Large Motor Activities

 Discuss the importance of large motor movement activities for young children  List creative movement activities that help children develop large and small muscles  Discuss guidelines for providing creative movement activities for young children

 Balance – the ability to maintain equilibrium  Body Awareness – for improved posture and control and knowledge about names and functions of the various parts of the body

 Crossing of the mid-line  Laterality – awareness of the left and right sides of the body  Major muscle co-ordination  Throwing, catching and kicking  Climbing

 Spatial Orientation – awareness of the body position in space and in relation to other objects or people  Temporal Awareness-rhythm is one kind of organized time that young children can do

Directional awareness knowledge of a combination of the understanding of concepts such as  up and down  Front and back  Left and right

 Main learning strategy is through physical manipulation of the world  Movement activities offer children rich opportunities for the development of their total selves  Usually no planning or forethought on the part of the children in creative movement

 Children learn by doing  Physical movement is the first means of nonverbal communication  Child is able to express him/her creative self in a very natural way

 Movement that reflects the mood or inner state of a child  Children are free to express themselves  Do not have examples to follow  Can be done in poetry, music, rhythm or even silence

 These objectives may be met if creative movement is a regular part of the curriculum  Relaxation and freedom in the use of the body  Experience in expressing space, time, and weight  Increased awareness of the world  Experience in creatively expressing feelings and ideas  Improvement of coordination and rhythmic interpretation

 All movement activities best serve young children’s needs when they address their current developmental levels  Keep in mind characteristics of each age group  Children practice skills in order to learn them

 Using music is a natural way to introduce creative movement  A CD or tape player, some CDs or tapes, sticks, and bells are more than enough  Music with a strong and easily recognized beat or rhythm is a good start  Have children listen first then ask them to think about what the music is “saying”

 Try to redirect, challenge, and stimulate the children’s discoveries by suggestions such as “do what you are doing now in a slower way.”  Activities may also be done with a partner ◦ Mirror dance ◦ Hold hands and slide, leap, gallop ◦ Interesting body shapes

 Children often lose their focus during transition times  Pretend you are a train w/an engine & caboose  Imagine you are a tired puppy  Clap a rhythm for them to copy to get the children to quiet down  Pretend to be a bowl of jell-o and shake all over, “lock” your lips w/a key, walk on tiptoes

 Creative movement  Creative movement activities  Can you be? Activity