Footwork Mastery

Teach Preschoolers sports: Follow These Simple Steps To Enhance Your Child's Play times

As a lifelong educator, Mom & GrandMa, I have spend 1000s of hours in gymnasiums with children: trying to help them build confidence and gain skills and have fun! Read long with me on this web site, and see if the 6 part training program I have organized will give you some guidelines to develop the physical skills of your own youngsters: toddler and preschoolers are my main aim.

The few tasks that I have selected below are taken from one of the six training manuals that are progressively organized lead your child from gaining balance in place to building strength and mastering physical skills that will build sports readiness and that are fundamental to all sports.

With the first skills development series of exercises and drills, you will be able to carefully guide your child in their development of their balance and posture. Careful instruction is essential to gain the benefits of play.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT Series:   PART ONE

Discover the 5 Tasks for SKILLS in PLACE & the Teaching Objectives

Building Balance & Foot Use for Preschoolers

 

Feet Build Balance Skills for Preschool Learning Through Sensorimotor Play

Make Young Feet Have:   Task One:  Big Toes Kissing

 & Heel Hugging…Building a Base for Balance

Children balancing on both feet together

STEP BY STEP PROGRESSIONS

Work for feet: To work on balance during kids play try this:

In a calm reassuring voice using these EXACT words, ask your child to:

1. Place your feet together.

2. That is Big Toes kissing.

3. Now, press your heels together. HEEL HUGGING.

4. Stand TALL.

5. Child must maintain their balance.

6. A slight use of the arms to aid balance is fine.

TASK #1 OBJECTIVE:    ALIGNMENT AWARENESS The aim of this little exercise is an awareness of the balance.

Task TWO:  Open the BACK Doors of the BARN

Feet skills

STEP BY STEP PROGRESSIONS

Work for feet: In an open space, ask you child to stand still and listen to the teacher:  YOU

YOU can make a big difference in your youngster's abilities to maneuver their feet.

 

  • 1. Start, standing with feet in a parallel and touching position
  • 2. SAY: OPEN the BACK BARN doors.
  • 3. Swing the heels to the side. Keep the heels low, skimming the floor.
  • 4. HOLD the OPEN position.
  • 5. Close the heels together…as they were at the start.
  • 6. Repeat the heel swing. Tell a story like under the child there are lots of farm animals. They want to to outside. Tell them to swing open the BARN DOORS to allow the animals to go out to the pastures.

TASK #2 OBJECTIVE: DIRECTIONALITY  Here the child tries to use the BARN image to make movement fun as they master the subtle weight shifts necessary to do this task.

Task THREE: Paper Slipping

]Balance for feet control

STEP BY STEP PROGRESSIONS

Balance work with feet aids motor skills. With a set of kids feet [your child's] and a sheet of paper, YOU can make a big difference in your youngster's body control

Ask your child to stand with their feet side by side. YOU will need a sheet of paper

  • 1. Ask the child to shift their weight to the front of their foot.
  • 2. Ask them to lift their heels…only a little!
  • 3. HELPER HINT: actually, the heels lift upwards only one-half inch/one cm…off the floor.
  • 4. The Helper goes near the child and tries to slip a sheet of paper under the child's lifted heels.
  • 5. Child must maintain their balance.
  • 6. A slight use of the arms to aid balance is fine.

TASK #3 OBJECTIVE: BALANCE CONTROL This task will increase an awareness of the balance.

Task FOUR:  Popcorn Popping

STEP BY STEP PROGRESSIONS

Balance Work on Feet: With a soft play toy or crushed paper towel available, find a safe space to work with your child.

Use the soft object under the heels of your student.   YOU can make a big difference in your youngster's body control.

Balance Drills for Preschoolers

Ask your child to stand with their feet side by side, and SAY

  • 1. Place your feet together.
  • 2. Pretend that giant pieces of popcorn, EXPLODE under your heels.
  • 3. The popcorn forces your heels [and body] UP!
  • 4. Hold high.
  • 5. Drop the heels down to squash the popcorn.
  • 6. A slight use of the arms to aid balance is fine.

HELPER HINT:   Clap your hands to promote a sharp and CRISP action [up/down].

Variations: suggest the child tries different speeds of pops ~~ slower, quicker.

TASK #4 OBJECTIVE: CONTROL OF BODY This task will allow the child to explore and develop control over movement and balance.

Task FIVE: High Toes! Solid Ground!…Builds A Solid Base for Balance

STEP BY STEP PROGRESSIONS

YOU can make a big difference in your youngster's body control during their play.

Feet Focus:  To work on balance during kids play try this:    

Footwork Drills for PreschoolersBalance with heels and toes together

In a calm voice, ASK you child to:

  1. Place their feet side-by-side.
  2. Toes kiss and heels hug.
  3. Lift heels.
  4. Stand TALL.
  5. Go ALL all the way UP
  6. Hold HIGH, briefly.
  7. HELPER HINT: All the child's arms to aid balance.
  8. Lower heels to floor.
  9. Repeat as long as concentration is working.

Note: Pressing the heels together and keeping the BIG TOES touching will help the child tremendously!

TASK #5 OBJECTIVE: FOOT USE & BALANCE This task will allow the child to explore and develop control over movement and balance.

Please return to the Training Program Series and try the next section: Moving Right Along! Skills while traveling.

Teaching Hints for Turning Kids Play into Build Brain Time

  • The senses will connect the muscles to the brain as the child strives to maintain their balance.
  • Make sure that the practice times for this task are SHORT and happy!
  • Check to make certain that the toes are pointing forward.
  • This balance skill recruits the brain and ensures good muscle control.
  • The feet and the senses will connect the muscles to the brain as the child strives to maintain their balance.
  • Make sure that the practice times for this task are SHORT and happy!
  • Check to make certain that the toes are touching as well as the heels touching each other.
  • This foot contact recruits the brain and ensures good muscle control.

Building awareness of feet, your preschool child will unlock their skills through play.

This builds sensorimotor awareness for preschoolers.

Each SKILL SET has a series tasks to try under your watchful eyes.
Theses tiny jobs are quick to do.

Think of each task as: little jobs to do. But they will attempted under your educated eyes.

We all realize that PLAY is the work of children. Get your kids to work as they PLAY! Our learning never ends. Kids learning never ends.

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