Pre-school Movement and Learning
The Importance of Physical Development
 The importance of children having strong and healthy bodies is
obvious and physical development is the starting point for all
other areas of learning. However, the transferability of progressions
and strategies of learning revealed through physical skill development
is not widely recognised or understood. Through its programmes
Action Kids is promoting a greater understanding of the link between
physical development and learning, and the fundamental need for
practical and physical activity at this crucial stage in a young
person's life. The Action Kids activity process
promotes children's enjoyment and achievement through good practice
in physical play
in group and class settings and also encourages practitioners to
be sensitive to the individual needs of children who learn in different
ways. Practitioners are encouraged to design and deliver balanced
programmes that are developmentally staged to build on children's
prior experience, knowledge and developed skills and also to utilise
their natural curiosity and thinking processes.
Natural Learning Through Guided Physical Play
Guided physical fun and play activities often generate spontaneity,
joy and wonder, as well as helping the development of independence,
confidence, self-worth and the valuing of others. Action
Kids practitioners
utilise group modeling and teaching practices which enable children
to develop their social skills with others whilst being able to
respond creatively as individuals. Children are guided through
planned, physically based play activities by practitioners who
can also progress children's development by skilful, knowledgeable
and sensitive intervention allowing them to learn at their own
pace and achieve success. Combinations of Action Kids'
activities offer children many opportunities to develop their skills,
attitudes
and habits for successful life-long learning.
Other Benefits to Children
 Action Kids offers a wealth of opportunities which enable children
to realise their best potential and become active and independent
learners through play. Although Action Kids is physical activity
based, it naturally opens up opportunities across the curriculum
and provides children with feelings of success and achievement
whilst broadening their experiences and skills before entering
Key Stage 1. The Action Kids activities also help
develop creativity and imagination, problem solving, curiosity
and investigation.
Selected activities can develop children's powers to think, feel,
do, know, understand, represent and express at the same time as
promoting care and respect for themselves and each other. There
are also many opportunities for children to develop their speaking
and listening skills, to extend their vocabulary, to converse and
to develop their non-verbal communication skills through dance
and song and mime activities.
Early Learning Goals and the Action Kids Curriculum
A curriculum derived from Action Kids physical activities provides
many opportunities for acquiring knowledge, skills, understanding
and successful learning attitudes. Action Kids'
programmes provide an enabling and linking curriculum through which
all sections of
the ELGs can be reached or related to, as well as stimulating children
in other areas such as problem solving and the joy and wonder of
discovery. Action Kids provides a progressive, developmental, flexible
and exciting physical activity curriculum for children enhancing
their skills and developing different ways of learning. Action
Kids not only enriches the experiences of three and four year olds,
but also links pre-school with National Curriculum requirements
in physical education for Key Stage 1.
 Code of Ethics
As well as providing a safe environment for the children, practitioners
are encouraged always to take due regard of each child's current
needs, to treat all children equally and to avoid exclusion. To
keep in mind the ethical, moral, spiritual and sensory developments
of each child as well as imparting an awareness and understanding
of the importance of a healthy body.
Easy Planning
There is extensive guidance and the detailed activities are progressively
arranged in each section in an easy to apply framework. Therefore,
it is easy to organise and plan programmes of activities for different
groups and preparation time is cut to a minimum. Thus greater precision
and clarity in long, medium and short term planning is possible.
Special Education Needs
The Action Kids' activities are explained in detail and because
the manual is progressively and developmentally staged the activities
can be utilised as they are or simply adapted to provide consistent
feelings of achievement and development for children with special
educational needs.
Different Settings
The Action Kids' activities and good practices can be utilised
in a variety of settings in and out of school and with mixed age
children at different stages of development. Whatever the setting
the Action Kids' activities, with a focus on fun, will provide
a rich and satisfying programme for the children.
Training Plus Manual and Certificate
 We believe training in how to deliver physical play activities
leading to spatial awareness development, gymnastics, games, and
song and dance to be crucial. The Action Kids four module training
programme matches the strongly identified need for training for
pre-school practitioners in the area of physical development. Action
Kids aims to train practitioners to become highly competent through
the combination of high quality training and ongoing referral to
a teaching manual. The manual not only provides clear instructions
on how to present the activities but also provides a huge library
of over 500 activities that are easy to deliver as they stand or
with modification. This training and personal reference manual
approach is very effective and speeds the development of teaching
expertise and confidence. Together the high quality Action
Kids training, the Action Kids manual and library of activities and
Action Kids certificate of training represents huge value in professional
development.
ALSO AVAILABLE
ACTION KIDS 500
HARDBACK PHOTOCOPIABLE MANUAL
The most comprehensive and user-friendly teaching manual and library of over 500 activities and 51 pieces of music specially designed for pre-school children. The teaching guide has information on differentiation, co-ordination and balance, mobility, spatial awareness, manipulative and aiming skills, outdoor and indoor resources, equipment and safety considerations. There is guidance on how to vary and develop movement through the principles of time, weight, space and flow, within a structured activity session.
THIS MANUAL IS FULLY PHOTOCOPIABLE WITHIN YOUR SCHOOL
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