A quick web search will unearth a vast number of articles, books, and research supporting the notion that movement is critical to so many life functions including a child’s ability to attend and engage in learning activities. Cold winters, limited daylight hours, and the current Covid pandemic situation have all played a significant role in limiting access to movement opportunities.  However, there are still some great ways to move within the confines of these restrictions! Check out these ideas!

Obstacle Courses

Obstacle courses can be big, small, built indoors, or built outside.  There are no set of specific materials needed, just a little imagination!  At home, obstacle courses are a great rainy day activity. Use couch cushions, blankets, pillows or whatever else is readily available around the house.   In the classroom obstacle courses make a great option for indoor recess.

Simple modifications can help everyone get in on the fun!

• To help learners still working on motor planning, establish a starting and end point and/ or identify materials to use for the course.
• Make it more complex by adding games rules such as “the floor is lava” and cannot be touched!
• Get creative juices flowing by establishing a challenge. Can you make it from your desk to the pencil sharpener using only three materials? Can you make it from the couch to the kitchen without touching the floor?

Check out Sensation Fun and Therapro’s free resources for ways to enhance obstacle courses with sensory exploration!

Alternative Seating

Swapping out traditional chairs for something that allows for wiggling is a great way to add movement experiences to traditionally sedentary activities! Be sure to supervise those with decreased balance!

Some Ideas Include:

• Sit on a jacket, blanket, pillow, or air filled cushion.
• Sit on an upside down water jug, chair with wheels, rocking chair, ball chair, or Kore Stool!
• Place an air filled wedge between a student’s back and the back of the chair or under the feet (also great to support posture and positioning!).
• Use a ready made Foot Fidget or tie exercise bands to chair or desk legs.

For more alternative seating ideas check out Therapro’s Blog Setting up Your Seat for Virtual Learning Success!

Games!

Games are engaging at all ages and a great resource for movement.  Some games come with built in movement opportunities like the Yoga Spinner Game, Trunks, or Letter Treasure Hunt. For games that are traditionally sedentary, table games, a few tweaks can add a dose of movement!

Try These ideas:

• When game setup allows, spread games pieces out.  For example when playing a memory game place cards in different spots in the room (across multiple desks, across the living room floor, or even taped to the wall!)
• Use sticky notes or small stickers to cover game board spaces with a movement activity.  For example, take a traditional board game and add movement cues (“10 jumping jacks”, “run in place”) to several of the game’s squares.  When a player lands on this square they would perform the movement prescribed.

Be sure to check out Therapro’s Gear Up for Games Handy Guide for more game modification ideas!

Movement Breaks!

More and more classroomTry These ideas:s are adding movement or “brain breaks” into the daily schedule. A simple stretch break can do wonders for changing a students level of alertness and their ability to attend. These mini breaks don’t have to be restricted to the classroom, they are perfect for homework sessions, online learning activities, or even Saturday morning cartoon sessions!

Try These ideas:

• Get students involved. At the beginning of the day assign a movement activity to each student. During the designated movement break time, students take turns leading classmates through their assigned movement.  Make it super simple by distributing movement cards at the beginning of the day (for example Fun Deck cards or Yoga Cards) for student’s to use as guidance!
• Keeping a visual near spaces where sedentary activities usually occur helps to provide reminders to move. Try Move Mindfully Poster Strips, simple cut outs from favorite magazines, or Drive Thru Menus.
• Create a movement corner near learning spaces to help students have quick and convenient access to movement opportunities without getting off track! These can be quick and easy to create; try using a small yoga mat or towel, some weighted balls or filled water bottles, and/ or a therapy ball.

Be sure to check out Therapro’s Tap Into Tools For The Body Handy Guide for more ideas!

Small amounts of movement will quickly add up.  Providing the space, tools, and opportunities to access movement experiences will help students attend, focus, and better access their learning environments. In addition, these early, positive experiences with movement will help to establish lifelong health habits!

Games are a useful therapeutic tool; they are versatile, engaging, and so much fun! WIth a few simple modifications games can address a wide range of therapeutic needs.  A few simple modifications can be used for almost every game:

1. Add Visuals.  Visuals can be anything from simplified directions to communication aids, like “your turn” and “my turn”. Visuals can help those who struggle with sequencing, memory, or communication participate more independently in game play.  
2. Change the playing position. Playing games on the floor, at a countertop, or with alternative seatings helps to increase participation and access.  Playing a game on the floor allows players to play in alternative positions like laying on their bellies. This position is great for those with postural instability, and helps increase their focus and endurance.  Another option is to use a therapy ball (add a base for stability), Alert Seat, Ball Chair, or air filled cushion instead of a traditional chair.  These types of alternative seating provides movement input which may allow those with shortened attention spans to participate longer and with more focus.  Some games like, Left Center Right, have few manipulatives making these great games to use on scooter boards or swings.  
3. Modify  the Manipulatives.  Some game pieces are just too small, too big, or too difficult for students to access.  One quick fix is to swap out the game tokens for something more manageable like a jumbo dice.  Another option, insert game pieces into putty for a bigger gripping surface.  Other modifications include using a card holder or book holder.  
4. Manipulating the manipulatives to target hand skills. To encourage a pincer grasp, place smaller game pieces into an egg carton (or similar small container); the smaller space allows for only a few fingers to access the piece, encouraging a two or three finger grasp pattern every time the player picks up the game pieces.  To incorporate hand strengthening and bilateral coordination, use a tennis ball with a small slit cut into it.  Players must squeeze the tennis ball with one hand while using the other hand to insert or remove their pieces.  To target fine motor manipulation with insertion, use plastic containers (your recycling bin is a great resource); cut a slit in the lid and work on inserting game manipulatives into the containers.
5. Change the game rules to address specific therapeutic goals. If your focus is social interactions, team building, or cooperative problem solving change game play so players play as a group instead of competing against each other. If you are doing individual treatment sessions instead of group sessions, change gameplay to make it a single person game.  When time is limited or you have participants who struggle with extended attention and focus, add a time rule where game play ends after a set amount of minutes.  When the game is too hard or too easy for players, add more complexity or decrease the complexity.   

With a little bit of creativity, most games can be changed, adapted, or modified in order to use them as a therapeutic tool.  Check out Therapro’s handy games guide to see these modifications applied to some of our great games!