How do we help a child learn about where their body is in space if they are having difficulty? While there are numerous strategies that therapists use, one of the simplest activities is Heavy Work. I describe heavy work as any activity that involves pushing, pulling, or lifting. These type of activities activate those important …
The Oxford definition of coordination is: The ability to use different parts of the body together smoothly and efficiently. Our bodies are able to produce coordinated movements through the integration of information from our sensory system and motor system through the cerebellum in our brain. In last week’s post and video, I give a detailed explanation …
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season! In the spirit of New Year’s traditions and resolutions, I thought we should start 2021 off with some simple and fun 5 minute workouts. As always I have provided workouts for kids of all ability levels, but this week we are …
Midline is an imaginary line that runs down the center of our body from the top of our head to our toes dividing our body into two equal parts. Many of our movements during the day require us to cross this imaginary line. In last week’s video and blog post, we discussed why midline and …
Last week we took a closer look at our gluteal muscles. We talked about where they are, what they do, why they are important, and 5 simple exercises to improve their strength. This week we are going to take a closer look at the big groups of muscles in our legs that are so very …
In last week’s episode, we spoke about using tall and half kneeling positions to strengthen some very important muscles groups including our lower core, hips, and gluts. The gluts have become a very popular muscle group in fitness arenas largely for the aesthetic benefits that well developed gluteal muscles can provide. As a PT working …
The kneeling position is the most effective tool that I have in my therapy tool bag. This one simple position can help improve the strength, stability, and balance in children and adults. The beauty of this position is that with the appropriate tools and materials children of all ability levels can benefit significantly from this …
Movement is such an important part of a child’s day. Whether that movement is during play, structured activity, or just getting from point A to point B. On the typical school campus, kids get regular periods of movement and activity as part of their day. A lot of this movement is often small bouts of …
In last week’s video/post we began our in depth look at core muscles, and I gave you some simple ideas and activities to strengthen these important muscles. But, what if a child has physical limitations that prevent them from strengthening their core muscles with those exercises? Can they still strengthen their core? Of course they …
Core muscles are an amazing group of muscles that support our vital organs, help us breathe, give our body stability, and basically hold everything together. Dive into this post and learn what core muscles are, what they do, and how kids can strengthen their core.
