Website Archive - July, 2007
Spotlight on the Physical-Health Learning Area
Children
CBeebies BBC
In Project Build It help Bob the Builder build a playground in Sunflower Park. Then play on the equipment.
Nick Jr.com
Play 9 holes of mini-golf with Dora the Explorer at Star Mountain Mini-Golf!
Parents
Here are some activities to encourage movement and physical fitness for your preschooler.
Kids in Action
The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, and the Kellogg Company developed a booklet with simple ideas for physical activities that you can do with your child to create the foundation for lifelong healthy behaviors. The booklet presents physical activities for children in three age groups: infants (birth to 18 months), toddlers (18 to 36 months), and preschoolers (3 to 5 years).
http://fitness.gov/funfit/kidsinaction.html
Shirley’s Preschool Activites
The article Activities for Gross Motor Skills on Shirley’s Preschool Activities website contains information about gross motor development. Scroll half way down the page for a list of suggested activities to do with your child at home to develop gross motor skills.
KidsHealth for Parents
Created by the Nemours Foundation, KidsHealth provides doctor-approved health information about children. The article Fitness and Your 4-to-5 year old has information on appropriate fitness activities for 4 and 5 year olds and also includes family fitness tips.
Illinois Early Learning Project
Physical Fitness for Preschool-Age Children, a Tip Sheet from the Illinois Early Learning Project, lists some very simple activities that you can do at home to help your child develop their motor skills and become physically fit.
Teachers
NAEYC
SKIPing toward an Active Start: Promoting Physical Activity in Preschoolers is an article by Jacqueline D. Goodway and Leah E. Robinson in NAEYC’s Beyond the Journal. The article shares some of the core premises of Project SKIP (Successful Kinesthetic Instruction for Preschoolers), a motor skill program, and a few of the many activities that can be incorporated into an early childhood classroom.
Gayle’s Preschool Rainbow
The Outdoor Play Activity Theme on Gayle’s Preschool Rainbow website has 18 ideas and activities that can be done outdoors, including games,water play, treasure hunt, making volcanoes, and nature walks.
Hummingbird Educational Resources
Lotsa Lesson Plans on the Hummingbird Educational Resources website has a section for Large Motor Skills. The lesson plans detail the ages of the children, the goals, and a description of the activity for each plan. There are quite a few different parachute games, monkey tag, flamingo ball relay, and bean bag games.
Illinois Early Learning Project
The Illinois Early Learning Project has a Games for All Young Children Tip Sheet with simple ideas and games to encourage children to become more active and thereby developing their gross motor skills.
PE Central
PE Central, the website for Health and Physical Education teachers and parent, provides the latest information about developmentally appropriate physical education programs for children and youth. The Preschool Physical Education page has Pre-K Lesson Ideas, Frequently Asked Questions, PreK Research Articles and Other Resources, and Homemade Equipment ideas.
Preschool Express
Preschool Express by Jean Warren has Coordination Skills activities, such as balancing skills, outdoor olympics, and throwing games in their Skill Station. The Game Station has several skill areas to explore in their Anytime Games section.
The Activity Idea Place
The Activity Idea Place has lots of activities to develop preschoolers’ large muscles on their Summer Fun: Outside Activities section of the website. Some of the activities listed are: sponge relay, safari walk, sun prints, blanket toss, and bike parades.
[Posted on June 29, 2007]
