Play Times Plus Preschoolers: A Magnetic Connection!

10 Strategies to Nurture Movement Development

New brain development research gives caregivers and parents insights into the many connections between playing and the opportunities for learning.

We also know that the terrific benefits children gain during their play times:

• Improves fitness and health
• Allow developing friends
• Offers great tools for social skills development: taking turns, sharing, and working together.
• Encourages satisfying experiences to develop self-confidence.
• Practice fundamental movements to embed these tasks to a subconscious, automated motion.
• Improve coordination and ability to control body both in place and in motion.

The studies show that there are "prime times' during which the brain is efficient at specific types of learning. For the preschoolers, those observable changes in movement we call fundamental movement skills are so important.

Those set of abilities:

1. Body management: balance in place, landing in control, stretching
2. Locomotor steps: run, skip, leap, hop, slide, gallop, jump
3. Controlling objects: swing, toss, catch, strike, targeting

These abilities provide satisfaction and self-confidence for youngsters, as well as contribute to their physical development AND cognitive development.

With some early guidance and gentle feedback, this educational path happens:

Learn to Move Move to Learn Learn to LEARN

Children do NOT pick up fundamental skills naturally as part of their normal growth and development. Instruction, formal training and informal modeling, facilitate gains in motor skill development.

Importantly, the training and teaching yields growth in the underlying mechanisms of the brain that results in movement behavior changes. This is motor development, based within the individual's neurological system.

Parents and caregivers can regards these teaching methods, scientifically and educationally:

The more guided practice times a child has the stronger the motor patterns will e embedded into their neural circuitry. The off-loading of conscious movement performance to a subconscious or automatic execution of a simple task then allows new tasks to be chosen and integrated into movement skills.

Kids love to move. Seek recognition from others through their skill displays, as well are able to join with other children in enjoyable activities, when they have some degree of movement competency.

Fundamental movement skills enable physical activity. Quality education [not fancy] can teach these skills to youngsters~ best in the ages between 3 and 7 years old.

Try to use these strategies to integrate PLAY and learning! Many of the best learning experiences come when children [and adults] are engaged in activities that they enjoy and care about.