Does your kid struggle with math or science? Do they have trouble completing puzzles or assembling toys? If so, don’t worry – you’re not alone! Many kids struggle with spatial skills, which refers to their abilities to understand and manipulate objects in 3D space.
However, there are many activities that you can do with your child to help them improve their spatial intelligence. This includes both physical games and logical puzzles. You can easily find the combination of both worlds at a local trampoline park in Murrieta. In this blog post, we will discuss five of the best activities for sharpening your kid’s spatial skills!
Why do children need spatial awareness?
In our technologically-driven age, learning how to navigate digital space is becoming increasingly important. But what about the physical world? It’s just as important for kids to develop their spatial skills. There are several advantages to it:
- Studies show that spatial skills boost performance in math, geography, and physics.
- Spatial awareness has a positive impact on imagination and creativity.
- It helps kids interpret information faster, so it’s vital in traffic and sport
- It helps them become more adept in tower building and complex puzzles.
- It helps them to better read and understand maps and graphs
What causes poor spatial awareness?
There are many reasons why children may have difficulty with spatial awareness. Some children may appear clumsy around objects or have difficulty judging distances. Others may find it difficult to mentally rotate or mirror images in their minds. Studies have shown that children with dyslexia show some signs of poor spatial judgment.
A lot of times, poor spatial skills are due to a lack of experience with manipulating objects in space. This is why it’s important for kids to engage in activities that help them improve spatial awareness. Their brain needs to be stimulated in order to master new skills and there are effective strategies that can help improve it.
How can I help my child with spatial awareness?
Now let’s take a look at some of the best activities for improving your child’s spatial skills.
Playing catch
Throwing and catching a ball involves judging distances and predicting trajectories. There are many activities that involve ball catching and throwing that help with spatial skill and hand-eye coordination, such as volleyball, baseball, basketball, tennis, so fitball, etc.
Dancing
Dancing is a great way to improve balance, awareness of spatial relations, and rhythmic coordination. Whether it’s dancing in a group, with a friend, or alone, it encourages sensitivity to distances, helps enhance muscle memory, and boost fine coordination.
Building towers
This is a great way encourage imagination, creativity, and some geometry skills. Building with blocks or Legos helps children understand how things fit together based on shape and size. When you don’t have building blocks with you, they can build a fort or house out of blankets, sticks, and cardboard boxes.
Completing 3D and 2D puzzles
Puzzles are great way to help kids break new frontiers. Some 3D puzzle games include Jenga, Rubik’s cube, Puzz 3D. The puzzle themes can revolve around historical buildings to fantasy and Sci-Fi structures, like spacecraft and magical castles. Two-dimensional puzzles also help children memorize and recognize different shapes and patterns.
Artwork
Drawing, painting, sculpting, or 3D modelling are all great ways to become more spatially apt. This helps kids analyze shapes, sizes, contours, texture, and distances between objects. If they haven’t found their niche, you can introduce them to various art forms, from sculpture to photography.
Treasure hunting
If your kid struggles with maps and spatial coordination, you can help them improve this by creating a fun treasure map in your backyard. Make the kids compete or coordinate their efforts to find the hidden treasure. Combine that with riddles, or turn it into a small escape room experience, and it’s definitely going to engage their senses and cognitive capabilities.
Spatial video games
Although you should aim to reduce their time in front of the screen, there are certain games that can enhance spatial reasoning, including mental rotation skills. 3D variations of Tetris, puzzles and some action games have shown to be beneficial, both for teens and preteens, in boosting their spatial awareness capabilities.
Where can I find a well-equipped trampoline park in Murrieta and the surrounding area?
Another great thing to try out in order to boost your kid’s spatial skills is to take your kids to a local indoor playground. This is a healthy way to fight boredom and it’s especially fun during spring and summer breaks. Fortunately for you, Uptown Jungle Murrieta is located just a couple of blocks away from Los Alamos Hills Sports Park.
Our facility boasts numerous fun amenities, from ninja courses, ball arenas, to ziplines and mega-play structures. With the help of our entertaining attractions and friendly staff, your kids will surely have a blast and burn extra energy while you relax at the special parental lounge. Drop by us today and see what we can offer to you and your kids!