Psychomotor skills: 5 exercises with Formiball to work on coordination, attention and reaction
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Modified Introduction
Psychomotor skills are based on the close links between movement, perception, attention, and adaptive abilities. In both children and adults, numerous exercises allow for the simultaneous engagement of the body and brain through playful situations.
Eye-hand coordination, laterality, visual attention, movement adaptation, and decision-making: these are all abilities that can be developed through simple exercises.
It is precisely within this logic that Formiball can find its place in certain psychomotor activities..
We were also fortunate enough to discover some very impressive scenarios created by the LELUMA psychomotor therapists, who have devised different exercises with Formiball as part of their practice. A huge thank you to them for their creativity, their ideas and the superb content they created!
Their exercises perfectly illustrate the multitude of possibilities offered by the ball: the same Formiball can be integrated into very different situations depending on age, abilities and objectives.
Thanks to its different colored light signals and its deliberately irregular bounce, the ball introduces an essential concept: reacting to information that one does not know in advance.
Why use a light-up ball in psychomotor therapy?
In a classic exercise with a ball, the participant generally knows what to do: catch, throw, touch or dodge.
With Formiball, additional information appears at the moment of impact: the bright color.
We can then associate each color with a different instruction.
For example :
- red = right hand;
- blue = left hand;
- green = two hands.
The participant must therefore perceive the stimulus, identify the corresponding instruction and then adapt their movement.
This succession perception → decision → action allows for the very easy creation of numerous exercises combining movement and attention.
The irregular bounce of the Formiball also adds an element of unpredictability: the movement must continually be adjusted to the situation.
1. Work on eye-hand coordination
The first exercise is very simple: throw the Formiball against a wall or on the ground and try to catch it after it bounces.
To gradually increase the difficulty, an instruction can be associated with each color.
Example :
Red → grab with the right hand
Blue → grab with the left hand
Green → catch with both hands
The exercise thus simultaneously requires visual tracking, eye-hand coordination, movement adjustment, and attention to the light signal.
Speed and distance can naturally be adapted to the person's level.
2. Work on right/left laterality
Colors can also be used to trigger movement.
The professional throws the ball and the participant must react according to the color observed:
Red → move to the right
Blue → move left
Green → stay in the center or move forward
This makes it possible to associate visual information with spatial orientation.
The exercise can then evolve: touching a cone, taking a lateral step, grabbing an object or reaching a designated area.
3.Linking movement and decision-making
Another possibility is to ask the participant to perform a different action for each color.
For example :
Red → touch the ground
Blue → clap your hands
Green → catch the ball
The principle seems simple, but the participant must memorize several rules while remaining attentive to the movement of the ball.
When the exercise becomes easy, the instructions can be modified or reversed.
This prevents the response from becoming totally automatic and forces adaptation to a new rule.
4. Create a dual-task exercise
Dual tasking involves performing one activity while simultaneously processing other information.
With Formiball, for example, you can ask a person to walk between several cones while a partner or the professional sends them the ball.
When it lights up, an instruction must be executed depending on the color.
One variation involves asking the participant to count, name objects, or answer simple questions during the exercise.
The level of difficulty must obviously be adapted to the age and abilities of each individual.
5. Working in pairs
Formiball also allows you to create interactive exercises.
Two participants stand facing each other and pass the ball back and forth.
Each color determines how the partner should react.
For example :
Red → right-handed reception
Blue → left-handed reception
Green → let it bounce before collecting
You can also place several zones or objects around the participants and associate each color with a target.
This form of exercise adds a social and playful dimension while requiring coordination, observation and adaptation.
A multitude of possible variations
One of the advantages of Formiball is that there is no single exercise.
The same ball can be used to create very different situations simply by changing the rules associated with the colors.
We can work with our hands, feet, movements, objects, cones, or even combine several tasks.
The professional thus remains free to adapt the exercise to their objectives and the profile of the person being supported.
Psychomotor therapists, educators and movement professionals
Initially developed around the training of reflexes, coordination and reaction time, Formiball is now used in various contexts: sports training, exercises with children, physical preparation or activities focused on coordination.
Its operation also allows the psychomotor therapists, educators and other movement professionals to imagine their own exercises.
Formiball remains a training and fun tool: it is not a medical device and is not intended to replace the assessment or methods of a healthcare professional.
Turning an exercise into a game
This is probably one of the most interesting aspects of this type of use.
Asking someone to repeat a movement ten times can quickly become monotonous.
Introducing an unpredictable light stimulus transforms the situation: it is now necessary to observe, decide and act.
The exercise becomes a small challenge.
And this playful aspect makes it easy to renew the sessions without necessarily multiplying the equipment.
Are you a psychomotor therapist, educator or movement professional?
Discover Formiball and imagine your own exercises around coordination, attention and reaction.