GM.D.107 KICKS A BALL WITH A SWINGING KICK

Here the child is required to lift and swing one leg to kick the ball while balancing on the other. This skill extends GM.D.85, in which the child was required simply to ‘walk into’ the ball.

How to Assess

Materials: A light rubber ball, soccer ball size.

Method: Place the ball on the ground near your child and ask her to kick it, demonstrating if necessary. Score plus if your child is able to kick the ball in 3 out of 5 tries, using a swinging kick without overbalancing.

How to Teach

Start by standing your child with her back to the wall and kneel at the front and to one side of her. Place a large beach ball in front of the foot closest to you, and from the shoulder, lean her onto the opposite leg. Ask her to kick the ball and if necessary help her to kick the ball forward with the free foot. Change sides and try her with the opposite leg.

Once she has the idea, place her hands at her sides against the wall for support and kneel in front of her so that she can kick the ball to you and you can return it to just in front of her feet to kick again.

Change to a ball of different size and weight, using a smaller and smaller ball as her accuracy improves, until she can kick a 15 cm ball.

Next stand her holding onto a rail or the arm of a chair, with the ball in front of the leg away from the support; if necessary help her to lean over onto the supporting leg as she kicks the ball. Again, vary the size and weight of the ball until she can kick a 15 cm ball. Make sure she holds the support with only one hand and doesn’t swing around to grasp it with 2 hands.

You can also use a flat wall for the support. Have her facing sideways to the wall with the hand on the supporting side flat on the wall.

To progress further, move her away from the wall and hold one hand behind the wrist. In this position you can vary enormously the amount of support you give her – from a firm rigid support to a very light touch which gives no support while she is standing, but is there to prevent her overbalancing.

Ask someone to kick the ball back and make a game of football out of it. She will most probably really enjoy practising this task and forget that she thought she needed you to hold her in her effort to kick the ball again.

In preparation for the next kicking skill in this sequence (GM.D.109) ask your child to kick the ball, walk up to it and kick it again, over and over again.

You can also encourage your child to kick the ball with more force, by drawing a line and asking your child to kick the ball over it. Gradually stand her further and further behind the line, to increase the required distance.