This year, I received a really cool gift. After you read what it was, you may think, “Don’t you mean that your kids received a cool gift?” Nope, it was honestly for me, and it has been awesome. It’s called a Wiggle Box. It’s simply a cardboard box filled with wooden chips that are each labeled, on both sides, with short movement activities. At first, honestly, I was a little skeptical. My kids tend to steer clear of organized activities and make it readily clear that my ideas are, and I quote, “Super Dumb” (Thank you, Captain Underpants, for introducing yet another dreaded phrase to my children’s vocabulary). Then, one day, I pulled it out. My son, who has a sensory processing disorder which causes him to crave constant movement and stimulation, was literally bouncing off the walls. He was running from one end of our open living room to the other, sliding on the hard wood floors, and slamming into the wall. I was making lunch, watching this and thinking that I needed to come up with a better option. Then I remembered the Wiggle Box. I dug it of the game closet and suggested to my son and daughter that we play a little game before lunch. “Okay,” they both said. (Me to self: “What?!?”) Well, it worked. We had so much fun, they were so engaged, it was completely safe, and it was actually educational. So, I wanted to share this discovery with you. Here are a few of the ways we use the Wiggle Box now.
· Transitions: Each kiddo gets to choose two chips before lunch. We do the chosen activities and then they get up in their seats. We also use them before baths and leaving the house.
· If/Then Positive Reinforcement: “If you put on your shoes before the timer goes off, then we can do two wiggle chips”
· Sensory Breaks: When the kids start acting up, it’s often because they need a sensory break – a chance to move and reunite their minds with their bodies. This also applies when we are doing homework or practicing academic skills. Sitting still and staying focused is hard for most young kids, but providing frequent, short breaks can help a lot.
In addition to these benefits, the activities in the Wiggle Box are designed to help develop fine and gross motor skills, balance, coordination and even a healthy spirit of competition and team work. Below are a few examples of the activities and the skills they develop.
· Balance on one foot while tapping your nose five times, once with each finger, then switch feet and hands – balance, counting, fine motor (and team work if one child counts while the other does the activity)
· Wheel barrow around the couch – gross motor, balance, team work
· Hold each finger up one at a time while giving each a funny name – fine motor (and silly creativity)
· Crab crawl from one end of the room to the other – gross motor, flexibility, and potential competition
· Skip count to ten while doing jumping jacks – counting skills and gross motor
· Make up a handshake with a partner, do it ten times, then try to do it with your eyes closed – cooperation, gross motor, spatial awareness, creativity
If you would like to order the Wiggle Box you can find it at this link. However, you can make your own wiggle activity by printing a list I've created (see the downloadable file to the right of this page), and placing them in any container (Note: the activities on this list are of my own making and not copied from the Wiggle Box). Let the kids decorate the box as a way of introducing this new resource to your home. I hope this comes in handy, and if so please leave a comment about how you have found it useful.
· Transitions: Each kiddo gets to choose two chips before lunch. We do the chosen activities and then they get up in their seats. We also use them before baths and leaving the house.
· If/Then Positive Reinforcement: “If you put on your shoes before the timer goes off, then we can do two wiggle chips”
· Sensory Breaks: When the kids start acting up, it’s often because they need a sensory break – a chance to move and reunite their minds with their bodies. This also applies when we are doing homework or practicing academic skills. Sitting still and staying focused is hard for most young kids, but providing frequent, short breaks can help a lot.
In addition to these benefits, the activities in the Wiggle Box are designed to help develop fine and gross motor skills, balance, coordination and even a healthy spirit of competition and team work. Below are a few examples of the activities and the skills they develop.
· Balance on one foot while tapping your nose five times, once with each finger, then switch feet and hands – balance, counting, fine motor (and team work if one child counts while the other does the activity)
· Wheel barrow around the couch – gross motor, balance, team work
· Hold each finger up one at a time while giving each a funny name – fine motor (and silly creativity)
· Crab crawl from one end of the room to the other – gross motor, flexibility, and potential competition
· Skip count to ten while doing jumping jacks – counting skills and gross motor
· Make up a handshake with a partner, do it ten times, then try to do it with your eyes closed – cooperation, gross motor, spatial awareness, creativity
If you would like to order the Wiggle Box you can find it at this link. However, you can make your own wiggle activity by printing a list I've created (see the downloadable file to the right of this page), and placing them in any container (Note: the activities on this list are of my own making and not copied from the Wiggle Box). Let the kids decorate the box as a way of introducing this new resource to your home. I hope this comes in handy, and if so please leave a comment about how you have found it useful.
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