Movement is part of the very foundation of learning.
Angela Andrews school director at Jacaranda Academy said that from birth onwards, children use movement to explore and discover their new environment.
“For this reason, the importance of movement in the education of children, especially those in the ECCD and foundation phases should not be underestimated.”
Maligay Naidoo, HOD for the Foundation Phase at Jacaranda Academy is passionate about movement in the curriculum.
“During training of Early Childhood and Foundation Phase educators, lecturers and facilitators place greater emphasis on the importance of movement for children in the pre-primary and foundation phases. My experience in the field over the years has led me to believe that movement is the foundation of all learning.”
Jacaranda provided the following ideas that parents can use to link movement to activities children can do at home:
• Mathematics gives an opportunity for children to measure objects with a shoelace as the child must stretch to reach all places.
• When learning spelling words, the child can clap the syllables with the hands, sounds can be stamped with the feet and the length of the word can become outstretched arms.
• Children can be asked to show how an aeroplane flies, a horse gallops and a train runs on tracks.
• When the child plays in sand or water, there is an opportunity to learn about measurement and mass – weight of sand and leaves, volume of water in a cup or bucket etc.
• Draw a hopscotch in the sand or with chalk. Children must hop from one number to the other.
• When outdoors the child must employ the whole body to climb, swing, hold on, step over and experience distance, angles and balance.
There is a definite correlation between gross motor, fine motor and cognitive development.
Therefore, the importance of movement should never be discounted, specifically in younger children.
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