A well-supported finding by developmental researchers is that children, especially young children, learn best through movement and engaging their senses. The movement effectively taps into several sensory systems, initiating, and supporting mental processes. With the recent implementation of distance learning, children are now spending a good portion of their day sitting in front of a computer screen, with less hands-on learning activities, no recess, P.E. class in front of their computer, not to mention lack of transitions to/from school and between classes, all of which provide much needed sensory and motor opportunities.
As your child is embarking on their distance learning journey, we want to help provide you with some ideas to help support them. It is essential to incorporate movement into their day. Ideally, you would help them sprinkle some into their routine before, during, and after school time. If that’s not possible, fit it in where possible. Rather than looking at this as one more thing, you have to make sure your child does, prioritize helping them meet this need and you will find that it will help other aspects of their distance learning day fall into place. Overall you will have a more regulated, calmer, and happier child. It would be similarly advantageous for you to join them in regular physical activity when possible, both for your own self-care and to be a positive role model for your child.
Some children do well appropriately and independently seeking out the sensory and/or movement-based activities that their bodies need to stay regulated. If this is your child, awesome! Other children find this harder and may either a) hold it together for their distance learning and then be a dysregulated disaster for you the remainder of the day or b) may struggle to participate and maintain attention during their school day. Some children were showing these tendencies prior to distance learning. For other children, distance learning has exaggerated or brought about new challenges. If your child seems to struggle with knowing what their body needs, you will need to help them bridge that gap for now. Eventually, the objective will be that they will learn to seek out these activities themselves. Every child has different movement needs, however 30-60 minutes should be the minimum goal each day. By age 10, most kids do well with a 10-minute sensorimotor break every 2 hours. Younger children or children with developmental delays or sensory processing challenges require more.
Not all movement activities are equally effective in terms of helping to regulate your child. Especially if your child has sensory processing challenges, helping them engage in sensorimotor activities that are regulating is optimal. What does that mean? To be regulated is to be in a calm, happy, and ready-to-learn state. For example, telling them to go run laps outside might work for some kids, but for others, it will hype them up and while helping them to burn off some pent up energy, it could make them dysregulated (losing control, hyper, silly).
Two very important sensory systems to consider during sensorimotor activities are the proprioceptive system and the vestibular system. Proprioception is the sense of where our body parts are in space and in relationship to each other. Proprioceptive receptors are located in joints, muscles, and tendons, and are activated through movement, force, and pressure (e.g. animal walks). It is nearly impossible to receive too much proprioceptive input and it is a great system to tap into for regulation purposes. Our vestibular system tells us where we are in relationship to gravity and is critical for balance, spatial awareness, and oculomotor control. Movement and gravity affect the fluid in our inner ear which sends signals to the brain. An activity like swinging taps into the vestibular system. The slower and more linear the vestibular movement, the more calming it is. Faster, less predictable, or spinning vestibular movement is more alerting. It is possible to receive too much vestibular input, which could be dysregulating or make your child feel motion-sick. We all have different thresholds for what is “too much” vestibular input. Some can handle much more than others.
If your child has sensory processing challenges and is hopefully receiving occupational therapy services to address those challenges, please follow the specific recommendations of his/her treating OT.
The remainder of this blog is meant to be a more generic guide to provide you with some ideas.
SENSORY CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
- Ensure proper ergonomic position (see another blog post for specifics). Not only will this position support posture, but a child will be a lot less wiggly if their feet are grounded and their back is supported.
- If your child is still a wiggler, consider adding a component to their seating that would allow for a small degree of movement, such as a wiggle cushion, wrapping a theraband around the legs of your child’s chair, sitting on a yoga ball (making sure to maintain 90-90-90 rule), or an alternative position like propped up on their elbows lying on their stomach on the floor.
- Minimize distractions in the environment. Consider both auditory and visual. Headphones or a cardboard partition may be helpful if working on a common area. If the child is working in their room, make sure toys are put away and take down as many wall distractions as possible.
- Limit recreational screen time outside of school hours, especially during weekdays. Not only do their bodies need a break from being stationary, but their developing eyes and brain also need a rest from all the electronic visual stimulation. Most children have had an increase in their recreational screen time since March and especially over the summer with no school. Having less “free” screen time will likely be an adjustment for your child.
- If their teacher is ok with it, consider allowing your child to chew gum, eat a (non-messy) chewy or crunchy snack, and sipping cold water from a (spill-proof) straw cup during their distance learning time. This will provide your child with alerting and regulating input to their jaw and assist with focus.
- Make sensory bins or sensory balloons (filled with beans, rice, sand, etc) to provide a relaxing tactile sensory break for your child. You can put smaller items in the sensory bins for your child to find and cups and spoons for dumping and scooping. As long as they are supervised for safety, give them some free time to explore the sensory bins.
- Consider providing them with a simple visual schedule of their school day so they know what to expect and when a break is coming up.
FINE MOTOR CONSIDERATIONS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING
Don’t forget about their fine motor skills! While typing/use of a keyboard requires a certain degree of dexterity and hand-eye coordination, the increase in computer time is not going to be sufficient for meeting your child’s fine motor needs. Especially for lower elementary school-age children, fine motor activities are essential to help their little hands grow stronger to support both academic-based fine motor skills and self-care skills. If your child in TK-2nd grade and their teacher is not incorporating consistent fine motor-based activities into the school day, please incorporate fun fine motor activities into their break times or non-school times. Consider putting together a “Fine Motor Activities” box for them with some fun developmentally- appropriate option that they can do during school breaks or after school for 5-10 minutes at a time.
Consider having your child use a computer mouse versus a trackpad. Trackpads are not very functional for fine motor development. A mouse better supports the development of their palmar arches and will likely be easier for them to navigate. If they are working with a touch screen, a stylus is more appropriate for fine motor development. If they must use a touch screen and use a stylus is not possible, encourage them to use their index finger with the rest of their fingers tucked into the palm of their hand (versus having them all extended).
FINE MOTOR ACTIVITY IDEAS 
- Interlocking toys (e.g. Legos, popbeads)
- Tweezer games
- Lacing cards, simple sewing crafts
- Hide marbles/beads in theraputty, clay, or Playdoh to find
- Beading activities (making jewelry, Perler beads)
- Paper dolls
- Paper airplanes, origami
- If you would like some more DIY fine motor activity ideas that would be easy to do at home with minimal materials please ask your therapist for a handout
If your child is resistant to participating in these activities, provide them with choices, tap into what motivates them, and focus on making this a regular part of their daily routine. Help them understand the importance of getting their wiggles out during the appropriate times so that their body can feel calm and focused and ready to learn, as well as the importance of keeping the muscles in their bodies and hands strong. Help them to take advantage of the breaks that their teacher is providing them during the school day. We are here to support you and your child during this unprecedented and difficult time. Please reach out to your child’s therapist if you have any additional questions/concerns. We are all in this together!