Let's Get That Body Moving....Part 2

Last week, I blogged about the importance of brain/body breaks during this crazy time and provided a bunch of activities that could be incorporated into your child's daily schedule. Things like playing a game of Simon Says, jump roping or hula hooping throughout the school day can help your children reset for the rest of the day. Some kids require more movement than others and for different reasons. Let's be honest, some kids are perfectly happy with not having forced movement throughout their day while others just can't get enough movement. 

As I have been supporting families through this crazy time, some of them have asked me to help create some kind of weekly schedule that will help their children gain some kind of routine. For many of my kids, this involves building in several body breaks. While our kids are spending a lot more time in front of screens, it is often while they are seated. One of the most helpful things I have been using to start my remote sessions before we sit down and do our table work is some kind of big body/movement activity. When we are at the gym for our sessions, we always start with a swing, jumping on a ball or trampoline or some kind of obstacle course and it is such a great way to get them organized and energized for the rest of our session. Since we can't be face to face at this point and most people (particularly my families in the city with not a lot of space for equipment) don't have access to things like a trampoline or large therapy ball, I've had to get creative. With the help of screen sharing, I have been able to find fun ways to get my kids up and moving. There are some really fabulous three to 5 minute movement videos on You Tube that have been a huge hit with my kids. As I mentioned last week, these movement breaks are not only necessary for giving our kids a chance to move around but have been proven to help with improved learning. This is even more important now than it ever was as kids are not getting out. Below, I share with you twenty short videos that you can do at home with your children. Since we are all home, make this a family thing and add a few dance parties or brain breaks to all of your schedules. This will not only be good for getting your up and moving but dancing and moving is good for you emotional well-being. 

The Freeze Dance

Go Bananas

Smallfoot: Do The Yeti

Dancing Robots Song

The Goldfish Song by Laurie Berkner 

The Goldfish Song: Let's Go Swimming 

The Hokey Pokey

Shake Your Sillies Out 

Simon Says

Walking, Walking, Hop, Hop, Hop

Twist and Shout 

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Get Funky: The Funky Monkey Dance

Baby Shark Dance Song

Trolls: Can't Stop The Feeling

Can't Stop The Feeling Dance Party

Animal Dance and Freeze

Move and Freeze

Boom Chicka Boom

Frozen 2: Make Your Move

If You're Happy and You Know It    

Do The Bear Walk


These videos are not only great getting kids up and moving around, but have more therapeutic value than you even realize. Kids will learn how to follow directions, work on improving body awareness and motor planning skills. This moving around will help them with their ability to focus and attend better to more challenging school work or therapy activities. The best part about this is that so many of these are familiar songs or characters which makes these videos even more motivating, especially for those kids we know who totally prefer to sit on the couch! 

This new way of doing therapy with my children has forced me to be more creative and think outside of the box. While I can't wait until the day when I can get back to my toys, equipment and co-workers, I am embracing all there is out there and what technology is allowing us to accomplish during our therapy sessions. If you have any other movement videos that you are using with your kids, send along! I am only a click away and love hearing from you all. 

Jump for Joy!

As many of you have noticed, the holiday gift guides and catalogues are starting to clog up our inbox and mailbox.  For the most part, I dump these things into recycling before even looking at them.  The exception are the ones that feature toys.  I am always on the lookout for new toys and gifts that will be good at work.  One of my favorites is Fat Brain Toys which I could get lost in for hours if I had the time.  I won't lie, I've made many unnecessary but amazing purchases from here for kids of all ages!

Yesterday, while looking through their new products, my eyes went right to a new trampoline that they were featuring.  As a New York City based pediatric occupational therapist, one of the things that I do is give parents and teachers ideas on how they can incorporate some of the activities I am doing our sessions at home and in school.  The biggest problem I face is the lack of space many New Yorkers have.  Asking parents to get a big therapy ball or a trampoline seems totally reasonable but if you live in a small apartment or have a classroom with not much free space, it becomes more trouble figuring out where to put it when it's not in use.  So when I saw the Foldaway Trampoline, I was thrilled and had to share it with everyone.  Even if you have space in your house/apartment/classroom, you may not want to have a trampoline out at all times so the Foldaway Trampoline is the perfect option for those of you who feel that way!  It is simple to open, close and store without taking up much space.  For older children, you can teach them how to open and close it so when they feel like they might have some extra energy that they need to get rid of, they can go and take care of it on their own.  I really like that the bar on the trampoline offers some of the younger kids, or those who have trouble with balance, extra support making them feel more secure and stable while jumping.


I believe having a trampoline available for younger children who may have sensory or gross motor difficulties is a great thing and that there are many benefits besides just releasing some extra energy.  Here are some of the other benefits of jumping on a trampoline:
-provides proprioceptive input which helps improve body awareness and organizational skills
-works on improving motor skills such as bilateral coordination.  When jumping, both sides of the body and brain must coordinate in order to maintain balance
-it's a fun way to work on building endurance and overall body strength.
-great for working on modulation and regulation skills
**you can play a game of freeze jump to work on increasing the length of time they jump.  Kids have to jump until the music stops!**

So if you are on the lookout for an easy to store sensory tool, be sure to check out the Foldaway Trampoline.  If you happen to know of any other great sensory products like this, please be sure to tell me about them.  I am always on the lookout for new products and love hearing from all of you! Remember, I am only a click away!