Background: Traditionally, Physical Education (PE) has adopted a multiskills approach, where children generally engage in decontextualised practice of sport techniques to develop specific movement skills and facilitate sports participation. This approach has been critiqued for having a weak conceptual and philosophical justification, and a lack of…

The level of awareness regarding sensory concepts was explored in a convenience sample of 25 early childhood educators in an urban environment. This survey design measured early childhood educators self-report of sensory activities offered within their classrooms and independently scored by two occupational therapists practicing in pediatrics.…

Today, early science education is a well-accepted view. Enhancing children's curiosity about the natural world and fostering positive attitudes toward science are primary goals of science education. However, questions remain regarding the appropriate ways to identify, nurture, and study these emotional states in pre-schoolers. This study examines…

Increased concern about the low levels of literacy and numeracy among Grade 3 learners in South Africa is resulting in more emphasis being placed on the preparatory Grade R year. The level of learning readiness of pupils when entering formal teaching in Grade 1 is determined by perceptual motor stimulation that pupils received during the preschool…

A literate child is one who is able to read, write, speak and listen. Literacy begins at birth, and continues steadily as children develop. The explicit processes that form emergent literacy are for example, phonemic awareness, letter and word recognition, vocabulary enrichment and structural analysis. These literacy practices are well documented…

The assessment of fundamental motor skills in early learners is critical to the overall well-being and physical development of the students within the physical education setting. Olrich (2002) has suggested that any physical education program must be designed to assess both measures of physical fitness and fundamental motor skills in all students.…

All children have their own unique ways of interacting with their environments, connecting with people around them, and learning about their world. Babies take in information from their senses and use this information to respond to people and events. Children's daily experiences facilitate integration of their senses. These early sensory…

Compared overall performance level for both hands combined (OPL) with several lateral deviation measures calculated from scores on a composite finger localization task (FLT) and a speeded pegboard task (SPT) administered to 92 kindergarten entrants. Results support the view that OPL and lateral deviation are not mutually confounded and, in large…

Activities that allow infants to investigate their own environments are suggested in this disucssion of science and its relationship to cognitive development. Emphasis is placed on the infant's own manipulation of wet and dry materials such as: bathwater, food, boxes, pockets, magazines and balls, all of which are readily available in most homes.…

This paper offers teachers basic information about sensory integration and suggests strategies for managing classrooms which include children with sensory integrative dysfunction. The first section looks at what sensory integration is, noting especially the roles of the three "near senses": the vestibular system, the proprioceptive system, and the…

Discusses the importance of sand and water play for young children. Provides a partial list of materials and equipment used to provide sensory experiences at sand and water tables. Offers a buying guide listing manufacturers of sand and water tables, product descriptions, and ordering information. (DR)

The purpose of this study was to develop a battery of perceptual and perceptual motor integrative tasks that would be appropriate for administration to young disadvantaged children. (Author)

Provides evidence indicating a strong connection between a high level of ambient household noise and intellectual deficits at stages of infant development. Observers rated noise level from all household sources (stereos, appliances, etc.). Delays were found in sensorimotor development with high levels of noise. (Author/JN)

Project SEE was designed as a structured kindergarten and first grade program for the development of visual perception. Short daily lessons were given to an entire kindergarten class simultaneously and were centered around a set of 40 cards containing various lines and shapes. Children were asked to analyze and describe these elements on the…