Physical Fitness

Brittany Hood



Physical fitness is important along with eating healthy. Children get their fitness activity in everyday during their outdoor time. Children are running, jumping, walking the balance beam, riding a tricycle and a host of other fun activities. Physical fitness gets your blood pumping throughout your body; strengthen your body’s muscles, and pumps your heart. With physical fitness activities the key is to get your heart rate up to help burn calories. During physical fitness children are strengthening large motor skills: running, jumping, skipping, pedaling, and also small motor skills throwing, catching, hitting. According to NAEYC, children should have sixty (60) minutes of un-structured fitness activity for preschool age children.
Being active is very important in staying healthy and adults have to encourage that to children. With the rising number of children who are obese and suffering from asthma, it is difficult to get them active. I have been the physical education coordinator for the YMCA/ECDC Head Start Program for 7 years and we provide swim lessons and soccer for our children. Some of the children are over weight and others suffer from asthma. I explain to the parents that physical fitness activity is what your child needs to be healthy. Some parents are hesitant in letting their child participate but I encourage them to sign up. It can be difficult to get those children who are obese to play, but there are always games to get them motivated.
Parents are fearful of other children mistreating their child or teased by others also. Having children that refuse to participate in physical fitness activities can lead to other health concerns. Preschoolers are aware when they do not look like their classmates and notice people talking about them. This can make them sad and not want to participate in activities because of what they look like.
Because I work in this field the two activities that children of preschool age can participate in is swimming and ball toss. Although some children are fearful of water it is still activities for them to do while, they sit on the side of the pool. And swimming is a great skill to have and great exercise. Children are kicking their legs and moving their arms to move them through the water. Swim instructors create games such as retrieve the rubber toys from the middle of the pool and swim back to the side. The “learn to swim” program introduces children to swimming and working their arms and legs in the process.
The second activity I selected is ball toss this activity works on the fine motor skills. This activity allows the children to toss the ball to one another. Children learn to toss and catch with this activity. The fine motor skills become strengthen in this activity. The development of fine motor skills is important in children growth and development. Parents can do this activity with their child at home to reinforce the skills as well. This activity can turn into another activity call over and under pass. This activity child passes the ball over and under their legs from one child to another.
Working for Head Start we have had many quotes that we use pertaining to what we do in our program, but one we have now I really like it because it represent how I feel about the children I serve “We care because our children are worth it.” No matter what it takes, we care about our children and I stand by that quote. Children are looking to us for guidance and we have to give them the best. Quality fitness activities help promote healthy bodies, attitudes, lifestyle in children at a young age when we continue to stress the importance of it and how it is helpful for us. Building this mind set in children at preschool age with the help of parents, and teachers can become part of their lifestyle as they continue to grow.