Special Education
Physical therapy Services
The main goals of school-based physical therapy are to improve strength, balance, coordination, and/or mobility to help students achieve educational benefits within their educational environment. Such skills can include: assisting children by supporting developmental milestones, refining walking/running skills, participating in group play, and throwing/catching. Physical therapists collaborate with other service providers such as occupational therapists, APE teachers, speech therapists, teachers, case managers and parents/guardians.
simple core strengthening activities for kids
*Always make sure that when your child is completing ANY of these exercises that she is breathing! Breath holding allows your child to compensate and not use the crucial core muscles that these exercises target.
Source: theinspiredtreehouse.com

How to Change it Up:
-Try having the child lift and lower with control (up for a count of 3, down for a count of 3).
-Put a stuffed animal between the child’s knees and have them squeeze while bridging.
-Have the child place his feet on a pillow or small ball and try to maintain stability while bridging. -Zoom some cars underneath — How many cars can you get under the bridge before it falls? -Find a few small, stuffed animals and walk them under the bridge — Don’t squish the bunny!

Superman
Have the child fly like a superhero and strengthen her back! Have her lie on his stomach on the floor and try to lift her arms up off of the floor so that her upper chest comes up too.
How to Change it Up:
-Can she lift her legs? How about arms and legs at the same time?
-Can she hold a ball between her hands or her feet while lifting up?
-Place a stuffed animal on the child’s back and see if she can complete this exercise with enough control to keep the animal from falling.
-Make it fun by having the child reach up for you to hand him pieces of a puzzle or to place stickers on the wall. -Make it even more fun by trying it on a swing or a large ball.

How to Change it Up:
-Have the child hold the plank position on his forearms with his elbows at 90 degrees instead of his hands.
-If holding his whole body off of the floor is too much, try dropping the knees to the floor for support.
-While in a plank position, have him lift an arm straight out in front and hold. How about an opposite arm and leg? – Can he hold a plank position long enough for another child to creep underneath or for 3 balls to roll under?

Have the child lie on her stomach on the floor. While you hold her knees (easier) or ankles (bit more of a challenge), have her walk her hands forward 10 steps and backward 10 steps. Can she walk forward to a ball and and put it in a basket with one hand? How long can she hold this position without pulling her legs away?
How to Change it Up:
-Place an object on the child’s back and see if she can get it across the room without it falling off.
-See if she can tap a balloon, keeping it up in the air in front of her as he walks.
-See if she can complete a puzzle from this position, wheelbarrow walking across the room to retrieve the pieces
teaching kids how to jump
Learning to jump off of the ground is part of typical child development and typically happens right around the age of 3 (for some kids before age 3 and for some a little later). Kids all learn to jump at their own rates. Some get it on their very first try. Others seem to get stuck in the pattern of jumping with one foot leading, almost as if they are galloping.
Source: theinspiredtreehouse.com