Need to Wiggle? Teacher Tips

Tips for those kids who need to wiggle to stay alert but should not leave their seat:

1. Chew gum or suck on sour candy (if allowed in school; allow at home if no problem with choking or swallowing)

2. Tie a stretchy exercise band around the front legs of the chair.  Place your legs and feet behind the band.  When the need to get out of the chair arises and you should not, push against the band to help release the “wiggles”.

3. Try a “Sit and Move Cushion”. This has bumps on one side and air inside which allows “wiggling” without getting out of the chair.  Purchase at www.funandfunction.com or www.therapro.com

4. Place tennis balls on the back legs of the chair to provide gentle rocking movements.

Other tips you can think about?

Just a thought: For I know the plans I have for you….Jeremiah 29:11

Scissor Skills: Stability before Mobility

One rule to remember when you are preparing a child to do fine motor work such as using scissors, is “stability before mobility”.  We all need to feel like we are not going to fall before we put our hands out to use tools.  Encourage a “safe” feeling by placing a child in a chair that fits (feet flat on the floor) and at a table which fits (top should be two inches above his bent elbow).  Encourage a “safe” feel by working in sitting on the floor.  Try this interesting trick to see how it feels to fell “unsafe”.  Sit in a chair of your choice.  Scoot to the edge of the chair and pick up your feet to the point they are not touching the floor.  Do not lean back in the chair (for support) and put your arms and hands out in front of you as if to write or use scissors.  Pretty hard to do!  You are not stable!  So please remember before you put the scissors in your child’s hands to “stabilize” first!

Visual Perception: Body Scheme/Awareness

What is a body scheme? This quote by Scardina OTR helps us understand why a good body scheme is important.

“Responses to his own body builds an environmental scheme that shows consistent relationships between self, space and objects.  With this concrete understanding of space, the child has a foundation for recognizing symbols which vary little but do have their own unique position in space.” (Scardina OTR)

A good body scheme help us determine right/left, up/down and answer questions such as “how far” (from my body to the object), “how tall” (taller or shorter than my body), and much more.  We can transfer these “body spatial directions” to placing puzzle pieces in the upper right hand corner and writing our name in the upper left hand corner of the paper. We learn about our body from our auditory, vestibular, visual, proprioceptive, and tactile sensory systems.  I will offer a definition of each in the next blog.  Thanks for staying tuned!!!!