Ready, Get Set, Grow!

We show you how creative movement gets your little ones learning.

Have you ever watched your little critter spend the day running and bouncing around like an unleashed cocker spaniel chasing the wind, and wondered where all that energy came from? How nice would it be if it was all channelled into doing something more productive? Children are endowed with boundless curiosity and a fertile imagination – two key ingredients which are intrinsic to effective learning – and it is important to engage them through activities that stimulate their creativity and help them develop physically and mentally. Getting them up on their feet and moving is one of the best ways to do so.

Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori, who developed the popular educational approach of her namesake, once remarked, “Watching a child makes it obvious that the development of his mind comes through his movements”. It is so common to hear the phrase “Please sit down and keep quiet” throughout our early days in school that it can be regarded as the de facto slogan for generations of young learners.

The Kinaesthetic Classroom

In some ways, the phrase is emblematic of our education system where our need for action and movement is seen as a distraction and problem to conducive learning. Many preschools and kindergartens, especially in Asian societies, adopt a more academic and structured curriculum where “work” and play are delineated and progress is charted, not experienced. Freedom of movement is generally deemed a supplement rather than a cornerstone of learning. “Children learn by experiencing their world using all of their senses,” says paediatrician Vanessa Durand. “The restriction of movement, especially at a young age, impedes the experiential learning process.”