For your kinaesthetic kids, there’s no time to sit still. Kirstine Beeley presents a host of creative ways to add a physical dimension to activities across the EYFS…
The importance of children’s early physical development can not be overstated. It links closely with a child’s ability to access future learning and emotional wellbeing, and has a direct impact on brain development. As one of the three prime areas within the EYFS clear emphasis is now put on this vital part of children’s education. Although the EYFS states “all areas of learning and development are important and interconnected”, I’d like to take a brief look at how you can use physical development to help build children’s knowledge and understanding in other areas – both looking at children learning to move and helping them move to learn…
The EYFS asks practitioners to help develop children’s physical wellbeing as well as their understanding of healthy living, and with this in mind, many settings revert to outdoor bike and trike play as their main method of providing for physical development. In small settings this can be an issue, as lots of whizzing round in circles is difficult when space is at a premium. But when you analyse what the EYFS actually says, that we should be “providing children with opportunities to be active and interactive”, you realise that it’s not just about providing children with a chance to ‘blow off steam’; it’s about giving children the skills to interact with different approaches to learning, and to find new ways of developing their strength and coordination, as well as getting their hearts racing. So, how and why should we make physical activity a part of learning across the board?
As we all know, children are wonderfully different – they all have their own preferred style of learning. Some learn best when they are asked to listen, whilst others prefer a more visual and vibrant way of absorbing information. There are also those who learn better when they are active. These are our kinaesthetic learners; they have an inbuilt need to move as they play, learn and grow, both indoors and outdoors. It is with these learners in mind that I’ve looked at ways of making learning and development in other areas a more physical experience, with the hope that a child who perhaps has struggled to grasp a concept presented in one way will benefit from taking another, more active approach.
Before children can pick up a pencil, pair of scissors or paint brush and control it properly they need to build on the strength in their hands, wrists and fingers, as well as developing coordination between their brain and limbs: their fine motor skills. Try writing your name holding a pencil with your toes and you will experience what it’s like when your muscles and coordination are not yet developed. Children need the chance to build these smaller physical skills in a wide variety of ways both indoors and outdoors, not just through playdough exploration.
Children also need to develop their gross motor skills: larger body movements to help build strength and coordination. As well as improving general fitness levels, the strengthening of shoulder, arm and even back muscles is crucial to early pencil control, and hence a vital precursor to early writing.
In the activities below I’ve tried to look at ways you could use both gross motor and fine motor activities to access learning across the spectrum. Many of the ideas can be easily adapted to support more or less able learners.
Admittedly there are times when children will need to run, leap, twirl and skip to burn off excess energy, and grow in confidence with their own bodies as they move. Our role as early educators is to identify when this is needed, but also to provide additional opportunities to build other skills. By providing opportunities to move with a reason we can help to build specific muscle strength, coordination and control, and in doing so we can cover learning in other areas. For example, adding stepping stones with numbers or letters on encourages children to stride and balance, whilst putting u