Puzzle Balances
Skills:
Physical: upper and lower limb coordination, reaction time, gross motor skill, balance
Cognitive: sustained attention, selective attention, visual processing
Social: awareness of personal space
Number of participants:
1 or more
Equipment:
hula hoop
Description:
- children are asked to achieve different types of balances by having a different number of body parts on the ground (i.e., two feet and two elbows, head, two hands and two feet)
Modifications to make the activity easier:
Change the environment: have the child hold onto a parent or adult during the activity to decrease physical demand
Modifications to make the activity harder:
Change the environment: have child complete the activity with another child and only allow one base of support between the two children to increase physical and social demand
Change the task: have the child hold each balance for a few seconds to increase physical demand
Goal examples:
- the child is able to demonstrate 3 different balances with 2 body parts on the ground
- I can balance
