (10 min) Children are divided into groups of 2. Colour dots are placed on the floor in the following pattern:

Partner 1

Partner 2

1 partner from each group stands on the black dot (starting point) and the other partner stands in front of the circles facing partner number 1. Partner 2 must bend down on his/her haunches and wait for instructions from partner 1. Partner 1 will instruct partner 2 to crawl with his/her arms forwards to a specific colour (his/her feet may not

 Core strength  Social interaction  Balance

 6 x colour dots

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move off the black dot). Partner 2 will hold the position on the colour dot for 3 seconds, and return to his/her haunches by crawling backwards with hands. This is repeated until all the colours are done. The partners then swop places.

Progression: Have the children hold the position for 5 seconds.

3. Crab soccer (15 min) Children are divided into 2 teams of 3. Each team is instructed to shoot their goals on the opposite side of the room through 2 marked cones. Children are instructed to walk like crabs, only using their feet to kick the ball (no hands).

A crab walk: Child must sit on the ground with hands behind body. The child lifts his/her buttocks from the ground, forming a table with his/her body. The child must walk sideways, keeping his/her buttocks off the ground at all times.

 Core strength  Body coordination  Dynamic balance  Team play  4 x traffic cones  6 x colour bibs  1 x mini soccer ball Cool-down: (5 min)  Traveling hoop

 Farmer and the rabbit

c) Children stand in a circle and hold hands. A big hoop is placed between 2 of the children. Each child needs to climb through the hoop by using their bodies as the hoop is moved around the circle. The children may not let go hands.

Progression: Use a smaller hoop.

d) The children sit in a circle. Two medicine balls are passed around the circle according to a story. The farmer (medicine ball 1) chases the rabbit (medicine ball 2) because the rabbit is eating all his veggies. When the farmer catches the rabbit the game is over (repeat to both left and right sides).

 Bilateral Coordination  Body awareness  Upper body strength  Midline crossing  1 x small hoola hoop

 1 x big hoola hoop

 2 x medicine balls (1 larger than the other)

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