6.1 Supporting the individual child
In previous sections you have seen how FMS can be observed and used as feedback to provide support for movement development. However, it may not always be appropriate to provide an intervention at that specific time for that individual child. The child may have their own views on what they’d like to achieve or what they consider they struggle with (e.g. ball skills, swinging across the monkey-bars, climbing). Or the practitioner may see that there is a need to develop their movement for specific reasons in their setting (e.g. safety/socialisation/to aid language development, etc.).
By infusing movement into the culture of any early years setting you are in, it is possible for positive movement experiences, alongside listening to the child’s voice, to organically highlight the areas children need support with. Forcing movement may lead to specific foci being targeted for development which contradicts the notion of meeting the individual’s holistic needs.
Activity 8
Describe three ways in which your environment supports physical development and describe three things you would like to do differently/change following this week of study.
Choose a movement skill from each age group and describe how you could support/enhance it over time in your setting.