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Office: 137
Work phone: 388-0622
Work phone: 388-0622
| Office: 137 Work phone: 388-0622 |
since October 29, 2004
Hi: I am Jackie Woolley Physical Therapist for 4 schools in Malden. I received my B.S. degree from the University of Conn. and my MEd. from Cambridge College. I have years of specialized training and experience working with a very diverse group of children. I have also been fortunate to work with a great group of professionals who share in their expertise to benefit the children we work with. The children themselves have been a wonderful learning experience. My goal is to help children with gross motor problems develop to their greatest potential.
It is most important that children get enough exercise on a daily basis. This should include play activities outdoors on playground equipment. This will strengthen the large group of muscles needed to perform the more refined movements that are required for school. such as; handwriting. Also proper exercise benefits a child's physical fitness for life. Many children today do not get enough exercise and as a consequence many are overweight and unfit physically. Ball skills help children develop eye-hand coordination and eye-foot coordination. Running, jumping, and walking are important for the overall endurance and coordination. Balance is developed by walking along uneven terrain or along the sand on the beach. Children need a physical outlet for releiving tension and stress. Physical activities that are fun, especially when done with other children are important to a child's overll development.
Ball skills such as; throwing, catching, kicking and bouncing a ball is important for proper eye-hand and eye-foot coordination. A child learns to develop the ability to remain focused on the ball in space and adjusts his body accordingly to catch the ball. This is an essential motor skill that involves visual-spatial perception; as well as motor planning skills. Balance is also involved, as when a youngster is reaching for the ball he has to overreach and stretch his body in an unbalanced manner to retreive the ball. In an effort to remain balanced he must re-balance himself.