The Intentional Teacher Chapter 5 Physical Development and Health

Physical Development and Health It is a mistake to view the development of children’s physical skills as being purely maturational in early childhood years. Adults play a role with providing plan movement options and structures to help them with their basic physical skills Movement education has received increasing national attention because of its potential health benefits. Increase of child obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc… Movement has many benefits Patterning, gross and fine motor, creativity, and freedom to use different muscles

Young children’s development in physical Movement and Health Precontrol Level (Beginner) Cannot control consciously or intentionally replicate movement Control Level (Advanced beginner) Movement become less hazard as their bodies begin to respond to intentions. Utilization Level (Intermediate) Movements are increasingly automatic Proficiency level (Advance) Movements are mostly automatic and begin to see effortless. Can join in formal game situations

Gross and Fine Motor Development Gross Motor Locomotor: horizontal or vertical movement from one point in space to another (ex. walking) Stability: it balances against the force of gravity (ex. turning) Manipulative: moves to apply force to or recieve force from objects (ex. throwing) Movement Concepts Space awareness: where the body moves Effort awareness: how the body moves Body awareness: relationship that the body creates Fine Motor hand/eye coordination (ex. Writing, pinching, poking, stacking) Age appropriate materials Scissors, pencils, crayons, blocks Development limitations Can't fully circle wrist (cartilage not harden until age 4) Concepts relate to where, how and in relationship to what the body moves

Developing personal care routines and healthy behaviors Serving food and eating on their own Getting dressed Using the toilet/ washing their hands/ brushing teeth Showing interest in helping others (pet/ other people) Physical activity and good nutrition Self care routines help to learn about natural world as a part of science explorations Makes them aware to take care of ones body like toys and equipment.

Teaching and learning in physical development and health NASPE offers the following specific recommendations for preschool physical activities Preschoolers should accumulate at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Preschoolers should engage in at least 60 minutes and up to several hours of unstructured physical activity each day and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a time, except when sleeping. Preschoolers should be encouraged to develop competence in fundamental motor skills that will serve as the building blocks for future more skillfulness and physical activity. Preschoolers should have access to indoor and outdoor areas that meet or exceed recommended safety standards for performing large muscle activities.

Continue…. 5. Caregivers and parents in charge of preschoolers’ health and well-being are responsible for understanding the importance of physical activity and for promoting movement skills by providing opportunities for structured and unstructured physical activity. Developmental and educational wisdom supports the use of both child and adult guided experience in physical education.

Physical Education Learning Enironment Movement education should be a scheduled activity, like small group time, snack time, or any other part of the daily routine. Class size, “large classes are accidents waiting to happen”. The number of children in large group physical activities should not exceed class size, which is another way of saying that two or more classes should not share a gym or playground at the same time. Space to play and practice is particularly important in the development of gross motor skills, because the amount required is more than the dimensions of a typical classroom. Equipment is another key component. “Learning to move is like learning to read, write, or understand principles of math and science in that each requires a manipulative of some type to best develop skills and knowledge in a content area”. Finally, the principle of active involvement is crucial, and it is a distinguishing difference between a movement program and sports.

Physical Education Interaction Strategies Facilitate access and exploration by providing materials, space, and time for young children to explore movement. Teachers can model skill to demonstrate for children how to use their bodies or equipment to accomplish a physical objective.

Fitting the learning experience to the learning objective Stability skills Turing, twisting, bending, straightening, curling. stretching/extending, swinging, swaying, pushing, pulling, rising, falling, dodging, stopping. Teaching strategies Buy or construct equipment to facilitate practicing stability skills Provide cues, ex. “Hold out your arms, allow enough time to stop, try to slow down gradually” Demonstrate practices Challenge children, ex. “Who can stretch only one side of body” Have a child lead the group in an activity exploring a stability skill Movement skills and concepts acquired primarily through child-guided or adult-guided experience. Stability skills Transferring weight, balancing, jumping/landing, rolling Teaching strategies Have mats for rolling, wide beam or strip of tape, string to jump over Challenge them, roll like your legs were glued together Provide cues, keep your legs together, jump off crates or boxes, dont lean too far in one direction

Movement skills Locomotor skills Teaching strategies Crawling, walking, running,climbing Teaching strategies Provide ample space and time Promote children’s free exploration and practice Model locomotor movements Provide specific cues, ex. “Keep your head up, look where you are going” Challenge children, ex. “ how can you walk faster, how else can you…” Hopping, galloping, sliding, slithering, marching, plodding, leaping, chasing, fleeing, skipping Provide cues, ex. “Lift your knees, step, hop, land on one foot” Issue movement challenges and encourage them to make up their own Provide space and time

Fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination Teaching strategies Manipulative skills Throwing, kicking Teaching strategies Provide equipment and material for children to throw and kick during choice time Provide cues, ex.” look at the target, hold your arm far back, swing your foot back” Challenge children, ex. “ try to throw it farther, i wonder if you can kick in a different way” Use children’s interest in throwing and kicking catching/collecting, dribbling, volleying, punting, striking w/racket, striking w/ long handled instrument. Provide equipment Provide cues, move where the ball is Incorporate skills into different parts of daily routine Build children’s skills in sequence. Fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination Grasping, pinching, tearing Teaching strategies Provide a quiet and protected space for children to practice fine motor skills Provide a variety of fine motor materials, tools and equipment Give children time to exercise their small muscles throughout the day. A puzzle, turning a page in a book, using utensils. Cutting, folding, writing Provide similar objects in a range of graduated sizes and shapes so children can feel a sense of accomplishment as their fine motor. Appeal to children;s diverse interests when supplying materials that promote fine motor. Appeal to children’s diverse interest when planning small and large group times that exercise their small muscles.

Moving concepts Body awareness, space and shared space Remember they are egocentric Provide open spaces, go outdoors, have circle time w/ music. Minimize sharp edges and provide soft surfaces. Introduce self and shared space activities gradually. Have children move through space Provide children with opportunities to discover their personal body boundaries. Ask each child to choose a partner and perform the motions while inside thier same hoop together. Effort awareness: time (speed) Call children’s attention to moving things and comment on their rate of speed. Ask children to name things that move fast and slow Invent games or transitions that feature moving at different speeds. Body awareness with self (body parts, body shapes) Refer to children’s body parts by name in a natural conversation Use the arts to enhance children’s awareness (books, songs, Space awareness: levels, directions, pathways Suggest ways children might use their body parts at different levels. Play musical instruments of varying pitch and ask children to position body to sound Create pathways that have shapes Set up obstacle courses Use naturally occurring situations to supply vocabulary words to describe levels. Example, placing nose up in air when walking

Personal Care and Healthy Behavior Feeding and dressing oneself (hygiene) Let them try to things for themselves Have areas for them to practice (kitchen area, dress up) Holding paint brushes, toothbrushes and hair brushes Lead by example (wash your hands, cover your mouth, talk about dental practices) Exercising and nutrition Provide space and time for vigorous activities Join in active exercise yourself Lead by example Pack a healthy lunch Teach them the differences from healthy and unhealthy Label food healthy and unhealthy so they can get an idea Following safety procedures Model safety procedures Let them know when they are being safe Use pictures to show safety rules/ have them make up the rules Encourage children to remind one another about safety.

Movement experience and health awareness can also enhance learning in other domains, such as math and per interactions. Teach children at preschool age about health can lead them to a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you Natalie, Lourdes, Amanda