2.9: Movement Play in Early Childhood

Introduction

Movement play is a crucial aspect of early childhood development, encompassing a range of activities that help children build physical, cognitive, and social skills. From infancy through preschool years, children engage in various forms of movement that evolve in complexity and purpose. This document explores how infants, toddlers, and preschoolers interact with movement concepts, highlighting the importance of these activities in their overall growth and development.

Preschoolers

How Preschoolers Explore Movement Concepts

Preschoolers (generally ages 3 to 5) build on the foundational skills they developed as toddlers and engage in increasingly complex movements. Their play becomes more social, imaginative, and coordinated, allowing them to experiment with new ways of moving, balancing, and interacting with others. Here are several ways preschoolers explore and develop movement concepts:

Running, Skipping, and Jumping

• What it is: Preschoolers enjoy more purposeful forms of locomotion—running confidently, trying to skip, hopping on one foot, and jumping with greater control.
• Why it matters: These movements refine coordination, build leg strength, and help children gauge their own speed, distance, and timing.

Climbing and Balancing

• What it is: They tackle playground structures like ladders, slides, and balance beams, often experimenting with new challenges (e.g., climbing higher or walking carefully along a curb).
• Why it matters: Climbing and balancing develop core strength, hone body awareness, and boost self-confidence as children learn to assess and manage risk.

Throwing, Catching, and Kicking

• What it is: Preschoolers improve hand-eye (and foot-eye) coordination by tossing balls underhand, catching larger balls, kicking a stationary ball, or even beginning to dribble a lightweight ball.
• Why it matters: Manipulative skills like throwing, catching, and kicking build fine- and gross-motor coordination and encourage social play (e.g., playing catch with peers or caregivers).

Dancing and Creative Movement

• What it is: Preschoolers dance spontaneously to music, perform action songs (like the “Hokey Pokey”), and explore creative movement (pretending to be animals or objects).
• Why it matters: Dance and creative movement improve rhythm, self-expression, and imagination while promoting physical fitness and body control.

Obstacle Courses and Gross Motor Play

• What it is: Teachers or caregivers may set up simple courses with tunnels, cones, stepping stones, or hula hoops to crawl under, jump through, or step around.
• Why it matters: Negotiating obstacles fosters problem-solving (“How do I get through without falling?”), spatial awareness, and helps preschoolers strengthen large muscle groups.

Hopscotch and Sidewalk Games

• What it is: Chalk-drawn hopscotch patterns, follow-the-line paths, or balance challenges (walk on a wavy line).
• Why it matters: These playful, structured activities promote balance, coordination, counting, and following rules of a simple game (taking turns, waiting in line).

Yoga and Stretching

• What it is: Preschool-friendly yoga or stretching exercises—like “tree pose,” “downward dog,” or simply reaching for the sky.
• Why it matters: Stretching builds flexibility and body awareness, and yoga-like poses help preschoolers practice mindfulness and focus on breathing.

Cooperative Group Games

• What it is: Group games like “Duck, Duck, Goose,” “Musical Chairs,” or “Freeze Dance” involve running, stopping, and quick direction changes in response to cues.
• Why it matters: These group activities foster social skills (taking turns, following rules) and refine children’s ability to start, stop, and change motion on cue.

Imaginative and Role-Play

• What it is: Preschoolers use movement to act out stories or scenarios—pretending to be astronauts walking in space, animals creeping through the jungle, or superheroes leaping tall buildings.
• Why it matters: This type of play encourages creativity, language development, and a deeper connection between thought and physical action.

Outdoor Exploration

• What it is: Running on grass, stepping on stones, balancing on tree stumps, rolling down small hills, or exploring nature trails.
• Why it matters: Uneven surfaces and natural environments challenge children’s balance, coordination, and problem-solving, further enhancing their sensory and motor development.

Why It Matters

• Physical Development: Preschoolers build strength, endurance, and coordination through active movement.
• Cognitive Growth: Movement experiences reinforce spatial awareness, problem-solving, and the ability to follow multi-step instructions.
• Social and Emotional Skills: Cooperative games and group dance foster turn-taking, empathy, and teamwork.
• Self-Expression: Activities like dance, yoga, and imaginative play help children explore emotions and creativity, integrating mind and body.

By engaging in a wide range of playful movement activities, preschoolers continue refining their motor skills, gain confidence in their bodies, and lay the groundwork for lifelong physical literacy. 

Toddlers

How Preschoolers Explore Movement Concepts

Toddlers (approximately 1 to 3 years old) continue developing their gross and fine motor skills through active, exploratory play. Their play becomes more purposeful and independent, allowing them to experiment with new ways to move, balance, and navigate their surroundings. Here are some ways toddlers engage with movement concepts:

Walking and Running

• What it is: Toddlers eagerly practice walking, often moving quickly into running as soon as they’re stable on their feet.
• Why it matters: Rapid changes in direction or speed improve balance, coordination, and spatial awareness.

Climbing and Exploring

• What it is: From climbing onto furniture to using playground structures, toddlers explore vertical movement.
• Why it matters: Climbing helps develop strength, problem-solving (“How do I get up/down safely?”), and confidence in their own abilities.

Jumping and Hopping

• What it is: Simple jumping in place or off a small step, sometimes progressing to hopping on one foot (closer to age 3).
• Why it matters: Jumping refines coordination, leg muscle strength, and understanding of their body’s movement possibilities.

Dancing and Rhythmic Movement

• What it is: Toddlers love to sway, bounce, and spin to music, copying movements they see or just expressing themselves.
• Why it matters: Dance enhances balance and rhythm while also fostering creativity and body awareness.

Ball Play

• What it is: Rolling, tossing, kicking, or chasing balls of different sizes.
• Why it matters: Ball play sharpens hand-eye coordination, timing, and encourages social interaction when playing in groups.

Obstacle Courses

• What it is: Simple setups with pillows, tunnels, or low stepping blocks that toddlers can climb over, crawl under, or step around.
• Why it matters: Navigating obstacles hones spatial awareness, gross motor planning, and problem-solving skills.

Push and Pull Toys

• What it is: Toddler-friendly toys on wheels or with handles (e.g., wagons, poppers, or push walkers).
• Why it matters: Pushing and pulling build upper-body strength and coordination while boosting confidence in walking and maneuvering objects.

Balancing Activities

• What it is: Toddlers might try standing on one foot or walking along a low curb or beam with assistance.
• Why it matters: These activities challenge core strength and stability, introducing the concept of controlled movement and balance.

Imitation and Action Songs

• What it is: Toddlers learn simple movements like “head, shoulders, knees, and toes,” or follow along with finger plays and other action songs.
• Why it matters: Copying movements promotes body awareness and reinforces vocabulary for body parts, directions (up/down), and movement descriptors (fast/slow).

Rough-and-Tumble Play

• What it is: Safe, supervised rolling, gentle wrestling, or playful tumbling with adults or other children.
• Why it matters: This type of play fosters social bonding, teaches limits (“too rough” vs “just right”), and further refines motor control.

Why It Matters

• Physical Development: Toddlers gain muscle strength, coordination, balance, and agility through constant movement.
• Spatial Awareness: Learning to navigate their environment (stepping over, around, and through obstacles) builds cognitive mapping skills.
• Body Control and Confidence: Through trial and error, toddlers figure out their limits—how fast they can run, how high they can climb—which supports self-assurance and risk assessment.
• Social Interaction: Cooperative or parallel play in group settings exposes toddlers to turn-taking, sharing, and joint movement adventures.

All these playful movement experiences help toddlers develop a foundation for more complex physical activities, enhancing their independence and overall growth.

Infants

How Preschoolers Explore Movement Concepts

Infants (roughly birth to 12 months) explore and develop movement concepts through playful, self-directed activity and sensory experiences. While “play” in infancy looks quite different from older children’s play, these early interactions lay the foundation for physical development, spatial awareness, and body control. Here are some ways infants engage with movement concepts.

Tummy Time

• What it is: Placing infants on their stomachs for supervised, short periods during playtime.
• Why it matters: Tummy time helps strengthen neck, shoulder, and arm muscles. As infants lift their heads and push up on their arms, they gain an early awareness of weight-bearing and body support.

Reaching and Grasping

• What it is: Infants stretch their arms toward toys, people, or objects and attempt to grip them.
• Why it matters: Reaching fosters hand-eye coordination, depth perception, and the beginnings of spatial awareness (“how far something is” and “how to move to get it”).

Rolling Over

• What it is: As muscle strength grows, babies learn to roll from tummy to back and back to tummy.
• Why it matters: This milestone demonstrates an infant’s emerging control over trunk and hip muscles. Rolling also broadens an infant’s perspective, as they experience their environment from different positions.

Kicking and Leg Movement

• What it is: Infants often kick their legs or pedal them in the air, especially when lying on their backs.
• Why it matters: Kicking is an early form of exploring the lower body’s range of motion, helping strengthen leg muscles and core stability, which eventually aids in crawling and standing.

Scooting and Crawling

• What it is: Infants experiment with moving forward or backward on their bellies (“army crawl”) or with their arms and knees.
• Why it matters: Crawling teaches coordinated movement between arms and legs, building spatial navigation skills (“I can move toward a toy across the room”).

Bouncing and Rocking

• What it is: When supported in a standing or sitting position, infants may bend their knees to bounce or rock back and forth.
• Why it matters: These small, repetitive motions help infants learn to balance body weight and refine muscle control. It’s also a joyful sensory experience that strengthens core and leg muscles.

Supported Sitting and Standing

• What it is: With an adult’s help or when propped with pillows, infants learn to maintain sitting balance. Eventually, they try standing with support (like holding onto furniture).
• Why it matters: Practicing sitting and standing engages the core and postural muscles. Infants build balance, stability, and the confidence needed for cruising (walking while holding onto furniture).

Exploring Different Textures and Surfaces

• What it is: Infants placed on mats, carpets, or varying textures explore movement on different surfaces.
• Why it matters: Different textures and levels of friction require infants to adapt their body movements. This fosters sensory-motor integration (“How does my body move on a slippery versus a rough surface?”).

Action-Reaction Play

• What it is: Activities like kicking at a mobile, swiping at a hanging toy, or pushing objects away.
• Why it matters: Infants learn about cause and effect—“If I move my arm or leg this way, the toy sways or makes a noise.” This helps them build intentional movement skills.

Mirroring and Imitation

• What it is: Infants naturally begin to mimic others’ expressions and simple movements (e.g., “clapping,” wiggling, or nodding).
• Why it matters: Observing and imitating caregivers or siblings fosters social interaction and teaches infants that their own body can do what they see in others, boosting self-awareness and motor planning.

Why It Matters

• Physical Development: Early, repetitive movement experiences develop muscle strength, coordination, and overall motor skills.
• Body Awareness: Infants begin to understand how their bodies move in space (proprioception) and how their limbs relate to each other.
• Sensory Integration: Movements combined with touch, sound, and visual feedback improve sensory processing.
• Cognitive and Emotional Growth: Through movement, infants explore cause and effect and gain a sense of agency—realizing “I can make things happen!” This boosts self-confidence and curiosity.  Overall, these playful explorations with movement help infants transition from reflexive actions to more purposeful motor skills, setting the stage for a lifetime of active learning.

Conclusion

Engaging in movement play from infancy through preschool years is essential for children's holistic development. These activities not only enhance physical abilities such as strength, coordination, and balance but also contribute to cognitive growth, social skills, and emotional well-being. By providing opportunities for children to explore and experiment with different types of movement, caregivers and educators can support the development of lifelong physical literacy and a love for active play.

References

• OpenAI. (2024). How do children in preschool play with movement concepts? Retrieved December 12, 2024, from [ChatGPT].
• OpenAI. (2024). How do toddlers play with movement concepts? Retrieved December 12, 2024, from [ChatGPT].
• OpenAI. (2024). How do infants play with movement concepts? Retrieved December 12, 2024, from [ChatGPT].