Body awareness exercises teach the child where his body parts are in relation to him and to the rest of the world. Play "Simon Says" and have your child mimic you doing such things as waving one hand and blinking your eyes. Name a body part (such as "elbow") and use only that body part to hit a balloon between the two of you. Draw pictures of people with missing limbs or features, and have your child tell you what's missing.
It takes some practice to coordinate the grip, pressure and fine motor control that are necessary when learning to write. Give your child simple mazes to complete, starting by tracing routes with their fingers, and then progressing to pencils and more difficult mazes as she becomes more skilled. Smear shaving cream, petroleum jelly or pudding across a tabletop and let her use her fingers to make shapes in the goo. Have her string large beads onto a shoelace that's been knotted at one end; when she's comfortable with that, have her string the beads in a pattern.
Kids need to train their bodies to sit quietly, and one way to do this is to do a vigorous physical activity to exhaust their larger muscles before settling into do more sedentary tasks. Teach them to jump rope while reciting jumping rhymes, and to play hopscotch. Heavy work can be as simple as taking a walk around the neighborhood, or as complex as "painting" the house, sidewalk and driveway with a clean brush and a bucket of water. Push them on a swing set and teach them to play 2-Square.
Help your child explore his environment by expanding his sense of smell. Have him close his eyes and see if he can tell the difference between oranges and limes, apples and pears or bacon and bologna just by smelling them. In the spring and summer, go on a "smelling safari" in your backyard or the local park and smell all the blooming flowers and trees. Show your child how holding his nose closed while eating can affect his sense of taste. Explain a little about aromatherapy --- how certain smells make some people feel certain ways --- and experiment with lavender, cinnamon and peppermint.
A child must be able to coordinate the muscles of the eyes, moving them smoothly and together, before he can learn to read. A child mastering this skill may look as though he's simply sitting and staring, but connections are being formed between his eyes and his brain. Sorting activities, such as separating crayons according to color families or segregating the silverware drawer into spoons, forks and knives can help to forge a connection between what he sees and how his mind processes it. Playing simple matching card games such as "Concentration" and deciphering hidden-picture drawings are also helpful.