Enriching children's motor planning and balance skills via MATH and ELA tasks on an interactive sensory playmat.

Researchers and practitioners admit that children who experience trouble with body awareness, physical coordination and balance may experience gaps in learning [1]. Given the strong evidence for a relationship among movement skills, executive function and academic performance, researchers are proposing the use of activities that feel like play [2, 3]. Thus, sensory game-based interventions are progressively being used more by teachers & occupational therapists who encourage children to get engaged in activities that promote better physical gross motor skills, strengthen their motor coordination and increase balance, enhance directionality [4,5].

The classic hopscotch is such a fun sensory game! It can challenge children’s motor planning abilities, their static/dynamic balance and help them get progressively better with their visual perception.
Now Kinems has turned the classic game of hopscotch into an entertaining sensory movement-based learning game, called “Trekins”.

Trekins can promote the aquitition of ELA & MATH academic goals and OT/PT skills. More specifically, it can add value to classroom teaching for:

• Strengthening movement skills with deliberate control while practicing math exercises such as sequencing and operations with 2 or 3 numbers
• Improving the development of spatial awareness while doing spelling exercises
• Enhancing children's sense of balance and orientation while conducting brain thinking tasks

The video trailer of the game can be found here:

Depending on the game settings, children can either practice spelling of high frequency words as well as reinforce arithmetic skills such as counting, mental math calculations with up to three numbers.

Ready to hop hop hop on the Trekins interactive playmat?

References

1. Clark D, Schumann F, Mostofsky SH (2015). Mindful movement and skilled attention. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 9 (June), 297.
2. Diamond A. (2012). Activities and Programs That Improve Children’s Executive Functions. Current directions in psychological science, 21(5)
3. Baranek, G. T. (2002). Efficacy of sensory and motor interventions for children with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32(5), 397–422
4. Boyd BA, McBee M, Holtzclaw T, Baranek GT, Bodfish JW. (2009). Relationships among Repetitive Behaviors, Sensory Features, and Executive Functions in High Functioning Autism. Research in autism spectrum disorders. 2009;3(4):959-966.
5. R Lang, M O'Reilly, O Healy, M Rispoli, H Lydon, W Streusand, T Davis, S Kang, J Sigafoos, G Lancioni, R Didden, and S Giesbers (2012). Sensory integration therapy for autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 1004–1018