Area of learning
Physical development
Learning intention
To move with confidence, imaginatively and in safety Moving is what young children do naturally, and physical exercise is essential. Yet just as they gain greater mobility, adults often curb their natural instinct to move and limit their physical activities and outdoor access.
Provide at least once a day physical activities that are varied, challenging and focused on developing new skills. Build on their physical skills, opening up the environment and offering real choices about moving between sedentary and physically-challenging experiences.
Let the children do the activities below barefoot and with their jumpers off. Always start with a warm-up of stretching and running on the spot, and end with a cooling down session.
Dinosaur dance
Nurseries should provide lots of opportunities for children to learn to move rhythmically and gain good control of their bodies. Most young children are fascinated by dinosaurs, so try a dinosaur dance. This will amuse the children and encourage them to use their imaginations. The music will inspire them to move to a beat and to repeat patterns of movements as the rhythm dictates.
* Share and discuss dinosaur books. Encourage the children to imagine how some dinosaurs would lumber through the undergrowth, some would rush through the tall grass, and others would thunder ferociously around, while winged dinosaurs would swoop from tree to tree.
* Remind the children to respect each other's space and move carefully.
* Play suitable music, something loud with crashing cymbals and drums.
* Ask the children to imagine they are dinosaurs. They should try to feel heavy or light, as they move to the music.
* Stop the music and suggest they become a very different sort of dinosaur in the next part of the dance.
* Repeat to give the children plenty of chances to move in different ways.
At the traffic lights
As children become accustomed to following instructions while they move, they will enjoy opportunities to practise a variety of physical skills they have recently learned.
* Make a set of traffic lights, with a disk of red on one side and green on the other.
* Demonstrate a few movements that you would like the children to use, for example, large steps, marching, jumping like a rabbit, springing forward, hopping on one leg, running and skipping.
* Explain that you will tell them which movement you want them to use while the music is playing.
* When the music stops, turn the traffic light to red, and ask them to change movement when the music starts again and the traffic light turns to green.
* Explain that strenuous exercise helps to keep them healthy.
Moving with scarves
By their fifth birthdays, children are more confident about knowing the difference between slow and fast movements, and they learn to respond more thoughtfully to music. They may have developed good skills in dancing and be ready to follow and repeat a simple sequence of actions. Use colourful chiffon scarves for the activity, as they are both effective and calming for the children.
* Use atmospheric classical music such as Debussy's La Mer.
* Allow each child to choose a couple of scarves.
* Start the music and encourage them to form a line behind you and to follow you as the leader.
* Run gently, bobbing up and down, raising your arms and lowering them to create a wave effect with the scarves.
* Move around obstacles such as hoops or cones.
* Create a circle with the children and raise and lower the arms again.
* Move forward into a huddle and then move back to recreate the circle.
* All the time, try to ensure the children are copying your actions.
* Initiate new moves as the music takes your imagination.
An obstacle course
Older children enjoy balancing and moving over, through and around objects. Use an obstacle course to challenge them to follow a predetermined route and a clear set of instructions. This simple task obliges the children to be aware of their capabilities, and challenges them to develop new movement skills.
* Set up the equipment. Use beams on low blocks, a set of hoops in a line, a tunnel, climbing and sliding equipment.
* Explain the sequence and the need to respect each other's space.
* Give the first child a head start and let the others follow one at a time.
* Offer support to ensure each child completes each part of the programme.
* As they finish, let them go back to the beginning to start again.
* Extend the activity, for example, by hopping through the hoops.
Series guide
* This series aims to demonstrate the type of activity practitioners should provide to help children of different experiences progress towards a given goal, ie stepping stone 4.
* The stepping stones are not age related though it is likely that activities suggested in stepping stone 1 will be best suited to three-year-olds, with later activities suitable for progressively older children. However, practitioners must bear in mind that children come to early years settings with different experiences, interests and abilities, and will progress in different ways towards a given goal.
