Libby Public School Series: Eye Hand Coordination - Targeting

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Eye-Hand coordination is the coordinated effort of the brain processing of visual input to make decisions such as force, distance speed and placement required for the hand to carry out a task or response. For instance if I want to throw a ball to some one 8 ft or 20 ft  away.  I would need to know the distance and then determine my direction, speed and force required to get the ball in the right place. This process is largely automatic and unconscious however it is a skill that can be learned and strengthened by practice.
Development of Eye-Hand Coordination: 

https://psychology.jrank.org/pages/294/Hand-Eye-Coordination.html

 1st year 
-  3 months; eye hand connection is made the infant can bring their hands in the field of           vision
-  4-5 months; eye hand coordination is sufficient to manipulate toys
-  6 months; able to focus on an object at distance and follow it with their eyes
- 12 months; able to shift gaze between objects held in both hands

 Toddler hood, 2nd and 3rd year
- 12-15 months; pinch grasp develops, able to grab objects between thumb and index finger
-  15-18 months;able to stack up to three blocks, dumping and putting items into containers
- 12-23 months; able to stack 6 blocks, make circular scribbles and increased feeding skills

 Preschool years 4th and 5th year
- 4 yrs old; near independence at self care (eating with utensils and dressing)
- 5 yrs old; quite advance eye hand coordination with fine tuning for several more years
- 6 yrs old; visual orientation changes some, more frequent gaze changes and increased         tracking

 School age children 6th year and on
- Improved eye hand coordination with increased speed, timing and coordination
- 9 yrs old; eyes and hands are well differentiated, they can be used independently of the         other

 One area of eye hand coordination is the skill of targeting. Targeting refers to the ability of our vision and motor coordination to work together to get an object placed accurately at a targeted spot. Activities that teach this skills have additional benefits. They tend to be fun, develop gross motor skills, including core strength, balance and whole body coordination, it indirectly helps fine motor skills by refining eye hand coordination, social skills by playing and working together especially with throw and catch activities where cooperation is a must.

 Targeting Activities you can do at home:
  • Soccer; Kick the ball back and forth, make teams and have a goal, or use water bottles, without a lid, and try to kick the ball to knock them over, the last person with water left in their bottle is the winner. 
  • Basketball; Bounce the ball back and forth, play a game of PIG
  • Baseball: Play catch, or hit the ball from a pitch
  • Bucket Toss; use beanbags, or balls you can make your own beanbag with a zip-lock bag, beans and duck-tape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxCa_9mFMg8
  • Bowling; use recycled cans or water bottles, balls or beanbags https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcxhrZmmP74 
  • Hop Scotch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZzswQaICfM
  • Old Fashion Marbles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewqFhNw9k7g
  • Tennis games; ping pong, badminton, tennis, handball, balloon tennis; the balloon slows down the game significantly making it easier to hit the target https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QaBt3dKkv4
  • Golf or Hockey; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60c1B2hCMyw
  • Frisbee: You can play it by throwing it back and forth, throw and chase or you can set up targets to hit as in Frisbee golf . We have multiple course around if you wanted to go out for a hike as well (just keep you distance) There is one in Troy, two in Libby by the ball park and J Neils park and two by the dam one below and one above.
Many targeting games can be done alone, however it is much more fun with two or more. So why not join in and have some fun with your child while strengthening their eye hand coordination. 
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