Kids need to expend energy! It is a necessary and important part of their development. As recognised in the Australian 24-hour Movement Guidelines, children aged 1-5 should have at least 180 minutes of physical activity during the day. This doesn’t mean children should be running around at full pace for 3-hours a day, rather they should be exposed to different and varying movement activities throughout the day. This means children should be able to build their gross motor skills, as well as work on building specific muscle groups and fine motor skills daily. 

So what are some ways to support active play as well as fine motor skill development play, especially as we enter into winter where we need to more frequently stay indoors? 

Some ideas for active play include having children go through obstacle courses (having them change from low to high body movements best supports high energy expenditure), participating in a dance party, kids yoga,balance beams or stepping stones. For more fine motor development having children participate in activities such as standing painting at an easel, building blocks, catching bubbles and parachute activities. The list goes on! MTA (@modernteaching) has a great downloadable free resource educators can use to gain ideas for active play. 

Physical activity supports many of the ACECQA Early Years Framework Outcomes, such as :

Outcome 1:children learning to interact with others

Outcome 2: children become aware of fairness

Outcome 3: strengthening children’s physical and social well-being 

Outcome 5: children interact verbally and non-verbally for a range of purposes. 

What activities are your go-to for physical activity with early learners? Share your activities in the comments below! 

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