Physical Literacy and the Young Child

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Physical Literacy and the Young Child

• Patricia Maude MBE
• Homerton College, University of Cambridge, England

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Child Development

• processes of growth and maturation in infancy
• developing movement competence
• language learning through movement
• movement learning through language

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Processes of Growth and Maturation in Infants

• neural development
• sensori-motor development
• cephalo-caudal development
• proximo-distal development

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Enabling Early Development

• Physical activity as the stimulus for
• brain development
• development of movement competence
• language development

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Enabling Environments

• locations indoors and outdoors
• resources natural, created and manufactured
• significant others

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Enabling Activity

• Free play
• Guided play
• Structured play

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Language and Movement

• Movement is a childs first language
• (Kiphard and Schilling (1994)
• Body Language non-verbal communication
• facial, postural
• touching, pointing
• reaching, clapping, waving

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Enabling Language Learning through Movement

• Key movement vocabulary related to language
  learning includes
• nouns
• verbs
• adverbs
• spatial vocabulary
• short phrases

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Enabling Movement Learning through Language

• accurate vocabulary
• applicable vocabulary
• Lucidity Principles
• Practical Intelligence

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Example of Movement Categories and Vocabulary

• Balance vocabulary to enhance stable support
  and postural control
• on front on back on side
  on bottom on hands and feet on
  hands and knees on knees on feet
  on one hand and one foot
  
• on one foot sliding upside-down as in
  handstand on elevated, wide and narrow
  surfaces rocking scooting
  biking floating
• 
  
  
• Locomotion vocabulary to enhance travel from
  place to place 
• creeping slithering crawling
  stepping walking
  jogging running
  rolling skipping galloping
• pulling pushing
  swinging climbing wading
  swimming
•  
• Flight vocabulary to enhance projecting oneself
  off the ground and back down to land
• landing on two feet taking off
  jumping up jumping along
  jumping onto jumping
  off jumping over
  
• landing on one foot hopping
  hopscotch leaping
  abseiling
  jumping with turn assisted flight
•  
• Manipulation
• holding feeling grasping
  gripping drawing
  tracing guiding
  cutting pegging threading
• moulding typing mouse
  -management picking up
  receiving a rolled object catching
  from bounce and throw
•  
• Projection
• grasping releasing placing
  rolling bouncing
  throwing striking
  heading aiming kicking
• punting volleying licking
  flinging spinning
  skimming serving driving
  putting goal shooting

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Expressive Movement Vocabulary

• whirl shrink gather glide
  leap
• bound spin crawl
  slither
• scatter dash soar
  drag pause
  crouch burst
  whip plunge
• zigzag tremble
  skim scurry hop rock
  skip wander toss
• twirl press push
  tiptoe creep
  collapse expand clap
  rise
• fall shrivel
  close open encircle
  flutter hover arch sway
  
• wander settle
  crumble twist turn
  shatter run tap
  freeze
• (Source Adapted from Homerton College P E
  Department 1998 79)

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Physical Literacy through Movement and Language

• Enabling young children to achieve
• optimum movement competence
• effective language and communication development
• a physically active lifestyle
• intrinsic motivation and self confidence