This activity includes heavy work or deep pressure input for body awareness, upper body strength and cross midline patterns.
To grade up you can do small sets of these push ups and build up to more sequences such as repetitions of 3.
Add a metronome and you are working the cerebellum –the part of the brain that helps you keep time and move rhythmically without you needing to think about it!
This is often the thing that I see cause the most difficulties with kids is the difficulty to fluidly and automatically perform movements.
In my experience the inability to automate actions in kids results in huge frustrations and meltdowns over seemingly simple activities such as dressing and schoolwork.
An advanced version of this activity might be to do visual tracking and use a metronome with these activities.
(These movements are inspired by the Hands Supporting Reflex that also helps catch us when we fall more on that later).
The upper body connection created in this reflex is so crucial to setting up a steady foundation for writing and fine motor precision.
It’s also a good activity for kids to do in the school environment. Some schools put hand prints on walls for kids to do these push ups.
I can imagine that every kid could make their own hand prints as a craft at school.
Please grade the assistance you give and by no means expect anyone to go as fast as these videos are!
Let us know what wall pushup variants you make!