Prone Extension Toys used for preventing these areas of Learning Delays

This article provides recommendations for prone extension toys that help kids with classroom learning. Affiliate links are included for your convenience. Integrated Learning Strategies (ILS) is a learning and academic center. As a reminder, ILS is not a health care provider and none of our materials or services provide a diagnosis or treatment of a specific condition or learning challenge you may see in your child or student. If you seek a diagnosis or treatment for your child or student, please contact a trained professional who can provide an evaluation of the child.

You may be wondering why prone activities are important. Getting kids involved in activities that require them to be on their tummy sounds like something they would have already done as a baby. Yes, tummy time is very important for infants, but it is also important for toddlers and older kids too.

As the child enters school, they are required more and more to sit at their desk and view what’s on the chalkboard. If a child hasn’t fully developed the muscles in their neck, shoulders and arms, this task may become tiresome and overwhelming.

Encouraging kids to participate in prone extension activities (even as they grow older) is strengthening important areas of the body needed for classroom learning.

Importance of Prone Position

The prone position is critical for developing the child’s body awareness, trunk extension and vestibular system. It is often developed when the child is an infant during tummy time. However, kids who do not get enough tummy time may need additional exercises to support core stability and sensory input.

In addition, kids strengthen their ocular motor skills when in the prone extension for future reading and writing skills. It allows them to track words across the page, space letters and numbers correctly, and get their thoughts down on paper.

Superman Test

If you have a child or student struggling in school with a number of learning areas, try the superman test. See how their body responds and if they need more prone extension activities in their daily routine.

If your child or student was to perform the superman pose, how would they do? Would you see any of the following:

• Wobbly balance?
• Bending of the legs? (Indication of a retained TLR Reflex)
• Head drooping or struggling to keep it lifted?
• Having trouble keeping chest off the ground?
• Tired arms and legs?
• Weak core?

All of these signs are possible with kids who have a hard time staying in a prone extension. This position is especially important for helping kids:

• Copy notes from the chalkboard to their paper.
• Staying upright in their chair for long periods of time.
• Listening to the teacher when they give tasks.
• Read and write as they develop depth perception (visual motor skills).
• Attend and focus in the classroom.

Prone Extension Toys

All the toys and suggestions you see below can be used and adapted to encourage getting kids in a prone extension for developing certain motor skills. You can adapt any number of them based on the child’s level. Use a few of these objects in some of the following ways:

• Sliding down slides on the tummy
• Rolling and crawling on the tummy over balls, pool noodles and scooters
• Superman or butterfly on the tummy in swings

Get as creative as you like with any one of these toys that encourage kids to be in the prone position.

Integrated Learning Strategies is a Utah-based center dedicated to helping mainstream children and children with learning challenges achieve academic success. Our services provide kids with non-traditional tutoring programs within the Davis County, Kaysville, Layton, Syracuse, Farmington, and Centerville areas. Areas to find Integrated Learning Strategies include: Reading tutors in Kaysville, Math tutors in Kaysville, Common Core Tutors in Kaysville, Tutors in Utah, Utah Tutoring Programs