At Blue Bird Day, our team of Pediatric Physical Therapists incorporate play into their work to promote the development of our clients’ gross motor skills, strength, balance, and endurance. Evidence based practice supports DIR/Floortime as an effective approach to promote development of skills, and incorporating play into our work encourages individual participation and promotes peer interactions. 

Below are different Play Positions for your child to increase their strength and flexibility while having fun! 

 1. Quadruped (All Fours) 

• On hands and knees 
• Ensure knees are directly under hips 
• Hands directly under shoulders 
• Head looking up and forward 
• Back and belly flat 

 2. Prone On Elbows 

• Propped on forearms 
• Elbows directly under shoulders 
• Head supporting itself with ears away from the shoulders 
• Legs together and straight out 

 3. Tall Kneel 

• Knees together or no more than shoulder-width apart 
• Knees directly under hips 
• Trunk upright 

4. Tailor Sit (Criss Cross) 

• Knees flexed and legs tucked in as far as possible 
• Trunk upright 

 5. Side Sit 

• Both legs flexed to the same side 
• Opposite arm can be extended 
• Place an activity or toy on the opposite side of legs for trunk rotation  

 6. Long Sit 

• Both legs straight out in front of body 
• Place an activity or toy on either side of legs for trunk rotation 

 At Blue Bird Day, Eyas Landing, and Merlin Day Academy, our Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Behavior Therapy teams all collaborate to target your child’s unique goals and to help them generalize their skills across multiple environments. If you would like recommendations tailored to your child’s preferences and goals, please reach out to your therapy team and they can provide more information! 

 Watch our caregiver workshop on Meeting Your Kids Where They’re At in Play to learn more strategies on how to promote your child’s play at home!

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This is a common question asked of children when they are young. Answers can vary from a teacher to a doctor to a firefighter to a superhero and so on. The list is never-ending! Children have such great imaginations and hopes for the future! At Blue Bird Day, we hope to provide each child with the tools they will need to be successful wherever their path may lead.  This blog talks about the benefits of playground games and how learning these games help set your child up for future success in their growth and development.

Blue Bird Day incorporates playground games within the curriculum to help children learn important skills for being successful as they grow. Playground games including duck duck goose, ring around the rosy, red light/green light, hide and seek, and red rover are some examples. By engaging children in these games, the therapists at Blue Bird Day are helping set each child up with the important skills of peer interaction, direction following, and turn-taking. For each game to be successful, children must wait for their turn, listen and follow the directions, and interact with their peers. All the games mentioned incorporate peer interactions as a major component, whether it be holding hands, tapping a peer on the head, or hiding/seeking a peer out. Each game also has a set of directions the children must follow in order to play, as well as waiting patiently for their turn to be the goose during duck duck goose, to hide during hide and seek, or to run across the room during red rover.  

The therapists also rely on the child’s imagination within these games. A child’s imagination can help to alter the games played, such as turning duck-duck goose into a game with other animals (I.e. dog dog cat). By encouraging the use of a child’s imagination, they are learning to be flexible within what they were initially taught. Learning flexibility within a structured game is helpful in aiding flexibility in other aspects of a child’s life, including transitions, daily routines, etc.   

All the skills utilized and learned from playground games can help lead to success as a child grows. In school, a child will need to sit when in class and listen to/follow directions from a teacher, take turns with peers at recess or in gym class when engaging in play, and be engaged with peers throughout the day. A child may want to join a sports team in which they will also need to interact with peers and follow directions of the coach. These skills continue to be important and can be built upon throughout a child’s life, from elementary school to high school to becoming the teacher/doctor/firefighter/superhero/etc. that they have always dreamed of becoming!