Below are 4 movement interventions that are based on outer space!
1. Ready, Set, Go... to Space!
What you need: 2 Walls
What this Targets: Grounding, spatial awareness, impulse control, shared attention
What you do: You and your child will start with your backs against a wall, and you will drum against the wall behind you while saying “Ready, Set, Move like a...”. Once you call out a movement, you and your child will move across the room to the opposite wall in that movement style, ending at the other wall. Repeat back and forth using different movement commands.
Here are some examples of space movements! Float like and astronaut: Move slowly as if you are an astronaut in space, taking big steps and looking around at all the stars
Hop on the moon: Hop up and down, jumping from one foot to another if possible, jumping as high as you can
Twinkle like a star: Walk with your arms above your head while opening and closing your hands like a star OR do star jumps by walking a few steps then jumping into a star pose by extending your arms and legs into an x position
Fly like a rocket: Squat down like a frog and spring into the air as high as you can! Walk like an alien: Move how you think an alien would walk! Would they be fast? Would they move low to the ground?
Move like your walking on a different planet: Walk like you are trekking through deep mud by using your arms to carve the air in front of you.
And many more! Get creative.
2. Asteroid Jumping
What you’ll need: Hula-hoops or paper circles
What it targets: Imitation skills, body awareness, revving up the body, and spatial awareness
What you do: Set up hoops on the floor, or encourage your child to color and cut circles from paper, and tape them onto the floor in any pattern to represent asteroids. You can model different ways for your child to move between hoops/circles such as jump, leap, stomp, run.
Variation: Explore changing the pattern of asteroids on the floor by increasing the space between them to increase the challenge!
3. Planet Toss
What you need: Aluminum foil or construction paper, Cardboard Box, Scissors
What this targets: Gross motor skills, impulse control, shared attention
What you do: Cut a hole into the cardboard box, or multiple holes of different sizes, similar to a corn hole game. Help your child make “planets” by making balls out of construction paper or aluminum foil to represent each planet. Encourage your child to toss the planets into the holes in the cardboard box!
Variation: explore making it more challenging by moving closer or farther from the box, or using a timer to see how many planets they can get into the box within a certain amount of time.
4. Catching Stars
What you need: N/A
What this targets: Calming the body, shared attention, feeling safe, connecting to breath
What you do: Sit in a comfortable position, typically on the floor if possible.
Ask your child how many stars they want to catch. Encourage them to reach up with you while saying each number. For example, to catch 5 stars you will reach up five times, while alternating hands and counting to 5 together. After reaching up 5 times, encourage your child to rub their hands together as if they are in front of a campfire to “warm up the stars”. Next, encourage them to take a deep breath in a blow away the stars by blowing into their hands as if they are blowing confetti out of their palms. Repeat as many times as you’d like, each time allowing your child to choose how many stars.
Variation: Explore speed by counting faster or slower when counting and reaching. Explore counting louder or quieter while reaching.
I hope you enjoy trying these outer space movement games! Comment below which one was your child's favorite.
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