• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Shop
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

teach mama logo

teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

five activities for crossing the midline (and why it’s important)

home / Activities / foundations / five activities for crossing the midline (and why it’s important)
61.1K shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

The following guest post is written by the amazing Devany LeDrew. Devany is a former Kindergarten who now shares adventures with her children–most often playing, learning, and remembering–on her blog Still Playing School. Check it out.

———————————

6 activiies for crossing the midline

Our 10 month old son has been crawling for a few months so he’s already accomplished a pivotal achievement in learning to read and write.

Wait, what? A milestone in infancy is vital for literacy development?  Yes, because crawling is one of the first ways that babies practice crossing their midline!

Five Activities for Crossing the Midline (and Why It’s Important)

Let’s imagine an invisible line running down the human body separating the left side from the right called the midline.  When my baby crawls, he uses opposite sides of his body simultaneously. When my preschooler physically uses her body to cross that divide (by using her right hand to reach something on the left side of her body, for example) she is crossing her midline.

In both of these scenarios my children are using movements which cause their brains to communicate across their corpus callosum.  This thick cable of nerves allows their two brain hemispheres to communicate.  The practice is vital for higher level skills like reading and writing.  By moving in new ways, we build and strengthen new pathways in the brain.

Most children will naturally learn to cross their midline as they grow, but some need occupational therapy to work on this task.  There are creative, fun, and intentional ways to play while practicing crossing the midline!

Here are five to get you started!

1.  Crawl, crawl, crawl

I encourage my preschooler to crawl with her baby brother by getting down on the floor to crawl myself!  We build obstacle courses with pillows and soft toys to navigate while crawling.

Five Activities for Crossing the Midline (and Why It’s Important)

2.  Baby Cross Crawls

While you sing songs to your baby or child, intentionally touch his left foot to his right hand and vice versa.  You can tap to the rhythm of the music or teach body part names in this way.

You can challenge your older child to touch her left knee with her right elbow and vice versa.  This is trickier than it looks!

Five Activities for Crossing the Midline (and Why It’s Important)

3.  Wash Large Objects

My preschooler loves to help wash windows or our cars with special wipes or a sponge.  I ask her to hold the tool with both hands wiping back and forth in large motions as she cleans so that she is crossing her midline frequently.

4.  Dance, Sway, and Play with Ribbon Wands

You can create your own ribbon wands with a paint stirrer (or just hold a scarf in one hand for the same effect).  Model how to cross the midline while dancing for your child by making figure eights and rainbow arcs with the ribbon. A great song to practice moving and grooving with is Shake Your Reader Ribbons by Pam Schiller

Five Activities for Crossing the Midline (and Why It’s Important)

5.  Play Passing Games

Challenge children to pass a ball from a friend on the left to a friend on the right by moving their arms but not turning their whole bodies.  Friends may sit in a line or in a circle for this activity.  For two children, have them sit back to back and pass the ball from the left side across their bellies and back over to the right.

 

still playing school

For more from Devany LeDrew, please visit Still Playing School where she uses her background in early childhood to create a home based playful learning environment for her children. She is a former Kindergarten teacher who followed her passions to specialize in Educational Psychology & Literacy Education.  She is the mother of three, grieving the loss of one. Follow Still Playing School on Facebook and Twitter.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Devany, for sharing!  I learned SO much from this piece!

 

Looking for more activities to promote fine and gross motor in your little loves?

Stop by and follow these great educational Pinterest boards, filled with indoor fun ideas to engage children in fun activities to promote the development of these foundational skills:

  • Sensory Activities  |  D @ Still Playing School
  • Preschool Activities  |  D @ Still Playing School
  • Handprint Projects  |  D @ Still Playing School
  • foundations  |  teachmama
  • movin’ and groovin’  |  teachmama

 

Check out a few other posts that may help you develop strong and healthy habits for your family:

  • wait time
  • my day, your day
  • frozen peas
  • kids who rock the kitchen
  • kids who rock the laundry
  • rest time
  • gem jars
  • arm circles
  • noticing kids
  • homework routine

 

Cheers, and happy reading during this incredibly exciting journey!

A few more literacy-related posts worth reading. . . (click on image to read!)
what to say when kids make reading mistakes teachmama.com.png
5 things to never say to emerging reader
literacy terms every parent must know
talk to kids about books
how to help kids choose just right books
Want a little more help with all things literacy?  
Follow amy mascott @teachmama’s board literacy on Pinterest.

fyi: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Forever and always I recommend only products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  For more information, please see teachmama media, llc. disclosure policy. 

You May Also Like...

  • Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
    Navigating Education in a Time of Uncertainty: A Virtual Summit for Educators
  • how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
    how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
  • Virtual Summit for Educators: Navigating the Online Classroom & Beyond
    Virtual Summit for Educators: Navigating the Online Classroom & Beyond

About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro · http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:tips and tricks for teaching emergent readerstips and tricks for teaching emergent readers (with free printable early reader books!)
Next Post:giving thanks every day: easy, at-home graffiti boardgiving thanks daily graffiti door

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kim

    November 1, 2013 at 11:06 am

    Thank you for reminding me of the importance of focusing on the skill of crossing the midline. I loved using various activities in my classroom based on my Brain Gym Training as a teacher and saw their impact in a variety of ways.

    Reply
    • amy mascott

      November 1, 2013 at 11:51 am

      Kim! I had no idea about this–so it’s been a tremendously helpful post for me!

      Reply
  2. Still Playing School

    November 1, 2013 at 12:50 pm

    Thanks so much, ladies! I’ve found that just by tweaking activities that we do regularly, I can work midline crossing practice into so many things that we already do!

    Reply
  3. Sue Hahn

    November 10, 2013 at 9:11 pm

    Thanks! I was so glad to see this!! I’ve noticed that the new, young teachers aren’t all taught this in college…when I talk about it, they look at me like I’m crazy! Now I can share this article! I would like to see it in a printable format as well. When I tried to print from the site, the pictures didn’t print.

    Reply
  4. Enid Teo

    January 26, 2015 at 1:46 am

    Thanks for sharing.. fabulous.

    Reply
  5. W

    January 26, 2015 at 5:46 pm

    Check your references about crossing midline/crawling. Crawling is a reciprocal movement, but this is not a midline crossing activity.

    Reply
    • amy mascott

      January 26, 2015 at 7:06 pm

      thanks, friend. will do!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

amy mascott profile blog

join the coolest club around:

  • About
  • Contact
  • disclaimer
  • terms of use
  • privacy policy
  • Site-Map

Instagram


our books

setting the stage for rock-star readers
raise a reader

Find Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us On Instagram

View
Open
UMD Women’s Basketball ROCKS!! ❤️💛🖤🏀

We absolutely love watching you play, @terpswbb !

We love watching you perform, @marylandcheer !

And @mightysoundofmd we love your music and your hilarious signs! 😬😳

See you in Greenville! 

#terpsbasketball #terpswbb #umd #familyfun #marylandcheer #umdfamily
View
Open
Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day!

Are you ready? 

https://shop.teachmama.com/

#saintpatricksfun #stpaddysforkids #familyfun #classroomactivities #teachmamashop
View
Open
This is how we use the St. Patrick’s Day Brain Teaser Scavenger Hunt! 🍀

Super easy—and makes kids work a little for their golden chocolates! 😉

Grab them here: https://shop.teachmama.com/product/st-patricks-day-scavenger-hunt-4-pack/

<< Tag a pal who needs to know about this and would LOVE to use it with kids or students! >>

#stpatricksdayfun #saintpaddysday #stpaddysforkids #stpatsfun #linkinbio
View
Open
and then there were six
🐱🦁🦊🦄🐯🐰

thank you @thewoobles for giving my mind, heart, and hands something fun to do during a really challenging few months. 

#crochet #thewoobles #brainbreak #teachersanitysaver #shescrafty
View
Open
With great sadness, I'm writing to share that my brother-in-law, Jeff Mascott passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this week--at home, surrounded by family and friends. 

The family is very grateful for the community's immeasurable help, encouragement, and prayers over the past several months since Jeff's diagnosis. 

Jeff's obituary will run this weekend in the Post: 
https://www.collinsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jeff-Mascott?obId=27420280&fbclid=IwAR2YTRooCyaLTikfjLeqF4gM-GaB1amZI2OmVl1VtKLUOjWj3Wo4URD8lC8#/obituaryInfo
View
Open
Flowers and a basket of @traderjoes faves are salve for a tired and weepy soul. 🌷

Thankful for great, longtime friends 💚💛💚💛

#itshardtobeahuman #thankfulheart #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs
View
Open
Almost 30 years of friendship!! I love these smart, beautiful, strong and creative women who walked with me through my early days of teaching. 

💛💚💛💚

Thank you, Wilde Lake High School, for bringing us together way back when. 

💚💛💚💛

Missed you, jigofjoy 💛💚

#weareteachers #andoneprincipal #wildelake #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs #wildelakehs #teachersofinstagram #celebratewewill
View
Open
Today marks the 4th time in 3 weeks that I have had to hang new Kindness Reminders Tear-off Sheets! 

Makes my heart 🥰!! 

Some kids come by every day and give one to a new person. Others take a bunch for the week. One 2nd grade girl comes by evey morning to tell me who she gave hers to the day before. 

Every little bit helps, friend. And every interaction matters!

#kindnessrocks #adoormadeforme #teachersofinstagram #makeadifference
View
Open
Best crew for one of the best @terpswbb games we’ve seen all season! 

And of course super job by @marylandcheer and @mightysoundofmd too! 

#terpswbb #terpsbasketball #familyfun #marylandcheer

Copyright © 2023 · teach mama media, llc · All Rights Reserved

  • 10.4K
61.1K shares