POP, POP, POPCORN!
Did you know that yesterday was National Popcorn Day?! One of our Physical Therapists created a fun gross motor challenge to celebrate! Today’s challenge is to play a game of “Musical Popcorn”. Grab some friends, play some music, and have fun popping the popcorn! Click the link below to watch the video.
How to Play:
Have each player stand in a circle while the music begins. You will quickly toss a ball around the circle until the music stops. The person in possession of the ball is out! Play until there is one winner. This is an active way to practice your catching and throwing.
Skills Addressed:
–Motor Planning: allows your child to remember and perform the necessary steps to complete an action, such as stepping over an object on the floor, initiating a jumping sequence, or tying their shoes.
–Catching: this skill teaches your child to coordinate opposite sides of their body to perform a task together. To complete a catch, you must have the hand eye coordination, timing, and skill to bring both hands or arms to midline and trap the ball against your chest or squeeze it in your hands. Try cueing your child to first “trap” the ball against their chest and then progress to only catching using hands.
–Throwing: there are many progressions to a mature throwing motion. If your child is not yet maturely throwing one handed with overhead extension, try throwing with two hands over the head or a single arm underhand throw. This will teach them to learn the forward motion and timing of release in order to throw towards a target.
Ways to make this game more challenging is to decrease the ball size and increase the distance between the players. Have a blast playing “Musical Popcorn”!
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