Visual Motor Games - School Age Children
Purpose: To develop visual spatial predictiveness for and on foot action patterns
Apparatus: Balls of various sizes
JUMP BALL
Method:
- Roll ball toward child. He is to jump over the ball. The jump action should be symmetrical. Feet should lift and land on the floor together.
- Arms should also lift symmetrically in support of the jumping action.
- Roll the ball from different directions and at different speeds.
- Start with a small ball—tennis ball—and work toward a larger size— basketball.
- Next, instruct child to jump 1 or 1/2 turn clockwise or counterclockwise as he jumps over the ball.
HAND JUMP BALL
Method:
- Two players stand 3 or 4 feet apart on the same side of a table. Both players place their hands on the table, palms down and about twelve inches apart. All four hands should be in line.
- One player rolls a ball toward his own hand and hands of the other player.
- Player lifts own hand to let ball under and immediately puts it down again.
- Other player lifts his first hand at the last second and puts it down again after the ball passes under and catches it with the other hand.
- Now second player repeats process. Switch places every 5 rolls so that the role each hand plays is reversed.
- Repeat with both players looking at some target straight ahead while controlling the ball with peripheral seeing.
Aspects to be Emphasized:
JUMP BALL
- Symmetrical jumping pattern using whole body with feet together.
- Ability to jump over the ball gracefully regardless of the speed or direction from which it comes.
HAND JUMP BALL
- Simultaneous awareness of self and other player when rolling the ball.
- Flexibility in shifting the “lift” and “catch” roles from one hand to the other, under the direction visual clues.
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