As a school based physical therapist, one of the most important parts of my job is helping students to access their educational environment. What do I mean by access? By definition, access is the ability to use, enter, or get near something. In relation to the school environment, it means physical access to the environment such as the ability to physically get in/out of spaces throughout the school’s campus such as classrooms, cafeteria, and playground. It can also mean access to the curriculum. Access to the curriculum is the ability to participate in activities, assignments, group projects, etc.
You are probably familiar with school readiness skills in the areas of language, fine motor, and cognition. However, as a physical therapist, my list of school readiness skills is based on access. Below is my Top 10 List of School Readiness Skills:
Top Ten School Readiness Skill
1. Walk In Line: Students in PreK and Elementary school settings move throughout their school campus by walking in line with their peers. Sometimes they are walking with their backpacks on and sometimes they may be carrying objects like a lunchbox, water bottles, or library books. In order to successfully walk in line students must have the endurance and ability to walk, with or without an assistive device depending on their abilities. Beyond these physical requirements, walking in line requires the ability to process visual information from the environment (the position of the student in front of them) and respond by stopping, starting, or changing speed so they don’t bump into anyone.
If your child has trouble walking in line, try practicing this skill at home. Begin by allowing your child to be the line leader. Show them how to follow the leader and stop and start. Then have them follow you. Begin by simply walk. Once they master that, try stopping and starting the line. Give them verbal cues before you stop, like “Aaannnddd Stop”. As they improve take away the verbal cues.
2. Negotiating Stairs: Stairs can be found on many school campuses. Flights of stairs to access different floors of a building, stairs to access the stage in the auditorium, and stairs to get on and off the bus are just a few examples. For students with movement limitations, elevators and ramps are available. For all other students, climbing stairs is a skill they need to acquire. While the ability to climb stairs is a normal part of development, in the school setting kids climb stairs with a handrail for safety. And just as with walking in line, ascending and descending stairs in a school setting has to be done while stopping and starting as the person in front of you does.
If your child has trouble climbing stairs, practice the stairs with them. If you don’t have stairs in your home, most playgrounds have stairs. And just a side not, going up stairs is much easier than going down. So don’t be surprised if a child masters up before down.
3. Pack and Unpack a Backpack: Packing and unpacking a backpack requires the fine motor skills to manage a zipper, both hands to work together, and the balance to manipulate an object in your hands while standing. Once the backpack is open, kids often have to place certain items in bins and cubbies throughout the room. So they must be able to squat and reach overhead with an object in their hands.
The best way to work on this skill is just to practice. Give your child a stack of items to load in their bag. Once the items are loaded, have them unload. Ask them to place each item in a different location throughout the house. If you want to add some variety you can try packing a grocery bag or packing their lunchbox.
4. Negotiate Curbs: Ascending and descending curbs is a very similar activity to stair climbing. However, curbs do not have railings for support making it a more difficult task than stairs.
Curb practice can be done using an actual curb, the first step on a stair case, or a step-up anywhere in your home. I have one that leads from my garage to the house. Start with holding both of your child’s hands, then try it only holding one, etc. Remember that climbing up a curb is easier than going down.
5. Open/Close Doors: Most schools have very large and heavy doors for classrooms. Opening these doors requires a significant amount of upper extremity and core strength. It also requires the ability to walk backward while pulling the door open, and stepping around the door to walk in.
The best way to practice this skill at home is to provide a little resistance to the door as your child practices opening it. For a door opening out, I lay my hand on the door as they pull and provide a little pressure against the door. This makes the door seem “heavy”. If getting into the open door is difficult, hold the door open for the child as they practice walking in. Be careful to keep little fingers safe during this activity.
6. Hold Doors Open: Along the same line as opening and closing doors is holding the door open for peers. Door holder is one of the most coveted daily helper jobs in many elementary classrooms. Holding a door open requires the ability to open the door, along with the strength and balance to lean against the door for a prolonged period of time keeping it open.
The best way to practice this at home is with a standard door. With a door that doesn’t self-close kids can learn the pattern of opening and holding the door without the weight and resistance of an industrial type door. Once a child masters this, then move on to practicing it with a larger, heavier door.
7. Negotiate a Large Step: Most school buses have a giant step that students must ascend or descend to get on/off the bus, and many playgrounds may also have a large first step on climbing equipment. Climbing up/down a large step requires a significant amount of lower extremity and gluteal strength, as well as, good balance and coordination skills.
Practicing this skill is pretty straight forward. Start by stepping up and down a small step. Slowly increase the size of the step as the child masters each height. If you live in an area with hills and mountains, you can also practice walking up and down hill.
8. Negotiate Playground Equipment: Ahhh recess, one of the best parts of the day for most students. Schools often have play equipment of different sizes and ability levels meant for different age groups. Participating in play on such equipment with peers, requires a child to learn to negotiate this type of equipment. On top of that, children need to be able to negotiate the equipment with numerous other kids present that may be bumping into you.
Playground equipment practice is one of my favorite things to practice. I usually start off with stairs and slides. Once a child feels comfortable on these, we progress to climbing walls, ladders, and wobbly bridges.
9. Push a Water Fountain Button: Believe it or not, the button on a water fountain requires a significant amount of arm strength to push and hold while getting a drink.
Water fountains practice isn’t the best idea right now with COVID, but you can practice the pushing concept by: 1. Teaching your child to fill a cup from a refrigerator water dispenser at home. 2. Allowing your child to push the buzzer from a board game for 10 seconds or more without stopping. Games like Taboo and Simon have push buttons. Have them count while doing it.
10. Maneuver Obstacles: Classrooms have lots of furniture that students must negotiate around to get to different areas. There are also other students, backpacks, and lunchbox that might be on the floor as well. A student must be able to visually scan their environment and step over or around any of their obstacles in their way.
A simple way to practice this skill at home is to place pillows, backpacks, etc. down the length of a hallway. Have the child walk down the hall without stepping on anything. To make it more challenging play some music or try talking to your child as they do it.
Remember that all the practice in the world does not mean your child will be immediately successful with these skills at school. In the school setting these tasks won’t be done in isolation. They will be doing it while talking to friends, looking at the other students in the hallway, in areas that are noisy, etc. It may just take some practice. But practicing these skills ahead of time will get them off to a great start.
-Heather