Strong on all fours

Occupational therapy

﻿Hi, I'm really looking forward to our lesson today. I hope you are too. Before we get started, this is just a little reminder. We're here to support any approaches you might already be using and any work you might have already been set. We know that this lesson is going to be going out to so many different children and families. So if you're not sure about anything or have any questions, then please do contact your usual therapy team. Hi, I'm really looking forward to our lesson today which is going to be all about strengthening our core while we're working on our hands and knees, sometimes called all fours. I hope you're ready. Today is all about working on our hands and knees and remember I said sometimes it's called being on all fours. And this is when we stay in a crawling position. Okay, we place our hands on the floor just below our shoulders, that's straight arms. Our backs are straight, almost like we're trying to form a table. We bend out hips and our knees, and that is our all fours. Okay so your shoulders, your hips and your knee joints have all at right angles, like the corners of a square. Why should we work on our hands and knees? Well it's a different way of working so we use different muscles. And when we use different muscles, remember you then making those muscles stronger. A lot of our body weight goes to our shoulders and so that helps our muscles get stronger. Having stronger shoulders means that we're making them more stable. And that will mean that we have better control of our arms and our hands. So we're going to be much more able and more comfortable and better at things like handwriting, or doing zips, or doing your buttons. And again, there's plenty of activities and games that we can do in this position. Okay so, find some space where you can be all fours. If you want, you can have a comfortable surface such as a rug, or a carpet, or duvet. And then find a game to do on the floor, such as a puzzle. I want you to also have a small ball or bean bag and something to use as a target for the later on activities. Okay, once you've got everything ready, restart. So for our first activity, we're going to play a game on the floor. Put the game underneath your head and between your hands. Try and stay in this position on your hands and knees throughout. When you do again like this, it means you're going to have to put all your weight through one shoulder at a time as the other arm works. Okay, swap arms throughout so that both shoulders do some work. I like doing games like Uno, Lego, and other card games as well. Working on all fours which is our hands and our knees. I'm going to show you from the front. Try and make sure you have a little bend in your arms. Okay? Good. So here we go. Now I said you could get Lego Duplo, any game that you have and what we're going to do is we're going to put the game under us and then work from there. So I have got several things here. One of them is a peg board and You see that? So that's going to be under me and what I'm going to do is I'm going to take the pegs and I'm going to put them in. Okay, when you're in this position, try to make sure that your back is not dipping and that it's not higher. So a nice straight back, a table okay? And then you can do your game under there. You can also swap your hands to give the other hand a break. And do your activity there, okay? So that is doing an activity in all fours on all fours , okay with the dog growling. Okay so that was the first one. Okay pause the video now. And have a go playing a game. Restart once you're finished. Another good activity to do is sorting and sticking. So you can stick items on the wall in front of you as you sort them. Or you could just move them further away from you as you sort them. So try and keep that position throughout. You will have to lift your head up at times to look at the wall to know where to stick the items, okay. And this is going to use more muscles in your back. Swap arms again so that one shoulder doesn't get more tired than the other. After that, we're going to work at throwing to a target. So your bean bag or your small ball, we're going to throw that to a bucket or you might just put a spot somewhere on the floor. Again, it's really important to keep that crawling position throughout. You're going to have to lift your head up to look at the target. And again, this means you're going to be using more muscles, don't forget to swap arms. This coming up on something high, what are we doing when we're in all fours? So I have got some balls which is why Duster is being a bit of a pain. So I'm going to take them and you can put them, to move them up there. Swap hands, whoop you can't have that one. And put them up okay? So now instead of just looking down, you're bringing your body up and pivot okay? You can go from side to side and there's obviously something in there which is Duster's favourite. Can I have that? Can I, nope! And he's gone. So doing something to get to the surface. Okay, while you're in all fours. Right, and then you're putting them all in there. Thank you Duster, you want that one? No, okay. Do you want that one? Of course you do. So that was working on all fours doing an activity vertically. Right. So For our next activity For our next activity, we're still staying in all fours. Bend your fingers in slightly, there's a slight bend in your arms, making sure your back is not dipping, just a nice little bit, bring your tummy up and that's really important that your tummy's pulled up. And what we're going to do now is we're going to work and aim to a target okay. So further and further away. And you can say, "Do three with one hand." And then you can swap to give that hand a little break. And then you can do some more okay. I have got a lot of funny-- Okay, pause the video now to try throwing to a target. Restart once you're finished. These activities are fun and the main thing is that you enjoy them. The more fun it is, the longer you'll want to hold the position. And you can make it more challenging by resting on your thighs on an exercise ball but make sure that you have a responsible adult to help you hold it still. You can have someone time you and try to increase the amount of time you can do it each time. And if you feel really uncomfortable lifting your head up in this position, please tell a responsible adult. Okay, do the best for you. Make the games that you chose fun so you can work longer and get stronger. Have lots of fun practising . Thank you for listening. If you'd like to, please ask your parent or carer to share the games that you've played while you've been on all fours on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, tagging @OakNation and #LearnwithOak. See you soon.

Strong on all fours

Strong on all fours

These resources will be removed by the end of the Spring Term 2026.

Lesson slides

Lesson details

Key learning points

Equipment

Licence

Lesson video