Summer 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 Summer Term
Movement
Bouncing
Catching
Changing Direction
Climbing
Combining Movements
Dancing / Movement to music / Rhythm
Dodging
Dribbling
Evading
Flicking
Hitting
Hopping
Jumping
Kicking
Lunging
Picking up
Receiving
Rolling (body)
Movement
Running
Skipping
Spinning
Striking
Throwing
Volley
Static
Aiming
Handling
Pivoting
Rotating
Scoring
Shooting
Fine Motor
Cutting
Holding
Feeling
Grasping
Gripping
Writing
Descriptor
Avoiding
Directional/Positional
Height
Pathway
Predicting
Flow
Speed
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)