Spring Ahead!

Welcome Spring! It's time to move our clocks forward and a time for new beginnings! Birds are chirping and flowers are beginning to bloom. Unless you live in Virginia....because it is still snowing here! Oh well, Spring is right around the corner and we will be thankful for warm weather once it appears.

I would love to share some fun yoga activities that I found on Pinterest to celebrate this time of year!

This yoga program is all about the garden and would be a great addition when talking about the plant cycle with a class!
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/182255116151354369/

 

This is a great way to get kids moving and tie in motor learning (whole body learning). I guarantee your class and children will love it!

~Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT

How Do We Get Carry Over?

Are we really getting therapy into the classroom?

Physical Therapy services have evolved over the years in the school setting. Therapy used to look like Outpatient PT just in the school environment. We would pull our students out of class, walk them down the hall to the therapy room, work them out, and then take them back to the classroom. Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for pull out service but we can’t forget the essential element to student success…..carry over. 

This is an article from the Pediatric Physical Therapy Journal from the APTA that gives good insight for incorporating therapy into the preschool environment:

https://journals.lww.com/pedpt/Fulltext/2003/01520/Physical_Therapy_in_Preschool_Classrooms_.4.aspx

There are many factors that affect our ability to provide our services in the classroom setting and there are still circumstances where pull out is needed. However, follow up with the teacher to assist with planning how certain skills can be carried out in the natural classroom environment are still warranted. It takes a lot of practice for children to learn a skill and practice must happen without the Therapist being present.

How does this happen? Being married to a teacher, I know how hard he works every day. He is a teacher, a counselor, a dietician, a nurse, a playmate, a father figure, and the list goes on and on. How can we also expect these busy teachers to be a Therapist?!?

Here is my suggestion….start slowly. Pick the most important skill for the day and figure out a way that it can be incorporated into the natural school day. For example: if a child is working on becoming more independent with standing, have the teacher or para-professional assist the student with standing during an art activity with the other students. This will help the student to be at eye level with their peers and to experience the activity in the same way as their peers. Better yet, come into the classroom to help during this type of activity and then transition to the teacher completing the activity so that you can given him/her feedback.

You can make a checklist to collect data that the teacher places a “tick” mark on to show that he/she completed the activity that you requested. Make sure you follow up with the teacher every time and share with them the importance of carry over. If the teacher was not able complete the task requested, try to problem solve with them how/why it didn’t work for their classroom.

Together we can all make a difference….it takes a team! Let’s make a dream team for our students! Don’t they deserve it?

~Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT

Heart Health for Kids

February is "Heart Health Month" and it's important to teach our kids about proper nutrition and exercise. Helping kids learn at a young age to be accountable for their exercise and nutrition planning will encourage them to be healthy throughout the life span. Children should learn to eat a wide variety of healthy foods and be exposed to a lot of different physical activities. The goal is to play hard for 60 minutes a day. Make this a family affair! Everyone can benefit from healthy eating and exercise.

 

Here is an activity from MPM School Supplies to help get your child thinking about health choices:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/320951910916607135/ 

 

Here is a great way to track exercises for the week! (Found on Pinterest) You could adjust to Therapy goals too to make the child more accountable for themselves.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/16958936075419480/

 

No matter what you do...just keep moving!

~Movement Matters! Whitney Carter PT, DPT

The Olympic Games- Part 2

I hope that you are having as much fun watching the Olympics as I am! I love figuring out ways to use the games in my therapy sessions and with teachers! One of my all time favorite events is the bobsled competition. My family watched "Cool Runnings" to get in the spirit before the games started and now it is the only competition that my children are dying to see!

I found this great activity on Pinterest for a PE based game. I have also used laundry baskets and large cardboard boxes as the sled. This activity incorporates postural control, teamwork, heavy work, balance, and motor planning.

http://www.ssww.com/blog/pe-ideas-for-the-winter-athletic-games/

 

Equipment:

• Scooters
• Scooter connectors
• Cones

In this activity, students get in pairs and sit on two scooters that are attached together (or a two person scooter). If you have scooter connectors these work great to hook the scooters together. You can also use duct tape as an alternative. Students will maneuver around cones through the “track”. They can take turns being in front and back. Scooters are always a hit no matter how you use them. For the 4-Man Bobsled event, I had some scooters taped into groups of 4.

Have fun with this activity! It can be used in PE or as an indoor recess game!

- Movement Matters~ Whitney Carter PT, DPT

The Olympic Games- Part 1

The Olympics are coming and this is a great time to try out some of the games and sports associated with this exciting event! One event that would be fun to use in the classroom is a ring toss inspired by the symbol of the Olympic Games. I found this Olympic Ring Toss on Pinterest!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/196680708711914799/



What you will need:
1. A large piece of cardboard
2. 5 toilet paper tubes (each one colored for an Olympic ring- see picture below)
3. 5 paper plates with the middle cut out (each one colored for an Olympic ring- see picture below)
* Adhere the toilet paper tubes to the cardboard using a hot glue gun and you are ready to toss!

 There are a couple of variations of this game:

1. Have a student pull a piece of torn construction paper from a cup to see what ring to toss and then try to match and toss on the same colored toilet paper tube.

2. Assign students to teams to work together to see how quickly they can get each ring on the correct tube- can have students jump, run, crab walk, walk while balancing the plate on their head.

3. This could also be turned into a math game by graphing how many rings they get over a period of time (example: graph how many colors landed correctly over 5 trials).

The possibilities for other games to play with this ring toss are endless! Flex your creativity muscles and enjoy an Olympic Sized Activity with your students!!!!!!

~Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT

Body Awareness

Let's face it....winter is a difficult time to make sure that our kids are getting enough movement throughout the day. It's easy to put on a show or turn on the IPAD to keep our little ones entertained. My love of GoNoodle knows no bounds, but sometimes you needs to have something tangible for kids to touch and move. Pinterest is filled with so many wonderful ideas for classroom based movement activities! I found this Movement Spinner Game and think it is a wonderful way to encourage movement, teach body awareness, teach directional concepts, and just have fun!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/133137732718398903/

Variations of this activity:
1. The spinner colors can be changed out to numbers or letters to work on a different academic skill. You could have stations set up around the classroom based on the color, number, or letter for students to walk to in order to complete the exercise. Colored rectangles of construction paper would work well for the colors. This would encourage motor planning, walking, coordination, and visual scanning.

2. You could change out the movement activities for body parts like a variation of "Head, shoulders,  knees, and toes." This would help a child learn the parts of their body and encourage motor planning to touch the part selected by the spinner.

3. You could have each student make their own spinner to also work on cutting, pasting, writing,    fine motor, and sequencing skills.

4. You could have children work in teams- one spin and read the directions while the other performs  the exercise and then switch places. This encourages listening skills, motor planning, and team work!

This activity has so many possibilities for classroom use! Have fun with this game during these cold months!

~Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT

Toe Walking

Toe Walking can occur for a variety of reasons. Here are just a few reasons that a child may be walking on their toes: issues with the vestibular system, developmental or cognitive issues, orthopedic issues, and possible sensory issues. Figuring out where the toe walking stems from can be a challenge and often takes a team approach.

A few items to consider are as follows:

Is the child tripping or falling? How is this impacting their ability to walk, run, climb stairs, and play on the playground? Does this child have any tightness in the back of the leg or the ankles? 

Please see this nice chart from the Inspired Treehouse:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/364510163569093497/

When assessing and working with children who walk on their toes, it is important to incorporate multiple body systems in the program. Balance, coordination, stretching, core strengthening, and sensory items should all be considered when thinking about how to best help the child normalize their walking ability.

Please see the attached link for a blog post from dino PT that offers some treatment strategies for toe walking:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/505247651932185002/






Follow up care with the child's pediatrician and a team approach for both assessment and treatment are the best ways to combat this issue.

Remember, team work makes a difference!

~Movement Matters- Whitney Carter PT, DPT