COURSE OVERVIEW:
Physical activities should be integrated into children’s lives to create a foundation of movement and activity which will be carried with them throughout the rest of their lives. Physical activities are essential for a child’s development. It helps lay the foundation for an active and healthy life.
It is during early childhood that children are more willing to try new activities. Physical activities promote healthy growth and development. It helps build a healthier body composition, stronger bones and muscles. It also improves the child’s cardiovascular fitness. Physical activities help in the development of better motor skills and in concentration and thinking skills.
Children who have higher levels of physical activity during their childhood are likely to be more active even after they mature. This is important for better health and well-being.
Physical activities from a young age have various benefits which reach far beyond only physical development. A child can physically, mentally, socially and emotionally develop by taking part in physical activities. The increasing use of technology and classrooms and early childhood settings focusing on mental activities rather than physical activities have led to the reduction of children’s movement and physical activity.
An early childhood setting which gives some time to physical activity as well would benefit the child. Increased movement and physical activity does create healthy habits and has numerous benefits for the child. It helps improve confidence, self-esteem and also in developing healthier social, cognitive, and emotional skills. It also helps in building strength, self-confidence, concentration, and coordination from an early age.
A lack of physical activity in early childhood could bring many health problems. A few of such problems could be excess body fat, weight gain, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol, cardiovascular diseases and bone health problems. The health benefits of physical activities outweigh the negatives. Children who do take part in physical activities tend to have fewer chronic health problems. They are less prone to getting sick. They have a significantly reduced risk for various diseases which also includes heart diseases, diabetes, depression and mental illness.
In this course you will explore the many possibilities for babies and toddlers to use their physical abilities within an environment that is interesting and safe.
The first part of this course starts by explaining what a physical activity is and the importance of physical activities in early childhood. Then discusses the importance of physical skills and activity for children’s learning and well-being. Then examines a number of activities for Infants, Toddlers and Young Children. then explains the meaning of ‘early learning’ and exploratory play.
The second part starts by discussing how to provide a wide range of learning opportunities for physical development. Then explains the importance of outdoor play and the use of opportunities of an outdoor curriculum. Also, explains how children’s attention control develops and what may be the genuine problems in this area. Finally, explains what Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is and examines the other causes of attention difficulties in children.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:
- What is physical activity?
- What does physical activity for young children mean?
- The importance of physical activities in early childhood
- The consequences of a lack of physical activity in early childhood
- The characteristics of Infants
- The characteristics of Toddlers
- The characteristics of Young Children
- How much physical activity do children need each day?
- Learning within physical development
- Activities with under threes
- Play materials for babies
- How to play with babies?
- Play games for all baby senses
- Why babies and toddlers need space to move?
- What is ‘early learning’?
- What is ‘exploratory play’?
- How babies learn with the treasure basket?
- How babies learn with heuristic play?
- Physical play and activities for over threes
- The importance of space to move and explore
- How babies, toddlers and children enjoy different kinds of music and dance sessions?
- How children learn through constructional play?
- The benefits for children helping out in the daily routine of your setting
- How toddlers and very young children like and can benefit from hands-on arts and crafts activities?
- The potential learning from play with an obstacle course
- The importance of outdoor play
- Ideas for using outdoors in your setting
- Why weather should not be used as an excuse to restrict children’s outdoor play?
- Physical activity and children attention
- The development of attention in children
- How babies under one year are easily distracted?
- How toddlers have more fixed attention?
- How young children have more flexibility in attention?
- How children of four years and older have double focus attention?
- Attention deficit disorder (ADD)
- The other causes of attention difficulties
COURSE DURATION:
The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.
COURSE DELIVERY:
Purchase and download course content.
ASSESSMENT:
A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.
CERTIFICATION:
Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.