Spring Physical Skills
There is an array of physical skills that young children need to learn and develop through free movement and instruction time. Most skills will not be performed with control in the early years, however the more opportunity children have to try and master the skills the easier they will find more complex games and sports when they are older.
Every few months we will focus on a number of physical skills. Children will develop other skills, however the focus skills will be the basis for planning and support.
Depending on your children’s abilities you can either focus purely on the fundamental movement skills or focus on all the skills. The full list of skills are aimed at children in foundation stage, however you may find that some older children have not had sufficient opportunity to develop these skills when they were younger.
It is better to help children develop at a younger level than try to force them to keep up with their peers if they are not capable. They will develop faster and be more likely to catch up.
The physical skills are divided into 4 categories:
Movement
Static
Fine Motor
Descriptive
Underpinning Movement:
Balance
Coordination
Spatial Awareness
Agility
Incorporating the skills into your planning
Each week select:
2x Movement skill
1x Static, Descriptor or Fine Motor skill
Enhancing Phyiscal Development
Plan PE lessons and daily activities around these skills and outcomes you would like the children to achieve.
Allow for repetition of skills both during instruction time and child initiated play.
Place a flashcard of the skills in the outdoor area, send the skills home or incorporate them in other lessons.
We will be focussing on the following skills during Spring Term
Movement
Bouncing
Catching
Changing Direction
Chasing
Climbing
Combining Movements
Creeping
Dancing / Movement to music / Rhythm
Digging
Dodging
Dribbling
Evading
Galloping
Hanging
Hitting
Hopping
Jumping
Movement
Kicking
Landing
Leaping
Lifting
Marching
Rolling (body)
Running
Shuffling
Skipping
Sliding
Slither
Squatting
Stacking
Striking
Tapping
Throwing
Twisting
Volley
Static
Aiming
Gesturing
Handling
Hiding
Matching
Pivoting
Reaching
Rotating
Scoring
Shooting
Standing
Fine Motor
Cutting
Writing
Painting
Drawing
Grasping
Squeezing
Pointing
Pressing
Prodding
Stacking
Descriptor
Avoiding
Directional/Positional
Distance
Flow
Height
Pathway
Predicting
Reacting
Speed
Splashing
Weight
Downloads
For further support to develop children’s physical skills please see the information sheets:
Skill Flashcards (click to download)
Print off the Flashcards, separate each one by cutting on the line and laminate them for use in lessons, around the class and in your outdoor area. Where there are no pictures, add your own by taking photographs of your children as they will identify better with the picture.
Skill Information (click to download)
Fundamental Movement Skills (click to download)
Physical Skills (click to download)