Motor planning and body awareness are an important part of a child’s learning. One of the best ways to get a child to interact with you is with songs. All of the following songs have motor planning that you can have your child imitate. It is very important for you to first model the song and gestures because children learn through imitation. If your child is having a hard time imitating the gestures you can help them make the gestures by putting your hands on top of their hands to help them form the gestures while you sing the song. If you are unsure of the gestures that go with the songs YouTube is a good reference to look up. Most of these songs are probably ones that you will remember from your childhood and may just need a refresher on. Here are some songs with gestures for you and your child to have fun with:
Itsy Bitsy Spider
Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes
The Wheels on the Bus
Where is Thumbkin?
Hokey Pokey
If You’re Happy and You Know It
Pat a Cake
I’m a Little Tea Pot