Abstract
One of the preeminent aspects of the early years is movement. Young children use movement to explore their environment, practice physical skills, and interact with people and objects around them. Through movement, children also develop active and healthy bodies, which may significantly affect their quality of life in later years. The indoor and outdoor environments in early childhood settings facilitate opportunities to move and play. It is therefore essential to design appropriate environments that would accommodate children’s movement needs. This chapter will focus on the importance of appropriately designed and well-managed indoor and outdoor spaces for promoting movement in the early years. The chapter will also provide some prominent characteristics of designed spaces and identify the physical and spatial implications for movement. Lastly, there will be a discussion about how movement may be integrated into children’s daily routines, vis-à-vis early childhood education, in a manner that is substantially appealing for teachers.
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Appendices
Appendices
Appendix A: Additional Online Resources
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Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale. Retrieved from http://ers.fpg.unc.edu/early-childhood-environment-rating-scale-ecers-r
The website gives information about the Early Childhood Environments Rating Scale, a set of criteria for assessing the early childhood environments.
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Evaluating the effects of the Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play (LEAP). (2014, March). Retrieved from http://www.londonplay.org.uk/resources/0000/1229/BMC_Public_Health.pdf
The document informs about the positive long-term effects of introducing movable/recycled materials into the school playground on the physical activity levels in children.
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Danks, S. G. (2014). The Green schoolyard movement. Retrieved from http://nebula.wsimg.com/2df79d6da2c6f1f929ba284abe3a3dfc?AccessKeyId=065718B828D697FE7ED3&disposition=0&alloworigin=1
In this document, the author provides information about transforming school grounds into active and vibrant spaces for children where they can engage in nature while learning and playing at the same time.
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Moore, R. (2014). Nature Play & Learning Places. Creating and managing places where children engage with nature. Retrieved from https://naturalearning.org/nature-play-and-learning-places-creating-and-managing-places-where-children-engage-nature.
In this document, Moore talks about creating, managing, and promoting natural environments for children in urban/suburban communities.
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Moore, R. & Cosco, N. (2014). Growing up Green: Naturalization as a health promotion strategy in early childhood outdoor learning environments. Retrieved from https://naturalearning.org/growing-green-naturalization.
In this document, the authors talk about research in which a cost effective naturalization approach that improve the quality of outdoor learning environments and physical activity levels of children.
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School Health Guidelines. (2015, August 19). Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/npao/strategies.htm
The website includes guidelines and additional resources for more active and healthy lifestyles.
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The Built Environment and Physical Activity. (2006). Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=36&articleid=97§ionid=599
The document focuses on the effects of built environments on the physical activity levels in children and adolescents.
Appendix B Effective Designs that Encourage Physical Activity
Characteristics of environment | Encourage |
---|---|
Form & function | |
Smooth surfaces | Walking/running/cycling |
Smooth slopes/cliffs | Rolling/sliding/running down/crawling |
Trees | Climbing/swinging/hanging/sitting |
Bushes/shrubs | Chasing/hiding/sitting |
Shelters | Playing hide and seek/role playing |
Pathways: | Perceptual complexity |
Hard-surfaced paths | Riding wheeled toys/bicycles |
Soft-surfaced paths | Sitting/interacting socially |
Tree stumps/logs/rope ladders | Balancing/climbing/jumping/sitting/swinging/risk taking/managing risk/testing physical limits |
Building considerations | |
Easy indoor/outdoor flow | Moving freely between in and outside the classroom |
Elevated surfaces | Experiencing “up” and “down” |
Concave and convex layouts | Feeling secure and free to move |
High ceilings | Sense of spaciousness |
Ramps | Sense of discovery and curiosity/visual connectivity of movement |
Clarity | Physical legibility/perceptual image-ability |
Circular layouts | Sense of energy and dynamism/flow of movement |
Transparent doors/floor to ceiling glass windows | Sense of belonging/visual connection to outside/easy access to outside |
Hallways | Reference points/sensory stimulation/directional skills |
Organic-shaped layouts | Diverse play opportunities/creativity/related to the scale and movement of children/uninterrupted play |
Strategies & ideas | |
Moveable furniture | Sense of change and dynamism/sense of ownership, belonging and control/functional learning areas |
Hammocks/lofts/balcony/bay windows | Sense of spatial variety/maximizing floor space/prospect and refuge areas |
Portable climbers/slides | Big movements/spatial awareness/experience “up” and “down” |
Movement center | Daily physical needs in a safe and controlled environment/freedom from adult control |
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Sevimli-Celik, S. (2018). Active Designs for Movement in Early Childhood Environments. In: Brewer, H., Renck Jalongo, M. (eds) Physical Activity and Health Promotion in the Early Years. Educating the Young Child, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76006-3_14
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