Scaffolding for Learning

It is generally accepted that we go through three stages of learning when acquiring any new skill.

In the first stage of learning, concentration is required and reminders of what to do and how to do it. Mistakes are frequent. The next stage could be described as 'getting the hang of it' - where the body becomes familiar with the task and the actions becomes more fluid as we associate the actions with things we know/do already. The final stage is when the body is so familiar with the task, there is little thought required and can be done automatically.

Progression from one stage to the next depends on the amount and the quality of practice.

Knowing and understanding the above as parents and teachers enables us to make valuable contributions when our little ones acquire new skills. Breaking down the requirements of a task and presenting them in bite-sized pieces gives the learner a greater chance at succeeding. Each bite-sized piece, once accomplished can be built upon. This is called scaffolding the experience.

The challenge is how to break down the parts of a skill and when it should be presented. Then, giving just enough support so that they can do it themselves. That is the challenge for Physical Educators.

In this space next week, I will reveal what I think is an essential tool for scaffolding the learning of throwing and catching.....and it does not involve balls. Can you guess what it is?

"Find a spot of your own...."

Finding a bit of space that is safe and unobstructed before any exercise is to be commenced is important in a group setting. It is also important when doing exercises at home in amongst the coffee table and the couch as well as with little brothers running around.

Just as I do when working with students, I have used the magic of 'imagination' to my advantage to teach my Preschooler how to find her own space.

I tell her to imagine she is in a big magic bubble...but just like regular bubbles it pops if bumped into so it must be kept away from other bubbles and furniture etc.  Make the bubble bigger by pushing the front of the  bubble out - hands outstretched. Push out the sides - body in a wide star shape. Push it up - reaching up high on tippy toes. (The bubble does not burst under the feet because it is magic). Look around and check that your bubble is not going to bump into anything. If you think your bubble might bump into anything, find a different spot.

This works whenever there is a need to spread out in a defined area - big or small. After a while, finding a spot of their own is as simple as finding your own bubble space.

It is necessary to tell little ones that there is air in bubbles...no need to hold your breath.

 

Ball Handling 2

Here is something else we like to do here to improve our Ball Handling skills. This is also a great warm up activity and can be adapted to all ages.

Everyone has a ball - (kids) handball size for toddlers to chest size for larger preschoolers.

Do this at the same time so that it can be modeled by the little ones.

1. Seated, legs crossed. Roll the ball on the floor around the body. Use the words Clockwise around the body, then anti-clockwise.

2. Remain seated. Roll the ball on the body, around the waist. Clockwise, then anti-clockwise.

3. Still seated but with legs extended. Roll the ball on the legs all the way out to your feet, then back towards the chest. Roll the ball up to neck, up over the face, over the top of the head and then back down the same way.

4. Stand in 'Star' shape, keep legs in position but use your hands to move the ball on the floor between the legs. Roll from the front to behind legs, reach around to collect the ball, repeat but reach around to the other side.

5. Remain in the same position. Roll the ball on the floor around one leg, then the other. The Ball should make the shape of the number '8'. Repeat in opposite directions.

Provide opportunities for the little ones to make suggestions and include them in the session. Anything that encourages movement of the ball around the body. Take the opportunity to use and explain the correct terminology - words in italics in the above points.

Use time to track progress. Suggest challenges; Can you do this without stopping once started? Can you do this without dropping or slipping?

Certainly this could be done to music or whilst singing a song...but allow for it to be spontaneous.

Intersperse the above with some fun tricks...IE.Try to balance the ball on the head? Balance the ball on the crook of the ankle, Spin the ball on the tip of finger?

After each skill, I like to take a shot at the indoor hoop and the kids get to slam dunk their balls. This is followed by a triumphant lap of the lounge room.


All of the above skills and tricks are done to improve ball handling, finger and hand strength and to increase confidence and competence with the ball.

Don't be too surprised when you catch then practising the above on their own accord.

You can not stop our apple fun

We love Dr Seuss books here..they are fantastic read-aloud books.

'Ten Apples Up On Top' is a good resource for teaching numeracy as well being a good title for the early reader.

For our Preschooler however, just counting the apples on each page to concur with the text proved to be enticing.

From there, we started to look for things to balance on our heads. Fortunately, I happened to have small Bean Bags ready for just that purpose.

Balancing a Bean Bag on the head promotes good posture and develops balance and control. Head held still and eyes straight ahead are necessary reminders.

Once this is achieved, encourage walking around the room; forwards, sideways, backwards. Suggest bending down to touch the ground, turn around. Then try balancing the Bean Bag on the shoulder, elbow, knee etc.

Combining the Bean Bag balance with 'Heel-Toe walking' would present a very good challenge.

What fun!
We will not
let them fall.

We wish you lots of apple fun.

Ball Handling

We have containers tucked in various rooms around the house. These store toys, books and lots of balls so that they are on hand when we need them. This allows for little snippets of reading, threading, sorting etc and of course, ball handling throughout the day.

This suits the way their brain works at this age and stage. Frequent, varied, fun activities that require focus for short periods of time.

The Toddler in our family loves playing with balls. Being a boy, that is not so surprising. Before he came along, I was aware there would be some differences in the way my Preschooler - our daughter - and my Toddler would interact with the world at large.

What is surprising is the extent of the differences - especially when it comes to playing with the balls...and climbing (but more about that on a later post).

So here is how I plan to begin the development in this area - quite a bit sooner than anticipated.

Choose soft chest (kids) sized balls so that it requires two hands to hug it. Have many on hand to reduce the amount of time required to fetch the ball.

At this stage there is a lot of just ball handling. Hugging, lifting, chasing, lying on the ball etc.
1. Rolling comes next. Seated, with both legs out in the shape of a 'V'. Begin the roll with the ball in contact with the ground. Push it forward to roll it. Roll it to and fro.
2. Then rolling whilst standing - with the adult kneeling. Stand with legs in a 'V' shape. (ie. bottom half of the star shape - remember the 'Stars and Rockets' post?) Roll it to and fro.
3. Encourage moving towards the ball and receiving it in a chest hug in a scooping action.

The action of kicking and/or chest passing will be next...but that is all for now.

Move from one stage to the next when there is some consistency at successfully receiving and rolling the ball to the intended destination. Note that the above may take days or weeks to progress through.

Indeed within the course of a day......I consider it a good one if I cover just step 1.

Because, there is also a lot of this going on.....

Tip Toe through the ...daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

-William Wordsworth-

Well... not quite a crowd yet...but that is the intention.

A crowd of daffodils - even better, a maze made of daffodils would be a lovely thing to tip toe through.

Tip toeing - preferably barefoot - is not only a fun way to get around, it is a great workout for the feet. It strengthens and conditions the muscles and soft tissues and in turn allows for the confident participation in a wide range of actions.

Why is it important? Many of our 206 bones are in our feet (and hands) - all connected and controlled by muscles and soft tissues. Our feet support our body weight. Tip Toeing and other exercises for our feet develops muscles and soft tissues used in actions beyond just walking.

Bouncing softly on the heels is also good exercise. It involves moving from a stationary position to standing on the balls of our feet and then gently lowering the heels to the floor. One that could be done while waiting for say...the toast to pop!

During the toddler and preschool years, let there be lots of (barefoot) tip toeing and soft heel bouncing.

(Making sure there is a path for tip toeing when all the daffodils bloom)

Wide open spaces

We have quite a small backyard but it is adequate for many outdoor activities. Occasionally, though, one feels the need to have a good run around. And that is when we seek out wide open spaces. Kite Flying is a great way to enjoy this.

For both my Preschooler and Toddler, there was great joy to just simply run around - at full speed and in any direction. For me, it was comforting to know that they had the space to just run freely without concerns of collisions with objects and/or other people.

Preschoolers and indeed Toddlers benefit from activities that allow them to develop their peripheral vision whilst running at speed in a safe manner - without the 'swarm-like' running that some group activities and team sports typically create.




Thanks to my Kiteflying coach for the idea and tips on how to handle a kite.

Heel, Toe, Heel, Toe

Most kids love to walk along brick walls or any wall/edge wide enough to safely hold their weight. Whenever we are out and about and have the opportunity to, we always take it. It is fun and a great way to enjoy the outdoors.

When we are at home though, masking tape on the carpet or rug serves as a visual wall for heel toe walking. The heel of each next step touches the toe of the foot behind. My Pre-Schooler has just started to do this and at this initial stage, great concentration is required to succeed at this task. Gentle encouragement is required.

Opportunities to return to the task at her own time has proved to be positive.

Why Heel Toe walking? The action requires controlled coordinated dynamic balance and practicing this type of walking develops this.

Low tack masking tape is better. Experiment with various lengths and don't forget to remove the tape at the end of the session to avoid permanent adhesive stains.

Obstacle Course :: Phase 1

We found some off-cuts of wood from the side of the road - the size and shape were perfect as stepping stones or little stools.

This became an inspiration for an obstacle course of sorts. Located by the front gates, it is used frequently and makes great use of a corner in the garden.

Plans are to add a walking plank, some form of tunnel and a climbing wall along with more plants. Obstacle courses are great for developing fitness in a fun way. The trick is to get the right balance between being challenging and achievable. The use of time to measure improvement is a good way to track progress.

The obstacle course can be a great opportunity to extend the movement vocabulary. Learning words such as under, over, beside, inside, outside, around, along, between while doing it is a more meaningful experience.

Bubbles on a windy day!

A small bottle of bubbles + a windy day = lots of fun and fitness.

Hop, Gallop, Skip

Once a toddler can jump confidently, hopping soon follows.

Hopping is a gross motor skill that develops strength and balance.It requires the coordinated movements of large muscles groups in the body.

When my Pre-Schooler started to learn to hop, she brought her knee up high so that her thigh was parallel to the ground. This is an inefficient position for hopping but perhaps comfortable and necessary until strength and balance is developed.

With encouragement and many opportunities to hop, she developed a more efficient style where the knee swings forward and backwards to counter the momentum. We played a lot of Hopscotch.


Very soon after she mastered the hop, came the gallop.....same leg in front, hop, step, hop, step. She galloped whenever she could. And then one day, she just decided to skip. And has not stopped.

Being able to confidently hop, skip, gallop, jump and run means that she is more keen to do so whenever the opportunity arises. The patterns of movement in these actions form the basis for more complex skills.

Having someone to hop, skip and gallop with is great encouragement.

Hanging Ball

I have a soft ball hanging from the ceiling to encourage hand-eye-coordination for my Pre-Schooler. With varying degrees of success, she strikes it with her dominant hand and anticipates its return. She concentrates on the task of hitting the ball for several minutes and then returns to whatever she was doing.

With each session, she is experimenting with the position of her body in relation to the ball, she is improving on her ability to track the ball, and I have recently noticed that a 'back swing' is beginning to appear. The feedback from each session is used to improve upon her attempts. Occasionally, I provide some verbal cues to assist her but for this age and stage, the fun is in trying to hit the ball.

My Toddler son also enjoys using the Hanging Ball. Although, at 18 months of age, it is fun to just run into it.

I made my Hanging Ball by re-purposing a pair of stockings and pages of newspaper scrunched into a ball. The newspaper ball (tennis ball size) is placed inside the toe of the stocking and tied off with twine. Sometimes I put stickers on it or draw faces.

Having the Hanging Ball ready to go allows for frequent short periods of practice.

Integrated PE

Physical activity can be cleverly woven into many daily happenings.

We love 'story time' here and like many households, books are part of the 'going-to-bed' routine. But we also like to 'gather a crowd and read aloud' during the day. This is often followed by some form of story stretching activity. Many books lend itself to crafty adventures but I can often find some way to integrate PE into the session.

This is a favourite in many homes...and so I can imagine there are many different improvisations for each of the verbs used to cross the obstacles.

Incidentally, I would be interested to know what readers use for each of the scenes; scarves for the grass, a heap of cushions/river, beanbags/mud, furniture/forest, imagination-noise/wind, blanket/chairs for the cave.

But whenever we read this book aloud, we pay extra attention and take turns to role-play the bear. Getting around on hands and feet (same leg/arm) is one of many methods of locomotion that develops leg flexibility and arm/torso strength.

If enthusiasm and time permits, we go on 'seal' hunts (straight arms and hands turned in toward each other with dragging the legs along, crab hunts (on hands and feet but facing up - walking sideways) and Monkey hunts (same as bear but with opposite arms and legs). Of course, the bear, crab, seal and monkeys are always friendly and everyone goes home happy at the end of our stories.

Happy Bear hunting.

Stars and Rockets

Hello Blog world...

This is my very first post...and if things go well for us I shall be here week-daily with an update of the PhysEd fun we have here. I am committing to this blog for a year and in that time, I hope to lay out some semblance of a course for PE at home for parents to use as a guide.

And so I am beginning with 'Stars and Rockets'. When my daughter was two and a bit she eagerly copied and remembered how to make her body into the shape of a star and a rocket. Toddlers are very keen to please and love to model. Initially, pointers were required to assist her to straighten her arms and keep her back straight, but now at the age of four, she can very confidently get into and hold these positions.



Why did I bother to do this? Well, it develops body awareness, strength, posture.... and when my daughter started ballet and swimming lessons, these positions were often used in the instructions. The confidence derived from knowing what to do and understanding directions gives the learner a tremendous boost. Knowing the basics allows them direct their energies to build upon their skills.

The 'rocket' is standing with the feet together, arms held up straight above the head like a rocket. It is enough to aim for the biceps to be over the ears for preschoolers.


So, I am looking forward to teaching my 18month old son to do the same soon. It has had the unintended but fantastic benefit of streamlining the drying process once out of the bath/shower.