Movement Activities for Movement Seeking Behaviors

Parent Instructions:

If your child has difficulty sitting still at times or all of the time, try completing a handful or all of these activities whenever you notice they are antsy, wiggly, moving around a lot, etc. These would be good to complete before needing to sit down for a period of time and/or focus (e.g., eating meals, completing homework or school work, etc.). It is important to notice your child’s state before and after completing these tasks because completing some or all of them may amp them up more; just be mindful and adapt/change as needed. Also be mindful of the time of day you complete these activities (e.g., would this be a good activity to do before bed? Probably not a good idea to amp them up more before bedtime).

Also, completing a handful or all of these activities everyday can also help their body regulate and help to increase coordination, sensory regulation, and core strength, which can in turn affect attention, behavior management, and emotional regulation. Adult supervision is required for safety and effectiveness and please use your best judgement!

Complete these down a hallway and back at least once:

• Crab walks

• Bear crawls

• Army Crawls

• Standard crawling on hands and knees

Complete 10 repetitions of each of these:

• Rolling

• Hip bridges

• Cross knee elbow touches lying on your back or standing (e.g., opposite elbow to knee)

• Cross toe touches standing or sitting (e.g., opposite arm to toe)

• Rolling like an “egg”

• Rolling on a medicine ball on your stomach or back (e.g., medicine ball)

• Jumping jacks

• Jumping in place

• Balance on one leg

• Jumping on one leg and the other

• Chair push-ups

• Wall push-ups

• Wheelbarrow walks

• Bouncing on a large ball (e.g., medicine ball)

• Jumping on a trampoline

• Make your own!

Other options for a specified amount of time (e.g., minimum of 15 minutes with 30 minutes to an hour preferred):

• Stretching

• Watch and follow along to videos of children exercises

• Playing in the park or outside

• Going to a pool or indoor park

• Going for a walk, bike ride, ski, etc.

• Dancing

• Cross country or downhill skiing or snowboarding

• Rock climbing

• Any safe and active activity outside!

Example of Child Instructions (edit as you need to fit your child and family):

Choose 3-5 Activities to do When You Need to Move:

• Crab walks down a hallway and back

• Bear crawls down a hallway and back

• Army crawls down a hallway and back

• Standard crawling on hands and knees down a hallway and back

• Rolling 10 times

• Hip bridges 10 times

• Cross knee elbow touches lying on your back or standing (e.g., opposite elbow to knee) 10 times

• Cross toe touches standing or sitting (e.g., opposite arm to toe) 10 times

• Rolling like an “egg” 10 times

• Rolling on the peanut on your stomach or back 5 times each

• Bouncing on the peanut for 1 minute

• Jumping jacks 10 times

• Jumping in place 10 times

• Balance on one leg for 5 seconds each leg

• Chair push-ups 10 times

• Wall push-ups 10 times

• Wheelbarrow walks with a partner up and down a hallway

• Gymnastics for 5 minutes

• Dancing for 5 minutes

Link to a Google Doc with more ideas: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12_lHzZauIp30S7TIYHFtXntxKbaQn0FuWn8jSqAW8QA/edit?usp=sharing