Following on from our training for Kinetic Letters, in Stourbridge on 25th January 2018 here are some of the things we are going implement into our practice to support the development of core strength leading to the development of key skills for writing.
Babies-
- Tummy time is prioritised over other ways of spending time on the floor for play
- Babies will not be placed in reclining chairs for rest or play
- Babies will be supported to sit on the floor for play using cushions or rings
- Babies showing an interest in crawling will be helped on to their tummy
- Jumperoo used for immobile babies to develop muscle strength
- Treasure basket play with a wide variety of sensory objects, large and small, to encourage development of hand, wrist and finger strength
- Activities for emptying and filling provided daily to encourage development of hand, wrist and finger strength
Toddlers-
- The four strong animal positions, as described below, introduced and encouraged at Circle Time, listening to stories and when playing on the floor
- Funky finger activity boxes used as adult led activities
- Playdough and harder malleable materials offered daily
- A range of writing materials in different sizes available
- Parents to encourage use of the strong animal positions at home too
Pre-school and Reception class
- The four strong animal positions introduced and used at Circle Time, listening to stories and when playing on the floor
- Children encouraged to use the Lizard position to read books independently
- Children introduced to the songs and method for picking up a pencil
- Children introduced to the two monkeys’ stories
- Classroom display of the monkey’s letter tree
- Funky fingers activity area developed
- Children taught the gross motor actions for the each ‘letter family’
- Children use whiteboards and sand trays to learn to form small letters and numbers correctly
- Parents to encourage use of the strong animal positions at home
- Kinetic letters worksheets available for parents on request
Here is a description of each of the animal positions.
- Strong Penguin-standing tall and straight, not leaning on anything. Encourage this position whenever your child is standing, waiting and queueing
- Meerkat-Kneeling up, back straight. Not resting back on heels. Encourage children to sit like this when watching TV, playing on the floor or listening to a story. It can be quite tricky at first, so they may want to take a resting position of sitting back on their heels occasionally.
- Strong gorilla- sitting crossed legged, back straight, hands on the knees or floor for balance. Encourage when sitting watching TV, listening to a story or playing on the floor.
- Strong Lion-on all fours-head up or down. Playing crawling games or perhaps when reading a book.
- Lizard- lying down, resting on forearms, head up or down. Encourage this position for reading, writing, drawing and watching TV.
