It's a beautiful day and you and your kids are heading out to the playground for some fresh air and exercise. And, this can be a time for some special development for kids with learning disabilities as everyone benefits by developing large motor skills.

Remember, the right side of the brain controls motions with the left side of the body and the left side of the brain controls motions on the right side of the body. Doing activities that use both sides of the body in a coordinated fashion develop synapse between the right and left brain hemispheres - necessary for learning reading and other academics.

In fact, more than 20 years ago when my daughter was being evaluated for kindergarten she was asked to skip. It is because kids that can manage to skip, which needs the coordination of right and left body, right-left brain hemispheres, are more ready to learn to read. The connection to synapse development and learning academics has been known at least that long.

Now, back to playground activities that use right-left body coordination. Take the humble swing, for instance. The child is centered on some sort of seat. Each hand holds the swing lines equally - otherwise the child would fall over to one side.

Both right and left brain are needed to hold on equally. Next, the child pumps his legs back and forth, equal effort on both sides or else she would start swinging crookedly. We see kids do this on purpose when they fool around or want some variety.

But the kids who want to swing the highest pump with equal effort on both legs. This is learned through practice and trial and error. Thank you to the swing for helping our kids develop balanced motor coordination.

Leaving the swing the bikes and tricycles lined up over on the side grab the kids' attention and that is a good thing. They also need and develop right-left motor coordination and synapse development in a similar way as the swing set.

This time it is an equal and coordinated right and left pedaling that develops the motor skills and all the benefits we have talked about. If the child does not pedal equally with each foot in turn the bike would go in a wobbly pattern.

In summary, playground equipment is doing a great job and at the same time a fun job of teaching kids how to gain coordination. And, now we can see a major reason playground time is important for our kids!

Books

Ebooks


Article by Susan Kramer