7 FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICAL READINESS SKILLS

Click on each skill to read a detailed description.

• BALANCE - Balance is the ability to move your body under control.
  
  
• GENERAL COORDINATION - General coordination is the ability to coordinate movement.

• BODY IMAGE - Body image is the ability to understand one's own body and its relationship to other things.
  
  
• HAND-EYE COORDINATION - Hand-eye coordination is being able to use your hands and your eyes effectively at the same time.
  

• LATERALITY - Laterality is knowing my left from right, top from bottom, and front from back.

As a child learns to roll over, he begins to develop an understanding of the two sides of his body. He also begins to learn top from bottom. If a child has a problem with laterality, he will not be able to throw a ball with any accuracy or distance. He may put his clothes on backwards. His shoes tend to go on whichever foot is handy, not necessarily the correct one. His plate may not be right in front of him on the table or he may sit sideways on the chair in order to eat. When riding a bike or skating, he may not go in a figure 8. He may reverse letters, words, and numbers. He may turn his head to favor one eye when he reads. He may not be able to read or do math skills which require following lines. He may move his whole body or his head when he reads. He may have trouble beginning tasks such as reading or math problems because he does not know on which side of the page to begin.

• TACTILE TOUCH - Tactile touch is the ability to feel objects as they are meant to be felt.

• AUDIO RECEPTIVE / AUDIO EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE - Audio receptive / audio expressive language is the ability to hear and distinguish the basic sounds in a given language and to express those sounds in a distinguishable manner.