For Ty, 4-point crawling took a very, very long time. While he could army-crawl with the best of them, pushing up onto all fours, and propelling himself forward involved so many skills that took a while for him to achieve. When he could finally push up onto all fours, motivation to move forward in that position was key for him. Since army-crawling had been his preferred method of transportation for 6 months, he was quick and skilled in that position. I had to be very creative to stay one step ahead of him, to develop activities that would make him want to 4-point crawl.
I tried every trick under the sun. While climbing stairs was a huge motivator to use this position effectively, moving on all-fours on flat surfaces was more of a challenge. This is where the "Climbing Mountain" came in.
The "Climbing Mountain" is probably one of the simplest gross-motor activites to create. All you need are large pillows or cushions, and a large blanket. Randomly toss the pillows or cushions on the floor, making sure to leave spaces in between them. Lay a large blanket over the pillows and cushions, so the area takes on peaks and valleys. On top of the "peaks" place motivating toys - for Ty, these were cars, books, and music-related items - whatever gets your child excited! Finally, let him/her loose!
The idea behind the "Climbing Mountain" is simple. Since the blanket is not secured along the edges, if a child tries to army-crawl, the blanket will bunch up and pull, making it very difficult to move. The elevated areas with high-interest toys encourage climbing and upward movement, that can only be achieved in the hands and knees position.
As simple as this activity is, it transformed Ty from a stubborn army-crawler, to a proficient 4-point crawler in a matter of a week. He hasn't looked back since!
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