Movement Activities for Early Childhood

This collection of 100+ child tested movement activities makes learning new skills fun for preschoolers. Carol Totsky Hammett, an authority in early childhood physical education, divides the activities into four areas of movement: locomotor skills, ball-handling skills, gymnastic skills, and rhythmic activities. Every activity, from crawling and creeping to jumping and landing, is presented in an easy-to-use format that includes an outline of the skills stressed, objectives, procedures, equipment, teaching hints, variations, and safety considerations. The book also offers numerous resources for equipment and music, as well as education resources for further ideas. For locomotor, ball-handling , and gymnastic skills, Hammett provides a "movement framework" that includes a list of skill themes (actions children can perform, such as jumping dribbling, or rolling) and a list of movement concepts (ideas that can be applied to the themes, including pathways, levels, directions, space, and intensity and quality of movement). By combining the themes and concepts in different ways, teachers can adapt the activities to the specific needs and developmental levels of different children.