Let’s ‘Play to Learn’
Encourage the children to explore:
- Similar actions to those used on the Body Awareness Technical Skills Card, but with an object
- Balancing objects on various body parts whilst lying, sitting, kneeling and standing
- Putting object(s) in various places around them as they remain on their spot
- Cross-lateral movements that take a body part across the mid-line of the body. e.g. sit down and take one foot over the other leg, etc.
- The size of their ‘bubble’ by placing/holding the object(s) as far away from the spot as they can, whilst keeping one body part stuck to the spot, to define the edges of their ‘bubble’
- Passing object(s) from body part to body part
- Moving object(s) along various body parts
- Using a bat to balance an object on and move the bat around their body
- Gently throwing an object up and stopping it from hitting the floor by collecting it/stopping it/catching it/trapping it with a body part
Safety & Organisation
Ensure:
- the surface is clean and free from obstructions
- children work in their ‘bubbles’
Opportunities to
- develop increasing control over large body movements
- recognise and use different pieces of equipment
- show improved balance and co-ordination
Questions
- Where is the easiest place to balance an object?
- Where is the most difficult place to balance an object?
- Why are everyone’s ‘bubbles’ different sizes?
- Which is your favourite object to move around your body?
- When is it easier to balance the objects, when you move slowly or when you move quickly?
- What else could you do?
Can you see the child?
- Developing increasing control over large body movements
- Recognising and using different pieces of equipment
- Showing improved balance and co-ordination
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Most of the time
Encourage the child to:
- copy another child’s actions accurately
- play ‘Simon says’
- adapt traditional songs and rhymes, e.g. ‘One day Megan stood on the spot…’ to the tune of ‘Old MacDonald’ or ‘Head, shoulders, knees and toes’, etc.
- describe their actions or another child’s actions using positional language
- identify similarities and differences between their own and another child’s actions
- Exchange one or two/some/all markers for a piece of small apparatus e.g. soft toy / bean bag / hoop / skipping rope / ball etc.
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Sometimes
Encourage the child to:
- concentrate on one action at a time
- practise Body Awareness skills using the Technical Skills Cards
- copy another child or a practitioner
- discuss which objects might be easier to balance and which body parts might be the best to balance things on
- work with another child to help one another