The purpose of this position paper is to raise awareness of intriguing interdisciplinary intersections among physical activity, motor learning/development, creativity, and cognition. A major intersection is the potential of physical activity that involves the effortful learning of novel and/or complex movement actions to elicit cognitive…

Background: Several studies have reported low adherence to World Health Organization sedentary behavior (SB) guidelines in the early years. The purpose of this review is to examine the associations between time spent in different types of SB (screen time and habitual SB) and motor competence (MC; fundamental motor skills, fine and gross motor…

This study's objective was to examine whether the relationship between actual motor competence and physical activity (PA) in children is mediated by perceived motor competence (PMC) and physical activity enjoyment. The participants consisted of a total of 167 students (male = 92, female = 75) in 10 different schools in the fourth grade of primary…

Purpose: To analyze associations between physical activity (PA) during school hours and fundamental movement skills (FMS) of young children with and without PE classes. Methods: This cross-sectional study examined 201 children of both sexes (102 girls, 50.7%), aged 3-5 years old (4.51 ± 0.79), who were engaged (n = 129) or not (n = 72) in physical…

The purpose of this study was to determine the associations of device-based assessments of physical activity (PA) and health-related fitness (HRF) with gross motor skills (GMS) in preschool-aged children. Participants were 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 316; 49.6% female) who participated in the 2012 National Youth Fitness Survey. GMS was assessed…

The Montessori philosophy and environment offers opportunities for free movement within the classroom. Physical development includes the acquisition of fundamental movement skills (FMS) which children acquire through different opportunities for movement. Previous research has shown that Montessorian pre-schoolers were more physically active during…

Children's motor competence (MC) levels tend to be low, and the investigation of variables that facilitate skillfulness is an important concern. The socioecological model is a useful framework to explore factors that influence MC and to inform the development of targeted interventions. This cross-sectional study aimed to perform an exploratory…

Background: Understanding how or whether sedentary behavior affects motor competence in young children is important considering that children spend a lot of time sedentary. The aim of this study was to examine whether sedentary behavior predicts motor competence in young children. Methods: A longitudinal study with a total of 372 children aged 3.5…

Background: Reciprocal relationships exist between motor competencies, physical activity and self-concept. Aims: Using a structural equation model, this study examined whether these relationships also appear in children with intellectual disabilities, how they can be validly measured, and if there are differences between children with and without…

Purpose: Our objective is to describe the moderating effect of the level of gross motor development on the relationship between physical activity (PA) level and visual perception/memory in girls. Methods: This is a quantitative cross-sectional study with a randomized sample of 85 girls (mean age 7.11±0.74) from Chile. The following models were…

This study was conducted to determine how total fundamental movement skill (FMS) score and, separately, locomotor skill (LMS), and object control skill scores in children 3-8 years old predicted their specific-intensity physical activity 3 years later. Overall, 441 Finnish children (51.7% female, baseline mean age of 5.6 years) participated in the…

A semistructured preschool motor program was developed in response to the paucity of evidence-based motor programs for preschoolers with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was undertaken to examine the impact of the "CHildren in Action: Motor Program for PreschoolerS (CHAMPPS)," a 21-week…

Children with disabilities (CWD) tend to participate in fewer physical activities than typically developing children. During motor play, CWD often depend on teachers to provide direct instruction and frequent opportunities to practice motor skills, to interact with their peers, and learn new skills. To promote participation in physical activities…

The aim of this paper was to examine the influence of picturebooks on children's "physical literacy" (PL). Fostering PL in early childhood can promote a physically active lifestyle in children and later adults. Picturebook use is a great opportunity for movement exploration in physical education classes, and recent research findings…

Background: Physical activity (PA) may benefit academic performance, but it is unclear what kind of classroom-based PA is optimal for learning. Aim: We studied the effects of physically active maths lessons on children's maths performance and maths-related effects, and whether gender and previous mathematical or motor skills modify these effects.…