Bilateral Coordination Tasks

Bilateral coordination is using both sides of the body together in an activity. It allows children to engage in activities that require both sides of their brain, and in doing so helps to perform daily tasks more easily. Bilateral coordination is important for a child’s development and improving their motor skills.

Below are examples of activities to target bilateral coordination:

• Make your own playdough: When stirring the mixture, use one hand to hold onto and stabilize the bowl while the other hand stirs. Once dough has been formed, use both hands to flatten, roll, etc.

• Paper fold: How many times can you fold a single piece of paper before you can no longer fold it? Both hands must work together to line up paper and create folds.

• During all writing/ coloring activities ensuring one hand is stabilizing (can give paper a visual and say hand needs to stay on blue dot).

• Popping bubbles: Encourage them to pop the bubbles with one finger or give them an object to pop the bubbles (in each hand) such as a straw, marker, crayon).

• Pulling tape off wall (half sticking on and half hanging off) switch which hand pulls tape off.

• Ripping paper: Have your child use both hands to grab the paper and encourage them to rip the paper and then crumple up the small pieces of paper into “snow balls”.

• Make a chain of paperclips. How long can you make your chain?

• String beads, buttons, macaroni, or snipped plastic straws onto yarn or string. How many can you fit on your string?

• Use a ruler to draw lines on a piece of paper

Written by Kelsey Conlon MS, OTR/L