When children are moving, children are learning. They learn by exploring the world around them. Kindergarteners (Skedaddlers) have usually mastered their senses, intuition and balance. They are still exploring, trying to gain control of their power, coordination and control, as the picture below shows.
Students are exploring each muscle movement to find an appropriate amount of force or energy needed for a specific outcome. They are also exploring how each muscle moves and using different muscles simultaneously to improve their coordination. Finally, control is a students ability to refine and adapt movements for precision.
We are incorporating many activities into our classroom to help students continue to develop power, coordination and control.
We are incorporating many activities into our classroom to help students continue to develop power, coordination and control.
Power
hopping jumping skipping climbing stretching |
Coordination
climbing marching skipping ball play stepping stones |
Control
manipulative play stability fine motor activities playground games |
Looking for ways to incorporate movement at home??
Start with the ideas below, then check back for more ideas!
Start with the ideas below, then check back for more ideas!
- Beanbags/Balls- toss bean bags into labeled buckets or slips of paper to practice math facts, counting, sight words, spelling, letters and sounds. Practice tossing the beanbag with different parts of your body.
- Mirror, Mirror- have your student mirror your movements. Start slowly, mirroring only hand and arm motions. Build in leg and feet motions, building up to the whole body.
- Over/Under- let your child move over and under objects as you give them commands. Work on positional words such as over, under, through, above, below, beside, next to. Take turns moving objects or rolling balls to certain positions.
- Runaway Bubbles- practice counting by challenging your student to catch a certain number of bubbles with their hand. Challenge them to catch with other parts of their body.