ITANA LOVIS

PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT
FOR ECE B
ASSIGNMENT 1
STUDENT NO:
201846033
0815532592

QUESTION 1
a) C
b) D
c) E
 d) A
e) B
1.2
a) Stimulating brain development
physical activity is an essential way to encourage brain function and the formation of
cognitive abilities. One area of the brain, called the hippocampus, actually increases
in size when a child exercises. Physical active games are wonderful for stimulating
brain development .
this is because children must learn and understand the rules of the game in order to
be able to play it. Certain games also develop very specific skills. Young children
will receive the brain benefits of exercise by playing on the playground, digging in the
sandbox, playing ball games and engaging in aerobic activities such as running,
jumping, skipping and hopping.
b) Promoting problem-solving skills
Research has shown that meta-cognitive ( higher level thinking) and problem solving
skills develop when children do activities that require planning. This is because
planning requires children to think and reason. They have to identify their goals and
consider various options for achieving them. Well many physical game involves
planning and problem solving. For example children might consider what they will
do, where they will do it, what materials they will use who they will do it with,how long
it will take whether they will need help.
c) enhancing numeracy and language concepts
while playing game in groups children have to communicate verbally and non-
verbally. They get to practise their ability to use language effectively. In other
words, physical activities can enhance children’s language development.
Numeracy concepts can also be reinforced through physical activities. For example
through jumping onto big numbers in an activity such as hopscotch, children can
learn to count and recognise numbers. They also learn numerical concepts in the
action game “Mother may I” by counting the steps.
d) Enhancing understanding of concepts
through playing with sand, children discover different textures. They also learn about
measurement. In water play they discover that a big container holds more water
than a small container and that containers may differ in shape, but still hold the same
amount of water, for example.
Playing and running around allows children to explore the environment and new
objects. When playing on big playground equipment such as gyms, children climb
over and under things.

QUESTION 2
2.1
a) back to back (4+ years)
Children stand back in pairs and link their arms. One of the children slowly bends
forward so that the other child lies flat on his/her back with his/her legs in the air.
Then they return to the middle and repeat the same action with the other child
bending forward. Still linking arms, the pairs continue to sit on the floor and once
they sit, they have to try to stand up again, without letting go of their arms. You and
your children can also include additional actions.
b) Frisbee
to prepare this game you have to mark two parallel lines on the ground about 2
metres apart and label them as line 1 and line 2. Next you need to divide the
children into pairs with one child from each pair standing on the first line, about 1
step apart from the others in the line. The other child from each pair stands on the
second line, on your command the children begin tossing the Frisbees back and
forth to their partners, keeping track of how many catches they make. They have to
start counting from 1 each time the Frisbee touches the ground.
2.2
1) Place thee 2 plates with right sides up, as if you were going to put on them.
Cover them with the clear packaging tape, allowing the excess tape to
overlap, but do not fold it over the edge. Use the scissors to cut off excess
tape around the plate.
2) Turn the plates upside down and use markers or crayons to decorate as you
wish or let the children do this.
3) Cut the same size circle from the centre of each plate.
4) Place both plates decorated side facing up onto the work surface. Using the
clear packaging tape, cover the decorated side and fold the ends through the
centre circle. Trim the edges of tape on the outside of the plate.
5) Lastly, put two plates together decorated sides facing outward, and tape all of
the edges together

2.3
For this race each child needs two newspaper pages. The children must race to the
finish line, stepping only on their newspaper, i.e they put one page on the ground in
front of them, step on it, lay the other one in front of them and step on it, move the
first forward and step on it and so on. The first child to reach the finish line wins.

QUESTION 3
3.1
It is important for children to learn traditional games as they teach children about the
rules and values of their cultures. These games are part of a society’s cultural
heritage. Traditional games are also a great means of teaching children about
intercultural acceptance and learning about and understanding the other people’s
cultures.
3.2
Informal means that you observe the children in familiar, naturally occurring
everyday situations (rather than those specially set up for the purpose of
observation) and taking short notes without the children even noticing that thye are
being assessed while Continuous means that you have to repeatedly assess the
same skills and competencies over a period of time. As a result you will get to know
and understand each child the progress being made his/her needs well.

3.3
 Gross Motor Development
Skills Competencies- children should be able
to :
Balance  Hold the body in the correct
position with minimal support in
the performance of various tasks
and balancing exercises
 Acquire smooth co-ordinated
movements which allow them to
move with self-assurance
Gross motor movement  Demonstrate accurate movement
of the larger muscles of the body,
e.g. arms and legs
 Carry out daily tasks with vigour
and alertness
Coordination  Perform coordinated,
symmetrical movements of all
body parts
 Participate successfully in
games, sports and dance
Eye-foot coordination  Control the movement and
direction of the body using legs
and feet
Eye-hand coordination  Control the movement and
direction of the body using arms,
hands and fingers

QUESTION 4
4.1
 The child can throw the ball/bag into a hoop on the ground
  A larger opening can be used on the clown face
 The child can stand closer to the target
4.2
Swings should be placed to the side or in a corner of the playground, out of the way
of children moving around. The majority of accidents happen when children walk in
front of swings that are in use. Children need to be taught about this and should be
regularly reminded to be careful.
There should be enough space between swings to prevent them from bumping into
each other, which could result in the children getting hurt. You also have to look at
the height of swings. They should be adjusted to the size of the children in your
care. Children should be able to get on and off the swings easily and safely. The
swing seat should not be too high or too low for the children.
If it is too high, children stand the risk of falling and if it is too low the feet of the
children might get hurt if they touch the ground whilst swinging.

4.3
Cooling-down
Cooling-down after physical activities is just as important as a warm-up, especially
after strenuous activities. Cool-down periods help children’s bodies to recover. If
children do not cool down properly after an exercise session, they might be prone to
dizziness, vomiting and tiredness.
Ensure that children understand that the body needs this chance to recuperate after
a vigorous activity by explaining that cooling down properly helps to prevent muscle
stiffness and soreness and tiredness.

Assess/evaluate the children

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process which enables the
educarer/pre-school teacher to make relevant and appropriate judgements about
children’s skills and progress. After an activity, you have to determine whether the
children have mastered the skills or objectives as indicated in the lesson plan. The
educarer arranged the children in small group circles with a bucket or a hoop in the
middle. The children had to throw the bean bag into the bucket/hoop. This enabled
the educarer to assess whether children were able to perform this task or not.

Store equipment/materials used during the activity

After an activity, any movable materials/equipment used during the activity should
ideally be stored in readily accessible containers. This will ensure that you can
quickly find the materials/equipment if you need them for another activity. Proper
storage also prevents loss of and damage to materials and equipment.

References
NAMCOL Module 18 Physical Development in Early Childhood and Pre-Primary
Education B