Teaching the Fundamental Movement Skills

Playing games and encouraging active participation in activities is a great way to develop skills in children that may not naturally occur, as well as improving the ‘technique’ of skills that do. Take throwing as an example: Children naturally begin to throw objects at around 18 months old, and this typically takes the form of an underhand toss. We can encourage this movement by providing targets, especially targets that fall over! To develop throwing further, we can remind children to point their finger and throw overhand like they are high fiving a friend, and demonstrate the action ourselves.

There are many simple, easy ways to teach children the fundamental movement skills and offer quick reminders for ‘technique’. Technique is not important in the early years, but reminders of good technique is always a positive approach that will build more confidence and competence in the movement at a later stage.

Below are some examples of how to do this, but your imagination can inspire you to develop many ways to do the same!

Idea: Animal cards – print off and laminate different animals on card stock (more durable). Each animal moves in different ways, and is a fun an engaging way to get kids moving in many different ways:

There are many more animals, either throughout the world or local, that you can use for these same movements or others. You can also suggest an animal and have the children use their imaginations to come up with movements. Perhaps draw a new, inventive creature and have the children act out their creatures movements! There are so many possibilities but the key is to have fun and get kids moving!

Source: Chris Wright, Appetite to Play Master Trainer