Physical Development

Physical Development in the Catbird Classroom

Physical development covers a broad spectrum of skills.  It relates to the running, jumping, ball throwing and balancing often seen on the playground, but it also pertains to students’ awareness of physical space.  As students develop, they become more aware of where they are in relation to other people and objects around them.  Physical development encompasses activities requiring skills such as scissor manipulation or bead threading and the ability to sit as part of a group and listen to a story being read aloud. Students are provided with activities that meet and exceed their current physical capabilities.  This allows the students the opportunity build upon their existing skills.  Physical skills include: both gross and fine motor skills, strength and stamina. as well as balance and coordination. It also pertains to the child's ability to move rhythmically and to mirror or repeat other's motions.

Jona loves to make things with his hands, and he has the fine motor coordination that allows him to bring form to his imagination. Jona has become the classroom master at making paper swords, and he takes great pleasure in producing these for his friends. All of his drawing have become more intricate over the course of the school year, and he likes to hand these out as gifts to family, friends and teachers.

Jona revels in moving his body in ever faster and more complex ways. Jona and his buddies are very much into playing superheroes or ninjas these days, which involves some very gleeful roughhousing. We have set some parameters around where and when this can happen, and Jona and his friends are negotiating the more specific rules. In this way, they are thinking about what they are capable of and assessing the risks they can take. This is giving Jona a much more mindful sense of what he can do with his body.