Skill shelf · balance, coordination and body awareness · 7 activities
Balance and Whole Body Movement
The activities where the whole body is doing the work, and nearly all of them begin with a line on the floor.
This shelf is quieter than the name suggests. It is not running about. It is a line, something that will fall over, and a pair of feet that have to decide how fast to go. Three metres of masking tape down a hallway is the entire setup for half of what is here, and the tape can stay down for a fortnight, because most of the walking happens in passing, on the way to somewhere else.
What changes across the age range is how much is being managed at once. A two year old walks the line in bare feet with a shoe at each end to arrive at. A three year old stands on a board that rocks about a centimetre and tries to keep a coin still on the back of her hand. A four year old walks a rope with her eyes shut and finds the bends with her feet. A five year old carries five coins on a saucer and discovers that the only way across is slowly. A six year old gets up on two upturned tins and starts again from the beginning.
One of the seven is done sitting at a table, blowing a ping pong ball through a straw. It is here for the coordination rather than the legs, and it is the one to reach for when a body needs something to do and the room does not allow a hallway. For everything else, a line on the floor settles an evening better than running does, which is why several of these appear both under burn off energy and under calm down and settle.
The seven
Ordered by the age each one suits best. Every line gives the setup time, the play time and whether anything has to be bought.
- Walking the Balance Line Your child walks the length of a strip of tape stuck to the floor, slowly, and then turns round and walks back. 2 min · under 5 min · household only
- Balance Board Coin Steady Your child stands on a board that rocks slightly and tries to keep a coin still on the back of her hand, which means the whole body has to go quiet. no setup · 5 to 10 min · household, or a bought set
- Straw Blow Ping Pong Race Your child blows a ping pong ball across the table through a straw, and races it to a strip of tape at the far end. no setup · under 5 min · household only
- Blindfold Rope Path Walk Your child follows a rope laid along the floor with her eyes closed, finding the turns with her feet while your voice tells her what is coming. 2 min · 5 to 10 min · household only
- Painters Tape Floor Balance Track Your child walks a line of tape stuck to the floor without stepping off it, then does it again carrying something. 4 min · 10 to 20 min · one substitute needed
- Balance Beam Coin Carry Your child walks a taped line heel to toe carrying a small stack of coins on a saucer, and discovers that the only way across is slowly. 2 min · 5 to 10 min · household only
- Bucket Stilts Balance Track Your child stands on two upturned tins, holds a rope in each hand to keep them under her feet, and walks a taped line across the garden. 15 min, once · 10 to 20 min · household only
Tape, rope and a clear stretch of floor cover six of these. The stilts want two stiff tins, an old washing line and about fifteen minutes with a hammer, once, and then they live by the back door for years.