IEY Fundamental Movement Skills

JESSICA MAZZONE MANRESA EDITOR

The Fundamental Movement Skills program gives Ignatius Early Years children a promising start to a lifetime of engagement in physical activity.

Beginning in Term 2 each year, Ignatius Early Years children from the program for four year olds participate in the IEY Fundamental Movement Skills Program. The weekly physical education program takes place in the Tappeiner Gymnasium at the Junior School and provides students with a great foundation prior to starting school and for future contribution to the College’s co-curricular programs.

The aim of the IEY Fundamental Movement Skills Program is to individualise the physical, mental, social, and emotional learning experience for IEY children based on their strengths and needs. For program facilitator and Junior School Co-curricular ESO, Rocco Canino, the focus of the program is not merely on gross motor skill development but also the development of character.

“Throughout the program, it’s important to me to integrate and highlight important principles such as justice (playing fair and by the rules), service (sportsmanship towards others), discernment (decision-making), conscience (deep thinking), and compassion (teamwork) into our gross motor skill development activities,” says Rocco.

In addition, the program is designed to improve hand-eye coordination and knowledge of sport, and to maximise student participation. Activities include body management such as balancing, rolling, and climbing; locomotor such as running, jumping, and hopping; and object control such as catching, kicking, throwing, and striking.

By the end of the program, Rocco expects children to have given their best efforts to starting their journey towards a lifelong love of sport and physical activity while building on essential learning skills and having fun.

“Throughout the program, children would have achieved improvement not only in their gross motor skills, but also on other skills such as communication and listening. Giving children the opportunity to develop these additional skills through competitions such as ‘sitting up the straightest and greatest’ throughout the course of the term is an attempt for students to practise the routines that they will follow in the classroom environment,” says Rocco. “By the end, I am hopeful that the children have enjoyed the experience, possess greater confidence in their own ability, and have a positive attitude towards physical education.”

Developing fundamental movement skills is important to being able to enjoy any sport or physical activity. For many of the children, the IEY Fundamental Movement Skills Program is where they begin to appreciate and understand the benefits of a healthy, active lifestyle.

Rocco has enjoyed witnessing the ongoing progress of students who were part of the program when it initially commenced close to five years ago.

"I coach some of the students in Year 4 Cricket and it has been great to see how their skills have developed since and how they are applying them to their cocurricular interests."

James and Zelin from the IEY Red Room demonstrate some of the exercises from the Fundamental Movement Skills program with Rocco Canino.

MUSICAL