Body awareness activities for children. (2023)

The definition of body awareness is the ability to understand where our bodies are in space and how our bodies are moving. Body awareness activities for kids help us understand how we interact with objects and people at home, at school and outdoors. For example, correct body imagery tells us how far to reach objects or how far to stand next to a person. When people have difficulty with body imagery, they sometimes appear clumsy, uncoordinated, or have delays in the development of motor skills.

Body awareness activities for children.

It is possible that not all children have the same ability to interpret and shape a motor action when it comes to body awareness. This can lead them to struggle with personal space, follow motor instructions, exercise, and more. In everyday school life, body awareness is very important in physical education classes, breaks, running in line, playing with friends, etc.

Physical therapy or occupational therapy can help children in this area if there are deficits. If your child is already receiving OT or PT, work with your providers to develop body awareness goals in occupational therapy or physical therapy.

Do you need body awareness examples for kids? Try some of these below to teach your students how to develop body awareness.

Proprioceptive input (heavy work activities)

This type of information provides our muscles and joints with information about how our arms, legs, head and torso move. All weight bearing activities are technically proprioceptive inputs. Here are some examples: wheelbarrow riding, jumping, kicking, push-ups, push/pull, weight lifting, etc.

Play body part identification games

Simon Says is a wonderful game to promote body awareness and self-regulation. Introduce more than one activity to increase the challenge, e.g. B."simon diztouch your left knee with your right hand.” look at theseFree tickets to Simon Says.

How to develop body awareness with mirror games

Give each child a partner. When one person moves, the other person must copy their movements exactly. Let the children try to imitate different movement poses with it.body position maps. Try to imitate the exact actions of the children portrayedMove like i-Karten.This pack can help students learn how to develop body awareness.

exercisespatial perception.

Set up obstacle courses for kids to go under, over, through and around objects. This helps children develop an awareness of the body in space. Here they aremore ideas for space awareness examples.

Body Awareness Exercises: Bean Bag Alphabet Game

Beanbag Alphabet Fun Game used beanbags as a wonderful tool to promote physical activity, body awareness, motor planning and coordination skills in children. Run through the alphabet with your bean bag -Download this freebie and learn to play.

Body awareness to express

Download this FREE 6 pages to printTo increase body awareness in children and play.

Ninja Engine Programming and Body Awareness Gift

Here's a fun gift for fanatical ninja lovers.ninja brain break! This activity promotes motor planning, body awareness, finger strengthening and physical activity. You can download theninja clothespin clip activityOn here.

Hula hoop game body awareness activity for kids

through the tire– Divide the group into several small teams (about 3 children in each group). Give each group a hula hoop. Set up a starting line and another line about 10 to 20 feet apart. The first person in each group walks to the line 3 to 6 meters away and holds the hoop a few inches off the ground. Then the next person drops down, climbs through the hoop and heads back to the starting line. The third person goes down, climbs through the hoop and returns to the starting line. The first person climbs through the hoop, grabs it, and runs back to start. The first team to get all three players into the hoop is the winner.

create selfies

Practice drawing pictures of people.Ask the child to draw a picture of himself.. Name the body parts as they are drawn.

Movement activities for children and group body awareness activities in the classroom.

Need a quick mental break for body awareness and spatial relationships that combine estimation with movement and movement planning? Here is a simple activity to help students understand spatial relationships with objects in the classroom.

Start with each student standing at their desk. Ask them to guess how many baby steps it takes to walk to the table in front of them. After estimating, they can count the small steps needed.

Now try moving to a more distant target with a different movement. Guess how many jumps it takes to reach the window. Once the estimate is made, students can count the jumps they need to get to the window. Return to the starting point. Now ask students to double the number of jumps needed to reach the window. Students now have to adjust the size of the jumps and the way the body moves through space to double jump towards the window.

Let students become partners. Students can stay at least 10 feet apart. Estimate how many hops it takes to meet in the middle. Test your guess and find the middle. Try again with different movements, for example, stepping back, heel-to-toe walking, lunges, marching, etc. Remember to remind students that part of the challenge is meeting in the middle but not touching.

Body awareness question and answer activities for children.

This game can be played with one player or a group of children to develop body awareness, fine motor skills and listening skills.

The adult stands in front of the group and asks the children to move specific body parts based on questions. The children cannot answer the questions. You must move the part of your body that is the answer to the question.

Here is an example:
Question: What body part is waving?
Answer: Children wave their hands in the air.

Here is a list of several questions and answers, or create your own. See what questions children ask.

Q: What body part makes faces?
A: The child moves his mouth or tongue

Q: What body part wears socks?
A: The boy moves his feet.

Q: What part of the body uses crayons?
A: The child moves his fingers.

Q: What part of the body smells like a skunk?
A: The child moves his nose.

Q: What body part climbs stairs?
A: The child moves arms and legs.

Now change the game and request actions based on different sounds:

Make a slapping sound with your body.
stamp feet
fingerprints
march instead
lip smack
knock on your knees
touch your shoulders

Now let the children close their eyes. Make one of the sounds you've practiced with your body. Can children guess which part of your body you are using to make the sound?

Print the body awareness exercises in PDF format here.

Simon says motor memory game

Need a challenging activity for motor memory and body awareness? This Simon Says Motor Memory Challenge game is very easy to set up though not so easy to play. Challenge yourself to see if you can remember all the moves.

How to play:

1. Download and print the Simon Says Motor Memory Challenge game below.
2. Cut the 10 strips on the side.
3. Stack the strips with Action #1 on top.
4. Staple the strips together to form a thin "book" of strips.
5. Do action #1: touch your head twice with both hands.
6. Turn the page and, without looking back, do Action #1 followed by Action #2. Touch your head twice with both hands and touch your right knee with both hands.
7. Turn the page and perform three actions without looking back: touch the head twice with both hands, touch the right knee with both hands AND jump three times.
8. Continue through the book, remembering each action and adding the new one.
9. Can you remember the 10 actions?

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE BODY AWARENESS ACTIVITIES HERE – SIMON SAYS ENGINE MEMORY CHALLENGE.

Simon said gym ball style

Have you ever playedsimon dizType of exercise ball? This is an easy way to adapt a timeless game.simon dizbut add more range of motion, muscle building, and spatial relationships. It's more of a challenge if you're using a large exercise ball, but if that's not available, get a large beach ball, which is lighter. No beach balls available? Catch a soccer ball or game ball? No balls available? Take a pillow. Just get something big enough to hold with both hands.

Give each child an exercise ball or large beach ball to play with. Give the usual instructions forsimon dizgame, but add some extra steps. For example, "Simon says..."

1. Put the ball on your head.
2. Keep the ball to your right.
3. Keep the ball to your left.
4. Squeeze the ball between your knees.
5. Put the ball behind your back.
6. Sit on the ball.
7. Roll the ball face down.
8. Put the ball on the table.
9. Keep the ball next to the chair.
10. Place the ball between your back and the wall.
11. Touch the ball with your left foot.
12. Place both hands beside the ball.
13. Place your right foot under the ball.
14. Touch the ball with your left foot, right hand and chin.
15. Bounce the ball three times.

More ideas for body awareness activities with Simon Say exercise balls for kids

By adding the additional location addresses, you also reinforce spatial and right-to-left relationships. The big ball encourages bilateral skills and center line crossing. Simon Says involves body awareness, motor planning, midline crossing and balance.

Working with a group of kids and just having a great ball? Play Hot Potato. Remind children to always hold the ball with both hands (or both feet)! Ask the children to form a large circle with some space between them. Turn on the music and pass the ball in a circle. Try to guide it to the right, left or up. Try to sit down and pass the ball with your feet.

To besimon dizThe download includes 68 body position cards (full page), 13 Simon Says stop cards, and 25 game ideas to use with the Simon Says cards. It also includes all 81 face cards in a smaller size (2.5" x 3.25": nine cards to one page). Print the cards or play the Simon Says game with the electronic PDF on a screen or tablet. This activity promotes body awareness, bilateral coordination, motor planning and following instructions.

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Bonus Tip for Developing Body Awareness: Take Time to Explore New Spaces

When children have difficulty identifying where a child is in space, it can affect motor skill development, peer interaction, and safety. When learning new skills, take the time to fully explore the environment in which the functional skills will be learned. Children need to explore and practice skills in the real environment where they need to have proper body awareness.

Take, for example, a student who bumps into objects or classmates in the classroom. If the room is empty, enter and have the student circulate around the tables and chairs. Practice crawling under desks, kneeling and sitting in different places in the classroom. Add games or activities to keep you up to date. If necessary, provide verbal cues as the student passes objects, eg This table is wide or this hallway is narrow. This exploration allows the child to develop a motor map of his environment with him. This helps you get a better idea of ​​the size of the tables, the height of the chairs, the width of the carpet, and the distance from the bathroom.

This can apply to different areas of the school or home. And the canteen? Have a child explore to define a motor map between the cafeteria tables, in the cafeteria line, and around the trash cans. When your home is renovated, take the time to simply explore the new areas and obstacles without adding the stressors of other goals.

Sometimes keep it simple and start exploring without adding more functional tasks to build a solid foundation.

Need more resources for body awareness activities for kids?

To bebody awareness packfrom Your Therapy Source contains 9 amazing resources to help children develop body awareness, motor planning and coordination skills. All 9 digital assets are available electronically immediately after payment. download thiscross the center lineBody Awareness Freebie below to get a great coupon for the Body Awareness Bundle.

Click on each title for more information:

More than 25 bilateral coordination exercises:Download 28 bilateral coordination exercise sheets that include QR codes with links to a video demonstration of the exercises. It also includes handouts explaining bilateral coordination. ($8.99)

Simon says:This download contains 68 body position cards (full page), 13 Simon Says stop cards, and 25 game ideas to use with the Simon Says cards. It also includes all 81 face cards in a smaller size (2.5" x 3.25": nine cards to one page). Print the cards or play the Simon Says game with the electronic PDF on a screen or tablet. This activity promotes body awareness, bilateral coordination, motor planning and following instructions. ($6.99)

move like meThe download includes action poses for kids to practice motor planning, centerline crossing, body awareness, timing, rhythm, coordination and physical activity. ($4.99)

left or right gamesThe digital package helps children practice right and left discrimination, bilateral coordination, fine motor skills, balance skills, body awareness, motor planning and visuospatial skills. ($5.99)

Travel to personal space:Collection of activities to teach kids about personal space, including lots of body awareness exercises and a social story about personal space ($8.99)

Which direction?Contains 16 pages of directional arrows (large and small) plus 6 panels below. Activities are available at different difficulty levels. Children practice moving left, right, diagonally, forward, backward, clockwise, up and down. Practice motor planning skills, visually scan from right to left, understand prepositional clauses and spatial awareness with this movement activity. ($2.99)

Laterality Exercises - Left or Right WorksheetsThe digital download includes 20 black and white worksheets for learning the concepts of left and right. Instructions include writing from left to right, coloring objects from left to right, circling in the right direction, calligraphy activities, and more. Promote visuospatial skills. ($4.99)

Ninja Brain Breaks:This download is a collection of 5 games to develop visual motor skills, fine motor skills, motor planning, body awareness and physical activity. The pack includes Roll Some Ninja Moves, Ninja Clothes Pin Clips, 5 Ninja Lotto Boards, 12 Freeze Dance Ninjas (great for a group), 5 Speed ​​​​Ninja Boards and 12 Small Ninja Cards. ($3.99)

Unique movement-based body schema development games - activities in the classroom, clinic and at homecontains instructions, a list of specific skills, pictures, and cue cards for each of the therapy activities. Suggestions are made for adapting these activities for different stages of development. Games can be left in the classroom and played as a sensory break or as an inclusive break activity with peers. Activities can also be adapted to the core curriculum. ($14.95)

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laterality activities– Laterality is the term used to describe the dominance of one hemisphere over the other. An easy way to figure out your handedness is to analyze your hand control.

directionality activities- From fun songs to maze games, these lessons will help your students get to grips with cardinal directions, left-right directions, and much more.