Early childhood is a critical period to intervene for obesity, developmental and behavioural problems. Data from 1065 children in 14 Northeast Iowa Community Action Head Starts (HS) were collected between 2011 and 2018. Body mass index (BMI) and developmental scores were assessed at the beginning of each school year and compared after the first…

Exercise is generally held to be a significant factor in the growth, development, and health of children and adolescents. The effects of physical activity regimens on general growth, as well as quantitative and qualitative changes, in animal muscle and bone tissue have been clearly demonstrated. Less is known about the role of exercise and related…

Notes that scientists understand in greater detail the various anatomical and neurological changes that allow children to develop motor and sensory abilities. Explores how the research findings are calling into question the notion of prescribed developmental milestones. (HTH)

The first of a series of articles on the human brain focuses on the cyclic nature of brain development. Educational and social issues evolving from current discoveries about the brain are also discussed. (CJ)

Contains 3 contributions: Conference Report" (conference on child motor development sponsored by AAHPER and NAEYC), A Real Look at the Young Child," and What Movement Means to the Young Child." (AN)

Considers the nature and developmental functions of physical activity play. Distinguishes three kinds of physical activity play with consecutive age peaks: rhythmic stereotypies, exercise play, and rough-and-tumble play. Considers gender differences and function in terms of immediate and deferred consequences in physical, cognitive, and social…

Sample unit outlines, designed for kindergarten through grade six, define the content, activities, and assessment tasks appropriate to specific grade levels. The units have been extracted from the Board-approved curriculum, Health Education: The Curricular Approach to Optimal Health. The instructional guidelines for grade one are: describing a…

Designed as a guide for adults who wish to lead a group of 10- to 13-year-olds through a series of discoveries about preschoolers and how they grow, activity materials are presented concerning physical, intellectual, and social development (Section 1); and children's feelings (Section 2). Specifically, Section 1 discuss children's developing…

Data are presented which show: (1) that differences between adult and child psyches have important implications for age-stratified interaction process; and (2) that adult-child interactional differences cannot be solely attributable to genetic or psychological differences but that they are in part due to social factors. The data are based on…

Based on the assumption that a knowledge of child development is essential when planning an early childhood program, this booklet provides information on the typical development of children from birth to two years. The booklet begins with a description of stages of physical, mental, and social development and presents a chart illustrating the…

This paper examines the educational philosophy underlying Waldorf Education, focusing on Rudolf Steiner's concept of "vital" or etheric energy and comparing Piaget's and Steiner's stages of cognition. The paper begins with a discussion of school readiness and the trend toward lowering the school entry age, and maintains that this trend…

This curriculum guide addresses the physical, intellectual, and emotional growth of children. Four categories, those of physical growth, social growth, emotional growth, and development of communication skills, are said to have been selected in an effort to promote total development. Each category is described in terms of desirable concepts, along…

The study reported in this book provides descriptive material about a national sample of illegitimate children born in Great Britain in 1958. It compares their development with legitimate children who were born in the same week as they were, and it relates their development, at the age of seven years, to a range of factors linked with their birth…

One of a series of documents produced by a nationwide network of early childhood education specialists, teachers, parents, and Head Start staff, the guide describes developmental characteristics of preschool and elementary school students by grade level. Arranged into five curriculum areas, the first presents physical, motor, social, cognitive,…