5 Creative Core Strength Activities

 

Need ideas to help your child get strong? Here are five creative core strength activities using the Core Strength Handbook!

Does Your Child Have Weak Core Strength?

Does your child slump and slouch all the time?

Do they have difficulty with balance?

Is their “helping hand” holding their body up, rather than holding their paper steady?

Do they always lean on a chair, the couch, or other furniture when sitting on the floor?

Are they struggling to participate in exercise due to poor endurance?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your child may have weak core strength.

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I’ve been on a CORE STRENGTHENING kick lately.  Poor Core Strength is often an underlying cause of many other deficits a child may be demonstrating. Plus, it counts as “heavy work”, because it provides proprioceptive input– so it’s great for my sensory kiddos too!

 

Confession – I’m totally obsessed with my new laminator lately and can’t believe I didn’t give in and buy one earlier. Truthfully, I didn’t know how cheap they were.  (AND HOW FUN!) If you are in the market for a cheap and durable laminator, I highly recommend this one:

 

So after I printed out my Core Strengthening Handbook and Exercise Cards, I laminated them up!

 

5 Creative Core Strength Activities

1. Core Strength Bean Bag Toss– My students are wild about my bean bag toss, so I used the scannable QR code cards and placed one by each hole. I made this part of an obstacle course, and when they got a bean bag in, we scanned that code, watched the video, and did the exercise. We used the tracking sheet to write down which exercises we did and for how long. (I do them with the kids so I can squeeze in some core for myself!)                                                        

 

2. Core Strength Dice– I LOVE to use jumbo dice with my classes, they are so fun and SO versatile! I used these dice with whole classes as well in small groups and individual sessions. The kids take turns picking which die to roll, and whatever it lands on, we do! It’s a fun Creative Core Strength Activity!

3) Core Strength Memory Match!

Use construction paper so the kids can’t see through the cards and “cheat”. Put red on the QR cards and blue on the picture cards. The students turn over one of each card, and when they get a match, do the exercise. Again, the tracking sheets come in really handy because you spent more time exercising and less time playing memory. You could also use it the other way, and spend more time on visual memory if you want to address visual perception.

4) Core Strength and Visual Cues

I like to use visual cues to help children understand where their bodies should be. Foam pieces in different shapes can help children keep their bodies in the right positions throughout exercises.

5) Core Strength Homework Bags and Folders

The Favorite Pick?

My kids loved the bean bag throw and the dice the best, but the parents really appreciated the homework activity, so they could help follow through. Parents often just don’t know HOW to get their child to exercise. Having the program allows them to come up with their own Creative Core Strength Activities. The QR codes are a great way to get started because parents and children can scan and watch the videos on YouTube.

Using The QR Code

Personally, my favorite part of the program is the exercise tracking sheets and the QR scanner pics. This really helped to motivate my little guys who don’t usually love to exercise. Keeping track of how far they could go or how long they could hold a pose was really motivating for them. And for my little techies, being able to use our school Ipad to “catch” the code and watch which exercise we get to do was super motivating.

For grown-ups that are not too techie– just use any tablet or smartphone. Go to your app store and search for “QR scanner”.  A bunch of free scanner apps will pop up. Download one, and you’re ready.

I’ve found that this program really works for all of my kids, regardless of their age, gender, or diagnosis.

I’m excited because they just released a Hand Strengthening Program, too. Time to get my creative wheels turning and see what I can come up with! I’ll keep you posted!

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