Children develop many school readiness skills such as motor and cognitive skills during the preschool years. The development of these skills requires repeated opportunities to practice. Many preschool teachers may not be aware that motor development provides a foundation for cognitive development, and they may be unsure how they can support motor…

Recent findings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina's multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. Children whose motor skills improved the most over the course of an academic year also tended to demonstrate the…

Research Findings: Community-based playgroups in low-and-middle-income countries increase access to early learning at lower cost than centers. However, evidence of effectiveness is limited. The effects of one, two, or three playgroup sessions per week on children's performance on the Early Learning Outcome Measure (ELOM) (n = 112; baseline M…

One of 10 documents developed for preschool programs for handicapped children, the parent activity catalog is a selection of activities suitable for parent volunteers to do with preschool children in a nursery school setting and is intended to supplement the Parent Volunteer System Manual which describes ways to utilize parents in the classroom.…

A Piagetian day care curriculum for infants and toddlers is presented. Six chapters, divided by developmental stage from birth to 24 months of age, discuss developmental characteristics of the child, suggest tasks for the caregiver to enhance social/emotional growth and language development, and describe appropriate games and activities.…

Results of a practicum study comparing two kindergarten classes scoring similarly on a pretest of motor development indicated that children receiving direct instruction in motor skills for 10 weeks scored significantly higher on a posttest than did controls. The practicum was implemented because of classroom teachers' expressed concern about their…

This booklet presents three brief papers which focus on movement activities, transition activities, and incorporating parental assistance in preschool classrooms. "Let's Get Moving" suggests many circle, imagery, and mime exercises, for individuals, pairs, or groups of children. "Tips on Handling Transition Times" offers…

The document provides information on the PREP Program for young moderately mentally retarded children, a program which offers individualized instruction in selected play skills, small group activity to facilitate the practice of play skills, and the encouragement of purposeful play within a stimulating free play environment. It is explained that…

The majority of children with cerebral palsy in developing countries have no access to trained therapists; for example, in Pakistan, there is less than one trained general physiotherapist per million population. In Pakistan, cerebral palsy handling skills were taught to a group of parents, teachers, and paraprofessionals in a series of practical…

Teachers who are specialists in motoric skill-building need to think about ways in which they can help the whole child develop. This paper discusses: (1) fine and gross motor development in infancy; (2) baby cuddling for optimal motoric development; (3) cross-cultural studies and infant body holding; (4) floor freedom for babies; (5) body language…