In doing physical activities the child’s:
- Self esteem is increased
- It strengthens their muscles and joints.
- Helps balance, co – ordination, and flexibility.
- Promotes language, and co - operation.
- Reduces the risk of heart disease in later life.
- Gives you a healthy appetite.
- Gives a sense of purpose and self fulfilment.
They also learn to:
- Run
- Jump
- Skip
- Ride
- Climb
- Roll
- Dance
I take the children regularly to the park as theirs more space and gets the children out into the fresh air and I tell the children that walking is a good exercise.
Space is needed when doing physical activities, but in some settings space can be limited
In my setting space is limited so when I bring the slide indoors and have the tunnel out I only have those activities out or I do a lot of musical activities like head shoulders knees and toes, and dancing or hoop, ball or skittles games. Some children can get over excited when doing physical activities and if space is limited it can be dangerous so I always make sure theirs not too many children doing physical activities at once.
When children are doing an activity I praise them all the time by telling them that they skipped really well or you jumped really high and if a child is reluctant to take part in an activity I give lots of encouragement so that they join in.
I participate in some of the activities like ball games, hoop or skipping as some children know what to do and some don’t so this gives the children plenty of encouragement by showing them what to do.
I always encourage children to help each other and to take turns as this helps them get along together as a group and I always praise a child if I see them helping another child.
Some children don’t want to play because of stereotyping boy’s might not want to play with girls or girl’s with boy’s if I see this in my setting I always tell the children that we all play together and encourage children to play together. Also children might not want to join in as what they wear restricts them from some activities example their shoes are to high and they can not climb or very long dresses that get caught I have in the past asked parents if they can bring plimsolls or wear track suit bottoms when doing physical activities but it can be difficult because of culture and religious beliefs.
When considering a child with special needs I think about the safety and their ability and needs. I look after a child who has sickle cell and when taking part in physical activities he can become tired very quickly and have pains in his back and legs so during the activities I encourage him to rest for five minutes and have a drink this normally restores him and he carry’s on playing also I look after a child who has Autism and he needs constant supervision as he gets confused sometimes in activities especially if it’s a new activity, how I get round this is by indroducing him slowly to the activity this might be just sitting with him and watching the other children and repeating to him what they are doing or using cards with pictures on example if a child is skipping I give him a card with a picture of a child skipping and repeat to him what the child is doing this process can take time but does work eventually and has in the past been a real help.
I am aware of other disabilities if a child is in a wheelchair I would make sure there is space and plan activities that involve the upper body example ball games throwing and catching.
I am aware that child with a visual impairment would need guidance on large apparatus and constant supervision.
I would use hand gestures for a child with a hearing impairment
