Children start their lives as physical explorers. They take information in through motion, as well as through their senses. This motor/sensory integration leads to learning. As they reach new levels of mastery it leads to new learning and new physical challenges.

Infant/toddlers: Movement is the way infants and toddlers explore their world and learn about themselves. They use their own bodies as the tools for their discoveries.

Infants should work on locomotion skills such as creeping and crawling. This should begin by encouraging young infants to roll over by moving a toy out of an infant’s line of sight until the infant rolls over to find it. This continues as infants get older by encouraging them to reach for the toy and gradually moving it just out of their reach to begin the creeping and crawling phase.

Toddlers should work on locomotion skills such as walking. Focus on opposites. Encourage them to walk high up on their tip-toes and then walk low by bending over. Change the skill to walking forward then backward. The activity toddlers love the best is walking fast, but not running, and then walking slow.

Preschoolers: In my book “Teaching with Heart” I use an obstacle course activity to encourage physical development. This is done by going over, under and around things. Form a course outside when the weather is nice or in the room by using chairs, tables, and pillows etc. I use this activity to teach the nursery rhyme JACK BE NIMBLE. Stand short books up in and around the course as pretend candles. Have the children follow the course jumping over the pretend candle as they encounter them.