Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Power Stations

One teacher wondered where in her classroom she would fit suitable sensory activities. They don't necessarily need a lot of space. Have you noticed the "power stations" popping up around the hallways? Look outside the OT/PT room for one example.

Tape a set of paper hands on a vertical surface for wall push ups. A student does 10 push ups against the wall to boost his/her attention and alertness level.






Here is a set of numbers for quick, explosive "power jumps." A student tries to jump and touch the highest number on the wall. This provides input to the muscles and joints, which in turn helps to organize a youngster before entering class.








No space required!

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

who is liable for resulting injuries?

Beth Lloyd said...

We are always concerned about the safety of children in school. However, a wall push up is.... well,simply a wall push up. A student has more chance of getting injured walking down a flight of stairs (certainly a much riskier motor task)! The same goes for a vertical jump.

I wonder how children who really need this programmed input might create safety issues "crashing and bumping" around the school environment when being deprived of controlled input to their muscles and joints.

As adults, we have the responsibility to provide children what they need to be successful!

Anonymous said...

On a recent visit to the school I noticed the power stations and thought they were great. I am sure that children are being instructed how to use them safely. Sometimes I will just suggest that a child, or even the whole class, stand up and do some jumping jacks in place. If it is only one student that needs the break, they can go in the hall and do them out of sight of their peers. Also, sometimes a simple suggestion to parents can be to include crunchy or chewy snacks (ie carrot sticks, pretzels,...) for a morning snack allowing some oral motor input.