Physical Activity at Banana Moon Bromley – every movement counts
Do you know what the recommended amount of physical activity for children aged 1 – 5?
180 minutes per day – that’s right, 3 hours of physical activity, spread throughout the day!
Physical activity is important in early years, and is one of the three prime areas of learning and development, as set out in the Early Years Statutory Framework. “Physical activity is vital in children’s all round development, enabling them to pursue happy, healthy and active lives”
When talking about physical development, we are including gross motor skills and fine motor skills. From tummy time, to crawling and walking, and eventually to all the playful activities from which children can learn, stability, balance, spatial awareness, co-ordination, and agility.
What can they do to be active and build their gross motor skills?
· Walk
· Run
· Jump
· Skip
· Hop
· Cycle
· Dance
· Throw
· Catch
· Scoot
· Cycle
· Anything you can think of as they play, swing, and slide
And fine motor skills can be practiced, along with hand eye coordination, as they play:
· Ball games
· Bat, racket and ball games
· Gardening
· Build towers
· Create dens
· Use equipment
Long periods of inactivity,( apart from when sleeping,) i.e., sitting for screen time, or in a buggy or car seat, are not good for health or child development.
At Banana Moon Bromley, children play outside at least twice a day. With plenty of outdoor resources and equipment, the children can enjoy being physically active and start building their core strength. We also have external sports providers, Super Star Sport who run sessions three times a week, focussing on a different sport every 6 weeks, and building the fundamental skills of each sport.
Being physically active with their friends also helps the children build confidence, build relationships and social skills, develop muscles and bones, and helps to maintain a healthy weight. Regularly being physically active also builds a lifelong love of keeping fit and enjoying participating in sport.
So why not get started today! Remember, every movement counts towards those 180 minutes of physical activity throughout the day.
Want to head to a park? Details of all the parks and open spaces in Bromley, can be found here:
If you have any further questions on how we support all the children with their physical development, please call us 02087070850 or email us at
info@bananamoon-bromley.co.uk
