It is generally well-known that the benefits of physical activity and exercise for children are wide-ranging. Physical activity can help children maintain attention, sleep more effectively, maintain a healthy body weight, improve mental and emotional health, and perform better overall in educational activities. However, children with special needs may face unique barriers when it comes …
Nothing is better than adding themes and stories to movement. If you have ever tried a movement based story, you may find out the kids are great at listening. They keep waiting to hear what their next move will be! Creating movement stories that are associated with different themes makes it easy to incorporate movement …
If crossing midline was a product or company, I would be their brand ambassador. I mean, I really, really have this nerdy obsession with crossing midline. I love talking about it, educating about its importance, and seeing how many times in a day I can set up environments to encourage it!
Have you ever wanted to add a little extra to your community helpers theme? How about something beneficial like movement? Combining movement and learning is always a win. When you add it to your theme it’s even better. Community helpers yoga is one way of easily making this work with your theme. Check out all …
The farm theme is one of the best themes for both gross motor and fine motor planning activities. With all the animals and fun things happening at the farm it’s easy to incorporate farm themed fine motor and gross motor activities. Today I’m going to share with you some fun ideas to help you get …
Hello September! It’s this time of year that almost everyone is back in school or heading back to school. It’s also a great time for apples and the beginning of fall. I love September motor planning as it feels like a fresh start with the new school year in full swing. Check out the ideas …
Community helpers are a very popular theme in the preschool setting or kindergarten classroom. This theme involves discussing all of the different helpers out in the community. Adding gross motor or movement to this theme can easily be done through yoga/movement cards or setting up movement stations. Check out these different ideas for adding movement …
Have you ever heard the term visual discrimination? What exactly does it mean? Why do we need it? Visual discrimination is the ability to recognize details in visual images allowing for the ability to see differences and likeness. This means that you look at something you can discriminate between shapes, colors, positions etc. Some of …
May is just around the corner. For many, the weather is warming up and the end of the school year is approaching. It’s also a time where there is lots of energy to be burned. Gross motor and fine motor planning for the month of May includes camping, sports, safari, and cowboy/cowgirl themes. Also, be …
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At Pink Oatmeal we are all about making all types of yoga and movement fun for kids. One way of doing that is with yoga. To make yoga for kids even more fun we’ve come up with all sorts of different themes. The themes turn traditional kids yoga poses into fun poses to go with …
In the first years of life kids are growing and learning fast. Pediatric physical therapists tend to work on physical development activities that focus on large motor skills. Large motor skills are activities like walking, jumping, running, or skipping.
As a pediatric physical therapist one of my main jobs is to work on gross motor skills. To work on these skills pediatric physical therapists come up with lots of different gross motor activities for kids!
Are you new to the world of school based physical therapy? Maybe you are a seasoned veteran of the school based therapy world, but you are looking for a more efficient way to document? School based physical therapy documentation (and occupational therapy) can prove to be challenge as most districts are not equipped with any …
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Spring is officially here and April is the perfect time to add all the fun spring themes to your motor programming. This April motor planning ideas include the themes – insects, bugs, and creepy crawlers, farm, baseball and earth/weather and ocean. It also includes bonus Easter ideas. Check out all of the fun ideas for …
We love combining all things movement and learning at our house. This includes literacy and letter recognition activities. My boys are both preschool aged kids with one being 5 and one being 3. My three year old is working on letter recognition in his preschool, and my five year old is working on letter sounds. …
March is here and full of great options for gross motor planning. With St. Patrick’s Day, the basketball tournaments, spring etc. it makes it easy for March gross motor planning. Check out all of the different ideas for March gross motor planning.
Do you ever have that time when you just need your kids or classroom to get some of that energy out?! ? Are you looking for something that is quick and fun and at the same time is accomplishing the need to wiggle? How about something that can engage the kids? Most kids love animals …
Yoga has so many different benefits for kids. It’s a great way to work on physical aspects such as flexibility and strength. The mindfulness component is another huge benefit of yoga. Implementing yoga for kids doesn’t have to be difficult. To get you started, Pink Oatmeal is offering a yoga poses for kids printable for …
Yoga for preschoolers is an excellent way to add movement and mindfulness to the day. When working with preschoolers I love to add themes. This makes yoga more fun as they can relate to the yoga poses. Today I want to share with you a few of my favorite themes and creative ways to do …
Several years ago I entered the land of school based physical therapy. I honestly didn’t know what to expect just 2 years out of school. . I was lucky, I had a wonderful mentor my first year to help guide me through my first year as a school based physical therapist. Today, I want to …