Lockdown Olympics
Welcome to Summer Lockdown Olympics!
The Olympic Games in Tokyo may be coming to a close, but here we are just getting started! And also eagerly awaiting for the start of the Paralympics!
Choose your country and let the games begin.
The following are summer Olympic sports that you can participate in your:
- Lounge room
- Garden
- Local playground
If you would like to do one of the activities, but are unsure how to adapt it to your child, please ask your therapist or contact us here.
We would love to get some good Olympic games going!
Comment below and share with us your favourite games or any other fun Olympic games you come up with!
Gymnastics
Balance Beam:
Use any object that makes a straight line such as a skipping rope, painters tape, door snakes, 2X4 board, or pool noodle cut in ½. Try walking forwards, backwards, sideways, and perform turns on the “beam”. Show off your best moves!
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Wonderful balance activity!
Parallel Bars:
If you have monkey bars at your local playground or a tree branch, you can use them as parallel bars to perfect your turns and swinging between the bars. If your child has trouble holding onto the bars and is small enough, you can hold them up to make it easier for them to practice.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Strengthening of shoulders and grip
- A wonderful regulation activity
Swimming
Freestyle:
Lay on your belly on the ground. Raise your opposite arm and leg off the ground. Switch sides to do a swimming motion. Can compete as a family to see who can “swim” the longest or who can make it to a set time (for example 15 seconds) to get the gold medal!
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Great strengthening of back (posture) muscles
- Works on coordination
Athletics
100 Metre Dash:
Hallways or footpaths are a great place to have “100 meter dash” which can be raced in either running or walking. Make sure to have a start and finish line. Time the race to try and get a better time next race.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Working on speed with running and walking
- Working on starting and stopping
Hurdles:
Pool noodles or door snakes are an easy addition to your hallway running track to add in hurdles. If your child is independently jumping, encourage them to jump over each “hurdle” and not just step. If your child is just starting to jump, you can hold your child’s hands to help them jump over the hurdle. If your child is not ready to jump, this is a great way to practice balance by stepping over the hurdles.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Coordination of timing jump, balance, lower extremity strengthening
High Jump:
Place a pool noodle or rolled up sheet between 2 chair or stools. This can be adjusted from the pool noodle laying on the floor all the way up to the seat of the chair depending on what height of jumping your child is at. Try jumping using a two foot take off and landing. For an advanced version, try a lower height bar with one leg take off land landing.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Coordination
- Lower extremity strengthening
Sock Shot Put:
Another hallway activity is to grab a pair of rolled up socks to compete to see who can throw them the longest.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Accuracy
- Eye hand coordination
Archery:
Tape a piece of paper on the wall, or great re-use of a cardboard box, with a target drawn on it and a few point rings. Stand behind a line on the ground and use a soft ball or crumpled piece of paper for the arrow to see who can get the most points.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Coordination
- Ball skill training for accuracy
Balloon Volleyball:
Always a year-round winner in our house! Blow up a balloon and see who can keep the balloon off the ground the longest. You can also set up a pool noodle or sheet over chairs as a net.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Eye hand coordination
- Upper extremity strengthening
- Balance reactions
Fencing:
Have a friendly fencing competition with two pool noodles. Points scored for touching arms or legs (avoid going after the chest or head!) of the opponent. First competitor to 15 points is the winner.
Gross Motor Benefits:
- Eye hand coordination
- Balance reactions
Share with us below which activity is your favourite!
Alternatively comment below if you have any questions.