TME Tuesday: Gross Motor Stations

It's Tuesday again, and I'm going through my TME file to find ideas to share. This is one based on a wide game format (thank you, Girl Scouting!) and is used to encourage my clients (who tend to be sedentary, just like me) to move. Sometimes we use a timer to keep us going - one minute at a station, one minute to find a new station... Enjoy!!

Gross Motor Stations

Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC

Therapeutic Music Experience

Purpose: To provide opportunity for full-body movement; increase sensory stimulation; increase sensory awareness; gross-motor coordination; response to signal (music changes); socialization; impulse control.

Source: Original idea based on Theory from Sensory Integration and Brain Gym. © 2006 by Mary Jane Landaker, MME, MT-BC.

Materials: CD with familiar, up-beat music; CD player; movement signs – movement suggestions: spinning; wall push-ups; jumping jacks; stomping; step-kick; step-together; sit-ups; push-ups; rolling; grapevine; kicks; lunges; cherry-picker movements; touch toes; etc.

Environment: Lots of space in room; movement signs placed in different areas in the room – in a circle pattern, if possible; limited furniture in the way

Therapist Role: Directing movements, modeling appropriate movements, encouraging clients to move, behavior management, reinforcing desired behavior

Procedure:

1. Set up environment prior to the session by placing movement signs in appropriate locations around the room.
2. Explain concept quickly by demonstrating each movement and reinforcing safety measures.
3. Tell client that music stopping indicates time to freeze.
4. Turn on music.
5. Encourage client to move through the stations by either putting “freeze” moments into the song or encouraging individual choice for movement through the stations.
6. Reinforce all client movements.

7.      Engage in all stations as well to encourage client participation.

8. Continue until song is over or until the client displays s/s of boredom or disinterest.

Therapeutic Function of Music: Music provides the framework and background for the movements. As an accompanying tool, music is motivating and encourages the client to move through the stations. The musical selections should be familiar to the client to increase engagement in the experience. The music should also have a tempo in the range of MM=100/140 to support movements for longer periods of time.

Adaptations:

• Decrease number of gross motor movements in favor of fine motor stations to decrease need for full-body involvement
• Increase structure through establishing a pattern for station moving and/or assigning clients to specific groups

Extensions:

• Ask clients to make up own stations – reinforce movements
• Develop dance routine based on favorite movements from the group – move to group-chosen pattern

Now, I can tell that this TME plan was written a long time ago from the way it is structured (and by the fact that I insist on having a CD with the music available), but the TME still does what it is meant to do - get us all moving.