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…

Poor physical development in young children has been shown to impact readiness for school, behaviour, social development and academic achievement. This research sought to explore levels of physical development in young children in the term that they started school. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used to assess 115…

This study attempted to search the nature of language development and the relationship between vocal development and motor development in infancy, and it relied on the descriptive and qualitative approach and the method of content analysis to review and compare three researches related to the relationship of language development and physical…

The Michigan State University (MSU) Motor Performance Study (MPS) was initiated in 1967 and was known across the United States for its unique blend of teaching, service, and research. Dr. Vern Seefeldt began the study as a means to begin research with children on-campus. The instructional portion of the program ended in 1999; data collection…

Learning to descend stairs requires motor and cognitive capacities on the part of infants and opportunities for practice and assurance of safety offered by caregivers. The American Academy of Pediatrics prescribes the age strategy to teach toddlers to safely descend stairs but without much consideration for individual differences in infants'…

The preschool years are essential for developing physically active lifestyles and social-emotional well-being. This article introduces the PASS (Physical Activity and Social Skills) physical education program, which identifies specific ways to develop fundamental motor skills, provide physical activity opportunities, and promote social-emotional…

Aim: To investigate developmental trajectories in early childhood and predictors of class assignment. Methods: Data were available for Gen2 infants at 12 (n = 2275), 24 (n = 1845) and 36 (n = 2110) months of age in the Raine Study. Latent growth class analysis was used to identify developmental trajectories based on the Ages and Stages…

This study examined the effect of a six week combined movement and story-telling intervention on motor competence and naming vocabulary in British pre-schoolers. Using a cluster randomised design, three pre-school classes were allocated to one of a combined movement and story-telling intervention (n = 22), or a movement only (n = 25) or…

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…

This review is intended to point out the role played by motor skills proficiency in the academic achievement of typically and atypically developing pupils who are attending primary school. First, the interplay between motor and cognitive development will be presented. Next, the cognitive phenotype, not yet deeply investigated, of a…

Perceptual development which depends on ability of learning and maturity, is the most important process of mental development. It is commonly believed that the mental development of children is limited due to city life. Children can learn perceptual elements through movement participation. This improves the cognitive development, which triggers…

The objective of this study was to evaluate gross motor competence and growth spurt in Canadian youth. Eighty-two children (38 boys, 44 girls) were assessed over a time period of five years. Growth rate was measured quarterly; motor competence was evaluated once per year using the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. Peak height velocity…

Assessing children's movement competence (MC) offers numerous benefits for academics, practitioners, clinicians and children, allowing individuals to meet children's developmental needs and improve their MC. Yet, there is concern that currently available assessment tools only provide a single plane (fundamental movement skills) perspective of a…

Stunting has been negatively associated with children's development. We examined the range of height by testing hypotheses: (a) height is positively associated with children's development, with associations moderated by inflammation and (b) home environments characterized by nurturance and early learning opportunities is positively associated with…

Gross motor skills on children must be optimized much earlier since it plays important role not only on their interaction process but also in supporting other multiple developments. One of the means in developing child's motor skill is by providing innovative games i.e. modified games including game format, game timing, and game sequence. The…