Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Twisting
Force creation and stability at the time of projection
Defining the Concept and Its Importance
Non-locomotor movements and stability skills like twisting are key in a child’s early development years. Non-locomotor movements are body movements that are stationary and do not incorporate any sort of displacement (Dugger, 2011). Staying stationary while moving teaches children stability. These skills are important to acquire when children are young, as it teaches them balance and helps them become more aware of their body at the same time as developing their flexibility and range of motion (Sport Singapore, 2018). With the skill of stability and body knowledge, a child is more capable of maintaining balance that they require. The stronger the child's balance and stability, the more efficient all their other fundamental motor skills will be. Twisting is key in helping children acquire these skills.
Defined, twisting occurs when multiple body parts cross the midline (Sport Singapore, 2018). Children use this skill all the time. An example being when they are sitting, or even standing, and reach back behind them to grab an object like a toy without moving their base support. Twisting should be an easy skill to incorporate into daily activities. Many children find twisting their body quite intriguing because they can feel their bodies winding up into a knot (Sport Singapore, 2018). This allows them to test their limits and figure out how far their bodies can twist and turn. It also allows them to discover different ways of twisting to find their balance and stability again.
An example of an activity that incorporates twisting is the following sock game. Participants ball up a pair of socks for themselves, (a child or two children depending on how the activity is being administered) and tie the socks to the end of a string or rope; then, they will tie the rope around their waist (Sport Singapore, 2018). With feet planted, participants will then twist and turn trying to hit the other person’s ball of socks (Sport Singapore, 2018). This forces the participants to twist and turn their body which teaches them stability and balance because their weight and center of gravity is being shifted. Even small activities like this one can make a massive difference in a child’s understanding of their body and stability. Skills such as stability and balance stem out from the knowledge of the non-locomotor movement skill twisting and are foundational for a child to move forward in their developing years towards walking and other locomotor and non-locomotor skills (Mandigo, 2016).
Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations
A child must first learn how to control their head before they can learn to move their bodies (Hesperian Health Guides, 2020). Children's heads are very heavy and cause a lot of imbalance when they try to move. Gaining control and strength in their neck is the first step for a child before moving on to the next stage in their development (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). Next, the child will start to learn how to roll and twist their body. Usually, they learn this task on their own and gain the knowledge of their own bodies within their own time frame (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). In the early childhood years, learning their own body and how it functions is key in the development of their skills and movements (Mandigo, 2016).
However, there are a number of children that go through developmental delays (Morin, 2019) such as not understanding the concept of twisting. This could be because of a cognitive delay or a motor skills delay. Defined, cognitive delay is when the child is slower with thinking and solving problems (Morin, 2019). This causes the child to fall-behind in reacting to their thoughts or responding to instructions. A motor skills delay is when a child finds it hard to use the larger muscles in their body to move (Morin, 2019). Children with this type of delay would find it difficult to do the twisting motion because they have not acquired the concept of using their abdominals and back muscles to help them twist and turn their body. However, if caught early enough, children going through developmental delays can overcome these challenges with registered professionals to overcome these delays (Morin, 2019).
There are also children that have developmental disabilities such as down syndrome, autism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and brain injuries (Morin, 2019). These disabilities inhibit the children from developing at the same pace as other children (Morin, 2019). It is very hard to tell whether young children have a developmental delay or a developmental disability (Morin, 2019). Children with developmental disabilities cannot overcome their delays, but they can see improvements if they work with registered professionals and have family support over many years (Morin, 2019).
For guardians, and support staff like teachers, coaches and childhood educators there are ways to encourage children with developmental delays and disabilities. Using a rattle to encourage the child to twist their body and roll in certain directions is a typical way of starting this process (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). By getting the child’s attention with the rattle, they will usually follow the sound with their eyes and body.
To do this, start by making sure the child is following the sound with their head, then get them to reach out to the side of their body to grab the rattle (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). This step shows the adult working with the child at their current stage of development. If they are responding and reaching for the rattle at their side, the next step is to slowly move the rattle upwards and behind them (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). This requires the child to twist their body and roll onto their back to be able to follow the rattle and get closer to grabbing it. If the child is struggling with this movement, the caretaker can assist them by lifting their leg and initiating the twisting motion for them (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). The adult then tries the activity again, seeing if the child has remembered how their body needs to move to follow the rattle. If the child is staying stiff and not twisting, some more assistance like swinging the legs and relaxing the child’s body is required (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020). The key is to slowly allow the child to develop and learn about their body as time goes on (Hesperian Health Guide, 2020).
Practical Applications
“Through the use of movement experiences, educators can stimulate not only motor skill acquisition, but problem-solving abilities and critical thinking and reinforce a variety of academic concepts” (Horvat et al., 2002). During these early years of development, children are most receptive to learning fundamental motor skills (Lubans et al., 2010). For mastery of these skills, some element of instructional guidance is required, or the child could experience developmental delays and remain in rudimentary movement patterns (Lubans et al., 2010). This is where organized sport, games, and learning activities come into play.
Twisting is a non-locomotor skill otherwise known as a stability skill (Rudd et. al, 2015). It is used in a variety of common games and activities. To perform the skill of twisting, a strong base of support is required. The following games are designed to help facilitate learning of this movement. Moreover, these games allow for children to develop and learn proprioception, body awareness and body concept through their exploratory and instructional nature.
Activity #1: The Twist Dance Song
The purpose of the Twist Dance song is to facilitate the movement of twisting. It involves twisting the body in all forms to a song through instruction. This activity is relevant to twisting because it teaches the non-locomotor movement; it helps children learn body awareness and body concept as well as the development of the twisting skill. The video provides instruction and guidance for children to follow along and copy for themselves. This movement experience allows for development in not only the non-locomotor and motor skills, but other areas such as the cognitive, physical, and affective domains. The auditory sense is also being stimulated because of the incorporation of the song.
Target age:
The target age for the Twist Dance song is children between the ages of 2 to 5 years old. This game is developmentally appropriate for this age group because they are still learning the locomotor and non-locomotor skills. Children in this age group are in the fundamental movement stage just out of the rudimentary phase of motor development, therefore, they are in a critical age period for the evolution and maturation of the fundamental motor skills (Bredin, 2020).
Equipment needed:
The equipment needed to play this activity are the song video and a flat open space for the children to spread out.
Instructions:
1. Have children spread out arm’s length apart.
2. Find the video of ‘Twist’ by Patty Shukla on YouTube. The song should be heard and seen by everyone.
3. The instructor could demonstrate the movements to the children prior to the song so they get an idea of the movements first; however, the video shows all the movements required and the children could just follow along.
4. Have the children follow along to the best of their abilities. Correct errors seen and try to facilitate the movement through explanation and demonstration.
Modifications:
A modification that could be created is having the children close their eyes during the song. This increases the difficulty level for children who find the movements too easy.
Activity #2: Twister
The purpose of twister is to work towards a mastery of twisting when the child has already acquired the non-locomotor movement. It can also increase the strength required for more advanced motor skill acquisition. The game of Twister allows for practice with other non-locomotor skills such as balancing, bending, and stretching.
Target age:
The target age for Twister is children 6 years of age and older. This game requires greater awareness of self and body which is represented in the developmentally appropriate age group identified.
Equipment needed:
The only equipment required for Twister are a mat displaying the coloured circles and a spinner. Twister should be played on a flat open surface allowing for a safe environment for the game.
Instructions:
1. The traditional game is played using one mat with six rows of circles displayed. Each row consisting of a different colour; the colours used are red, blue, yellow and green.
2. The spinner is divided into 4 quadrants. Top right is for right hand, bottom right is right foot, bottom left is left hand, and top left is left foot. When the pointer lands in that quadrant, the player will have to move that limb to the respective colour.
3. Designate one participant as the spinner/referee. They will spin for each player when the players get twisted together and will keep track of who falls.
4. Each participant spins the spinner on their turn. The pointer will land on a colour and limb (right hand, right foot, left hand, left foot). The participant needs to place their limb on any vacant circle of the colour decided by the spinner.
5. The player needs to stay on the circles by holding their body weight up. A player is considered out if their knees or elbows touch the mat.
6. If all the circles of the colour chosen are taken, the designated referee will spin again for the same player.
7. The game continues by alternating turns between the players until someone falls, or cannot twist in the direction to place their limb on the proper colour.
8. The last player still on the mat is considered the winner.
Modifications:
Modifications may be made to alter the complexity of the game. A more advanced version could be to have players close their eyes and place different material tape over the colours. Instead of seeing the colours, the players have to feel them to move locations on the mat. Another modification could be adding additional rules for the four different colours. For example, when it lands on blue one would have to switch their hand positions with their feet. Lastly, the instructor could create teams and keep track of which team stayed up the longest and they would be crowned the winner of the game.
Summary
Insert video vignette...as per Section 4 requirements.
References
Bredin, S., (2020). Module 4: Developing Fundamental Movements. [powerpoint]. KIN 355 Movement Experiences for Young Children. University of British Columbia. Retrieved from Canvas. https://canvas.ubc.ca/courses/60344/pages/module-4-overview?module_item_id=2120822
Dugger, A., & Chapel, L. (2011, August). What Are Non-locomotor Skills? Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-are-non-locomotor-skills-definition-characteristics.html
Hesperian Health Guides. (2020, May). Retrieved October 17, 2020, from https://en.hesperian.org/hhg/Disabled_Village_Children:Activities_to_Encourage_Rolling_and_Twisting
Horvat, M., Croce, R. V., Pesce, C., Eason Fallaize, A. (2019). Developmental and Adapted Physical Education. London: Routledge, https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.4324/9780203704035
Lubans, D. R., Morgan, P. J., Cliff, D. P., Barnett, L. M., & Okely, A. D. (2010). Fundamental movement skills in children and adolescents: Review of associated health benefits. Sports Medicine (Auckland), 40(12), 1019-1035. doi:10.2165/11536850-000000000-00000
Mandigo, J., & Francis, N., & Lodewyk, K. (2016). Physical Literacy Concept Paper. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from https://sportforlife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Physical-Literacy-Concept-Paper.pdf
Morin, A. (2019, October 16). Developmental Delays: What You Need to Know. Retrieved October 16, 2020, from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/treatments-approaches/early-intervention/what-you-need-to-know-about-developmental-delays
Rudd, J. R., Barnett, L. M., Butson, M. L., Farrow, D., Berry, J., & Polman, R. C. J. (2015). Fundamental movement skills are more than run, throw and catch: The role of stability skills. PLoS One, 10(10) doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1371/journal.pone.0140224Sport Singapore. (2018, April 17). Stability Skills for Kids. Retrieved October 15, 2020, from
https://www.myactivesg.com/read/2016/11/stability-skills