Sharing excerpts from my book- From Rattles to Writing: A Parent’s Guide to Hand Skills
GALLOPING
Galloping may be one of the most universal and long enjoyed large motor play activities. Children love to gallop because the sensations it produces feel so good. The thrill of being a galloping horse running away from a cowboy is an added bonus. Galloping also develops bilateral coordination and provides vestibular stimulation because the child is moving up and down as well as forward.
Galloping is simpler than skipping because the same foot always leads. The trailing foot never passes the lead foot. The child’s body weight shifts back and forth from the lead to the trailing foot. Galloping can be tricky to coordinate, so show your child how to break down the steps. It is easiest to first perform the movements slowly without a hop as follows:
GALLOPING
Learning to coordinate the movements to gallop prepares children to skip. However, your child may not be ready to skip until around five years of age because skipping is more complex, requiring the lead foot to change. Skipping involves using both sides of the body in a cross pattern. The left arm swings forward as the right leg swings up, and the right arm swings forward as the left leg swings up. It may take a lot of practice for your child to learn how to skip. However, once learned it is a lot of fun and can be incorporated into dances, such as “Skip To My Lou.” Skipping may also may be taught first by moving through the steps slowly before adding the hops. It may be helpful to have your child review how to do the step–hop pattern as follows:
- Take a step.
- Then take a hop.
- Maintain balance on one foot for at least three seconds.
- Repeat on the other foot.
Hint: Try clapping a drum-like pattern for your child to follow
For the Gymnasts…..
For the Irish Dancers
for the big shot skippers!
…and for the adults who know that skipping is aerobic, strengthening, promotes bilateral coordination, is good for the brain and FUN!!
