Action Kids 500 2nd Edition
Foundation Stage Physical Development with Fun
A Teaching manual and library of over 500 physical Development activities for 2- 5 year old children with a CD containing 56 tracks

By Val Sabin (2007)

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.

THIS MANUAL IS FULLY PHOTOCOPIABLE WITHIN YOUR SCHOOL - OVER 500 ACTIVITIES AND 56 TRACKS OF MUSIC