December is upon us! Things in my household are getting a little wild and crazy. How about yours?
Taking into account all of the business of the season, I thought I would do a fun and simple series for the month of December. In this series, I am going to give you simple ideas of things you can do with everyday toys and therapy tools. Sound good?
In this week’s post and video we are going to tackle some simple things you can do with a Therapy Ball. These useful tools come in lots of different shapes and sizes. So, before you begin make sure you have one that is the right size. When you sit on a therapy ball your feet should be flat on the floor, and you should have close to a 90 degree angle at your hips and knees. Here are some of my favorite therapy balls: Therapy Balls:
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s dive into those simple ideas!
You can Sit on it!
- Therapy Balls make a great form of alternative seating. The greatest part about them is that they allow for movement while sitting which can improve attention and engagement.
- Therapy Balls are a great way to strengthen core muscles. By simply shifting your weight from side to side or performing small circles with your pelvis you are really working your core.
- Therapy Balls can also help improve balance and coordination. Activities like alternately lifting one foot off of the floor, touching your hand to the opposite knee, or playing a game of catch while sitting on a therapy ball challenge both your balance and coordination.
You get in Prone! (Prone is a fancy way of saying lie on your stomach).
- Just holding a prone plank type position on a therapy ball gives your arms, chest, and core a great workout. If you want to make it more challenging try:
- Push-ups
- Lifting one arm out in front of you at a time.
- Playing a sorting game.
- Playing a reaching game.
You can Dribble it! Learning to dribble a ball requires a high level of eye hand coordination. By practicing this skill with a large therapy ball, you have a much larger target to follow and contact with your hand. As your skills improve you can use smaller and smaller balls.
You can Throw it!
- Rolling a therapy ball back and forth is great for balance and coordination.
- You can also work on ball skills, like the bounce pass. The large ball is usually an easier target to visually track and catch.
- But my favorite way to throw a therapy ball is overhead. Picking up a large therapy ball, raising it over your head, and then throwing it works to strengthen the muscles in the arms and core, and really challenges your balance. The bonus is that the stronger you get, the higher the ball will go! Now that’s motivation!
You can Kick it! Just like working on the skill of dribbling, a therapy ball is a great way to develop your kicking skills. The larger target makes it easier to kick.
- Start by kicking a stationary ball.
- Next, try one that is rolling toward you.
- Once you get the hang of that, try kicking back and forth with a partner. Kicking a ball this size, can strengthen your leg muscles as it requires much greater force to kick the larger size ball than a small one.
Do you have more ideas of great things to do with a therapy ball? Please share them with us in the comments below. I would love to hear them!
I hope you all have a wonderful week!
-Heather
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