When we see children running excitedly around the playground with friends, climbing and hanging from the branches of a tree or jumping in a muddy puddle, we are not only seeing children at play but also working hard to develop their gross motor skills.
Being Active gross
Children’s physical development has always been an important focus, with motor skills underpinning learning in lots of different areas. Recently, many children have had fewer opportunities to explore outdoors and limited space to move inside. It is now more important than ever that we provide as many physical opportunities as possible within our settings.
From sweeping up at tidy up time to reaching for resources from a shelf, our environments provide a multitude of natural opportunities for children to move and strengthen their physical skills.
By adding engaging resources, we enhance these opportunities and inspire children of all ages to be active throughout the day. Babies and toddlers may use pull up bars or tunnels to crawl, coast and balance. As children grow in confidence, the challenges they set themselves will increase. Laughter rings out as they race round the track on bikes, build obstacle courses that encourage bending, jumping and balancing, or try to kick a ball at a target.
Whether indoors or out, we can give children the freedom to be as physical as they can be to develop these big body movements.
172
SHOP THE FULL RANGE ONLINE AT WWW.TTS-GROUP.CO.UK INNOVATIVE RESOURCES TO INSPIRE CHILDREN