A is for Activities: Building Skills

The root word of activities is active so the goal of the activity is for the person involved to remain active or to remain actively engaged in the task. Their activity will help to build their skills.

We do not give children activities to do simply to keep them busy, but it is nevertheless a good choice to engage your child in actions as they are helping to develop their skills and propel them forward.

Here are some common activities and samples of what skills they are developing in the process of completing them.

Activity 1: Brush your teeth.  Hand/eye coordination, grip, self-care, up/down and side to side concepts, following instructions, counting teeth, on/off (tap), squeeze toothpaste, brushing teeth.

Activity 2: Make a snack: Food groups, what foods go together, what foods are healthy, measuring amounts, counting, using utensils, cleaning up after, sitting to eat, sharing, textures, colours, sizes.

Activity 3: Read a Book:  learn orientation of the book, prediction, turning pages, letter identification, phonics awareness, practice sounds, look at pictures, ask questions, point, identify, name, make comments, learn new information, read, learn spelling, practice voices, answer questions, share ideas.  

Activity 4: Soccer team practice:  Social skills, physical exercise, muscle building, following directions, negotiating ideas, working together, win/lose, perseverance, determination, strength.

The important thing is not what they do as an activity, that can be as diverse as the child. The key is that their activity is building their skills.  Not only that, it builds their identity as competent members of society who can care for themselves and contribute to the world they live in.

There is an added benefit also. As they are actively doing something, you are with them, talking, sharing their interest, adding in new ideas and vocabulary, encouraging and sharing memorable moments which are enjoyable to both parties. Time spent together builds skills and relationships too!

Ideally, you will be spending a lot of time with your child(ren) doing everyday activities like eating, talking and playing. Action based plans that have a number of parts to it can offer the child numerous chances to be a part of the activity and do something meaningful with someone.  

For example, cooking together. Can the child get an egg?, crack an egg? put the egg in the bowl? stir the egg with a fork? throw out the egg shell? hand over the egg to the parent? eat the egg? Each step is a moment of clear instruction with expected clear responses given.  The child participates and benefits from the steps and from the outcome of their work and from the positive interaction with their parent.

Most importantly, I would summarize this to say... Activities build skills and are a great way for your child to be engaged with you and with the world around them so be sure to encourage positive opportunities to be active each day for the child(ren) in your life!