Does your child seem a bit clumsy at times? Does he struggle to walk in a straight line at school, bump into the coffee table, or find it hard to copy new movements? He may be having a bit of trouble with body awareness.
From the time they’re tiny babies, children start learning about their bodies. It begins as early as three months when they discover their hands, and by 12 months, they can point to different body parts. “Show Mummy where your mouth is!” or “Can you close your eyes?” Body awareness is about knowing where all the body parts are, what they are, and how they work individually and together.
This is such an important skill because it affects how we move through our world. How do we get from one place to another? This lays the foundation for developing key motor skills like muscle tone, balance, and planning movements.
Here are some fun and simple activities you can try at home to help your child build body awareness. Using Tjhoko’s eco-friendly, child-safe paint makes these activities even more enjoyable!
Fun Activities for Body Awareness:
- Life-Size Body Outline: Get a large piece of paper (unprinted newsprint or old newspapers taped together will do). Let your child lie down on the paper, stretched out, and use a marker to trace their body outline. Now comes the fun part—grab your Tjhoko Paint and paint in the different body parts! Once dry, use the marker to draw in extra details like the face, hands, and knees. Hang your life-size creation on the wall and talk with your child about all the different body parts, helping them learn left from right.
- Outdoor Twister: Paint a Twister track on the grass using Tjhoko’s eco-friendly paint! Create four coloured circles: yellow, blue, green, and red. Get a small box, colour the four sides in these same colours, and use it as a die. Throw the die and follow the instructions: “Left hand on yellow,” “Right foot on red,” and so on. The rules are simple—if you move the wrong body part or fall over, you’re out!
- Shadow Art: Head outside and let your child stand in a funny pose so that their shadow falls on the ground. Whether they’ve got a hand on their head, legs wide apart, or hands on their hips, use paper to trace the shadow’s outline and then colour it in with paint.
- Hand and Foot Prints: Paint your child’s hands and feet with Tjhoko paint—this is a great sensory experience! They’ll love the feel of the cold paintbrush under their feet and on their palms. Make prints of their hands and feet, and use these prints to create simple obstacle courses. Change them up as often as you like! This activity is great for teaching left from right and will challenge their motor skills as they follow the prints to complete the course.
By engaging in these fun and creative activities, your child will build important body awareness skills without even realising it. Plus, using Tjhoko’s eco-friendly paints means you’re doing your bit for the environment while encouraging your little one’s development. It’s a win-win!