The importance of

early childhood activity

By April Speck, Coordinator,

Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coalition

Early childhood education focuses on children’s development during age’s three to five. While this developmental period should ideally focus equally on mental and physical development, in recent decades an emphasis has been placed on mental development, creating a concurrent de-emphasis on physical development. However, the two actually go hand-in-hand and should not be considered two separate entities during early childhood development and education.

Integrating physical activity into young children’s lives is essential for creating a foundation of movement and activity that they will carry with them throughout the rest of their lives. Physically active children learn habits in early childhood that greatly increase their chances of remaining physically active through their young adult and teenage years and into adulthood.

Benefits of Movement-Based Learning

There are many reasons that promoting structured physical activity in children will benefit them throughout childhood and into adulthood. These reasons range far beyond physical development, to social, emotional, and mental development. Young children are naturally active and will move, run, kick, throw, and play on their own in nearly any environment. However, children today are faced with a variety of challenges that reduce their natural aptitude toward movement and physical activity, including:

• Entering daycare at a young age, where they may or may not place an emphasis on movement and physical activity.

• Increased use of technology as a form of sedentary activity, leaving less time for movement-based activities.

• Classrooms that focus on mental activity rather than physical activity, starting as early as pre-school, in order to prepare students to meet curriculum requirements and standardized test score levels later in their education.

• Single-parent homes or parents who both work outside the home, leaving them little time to devote to regular daily activity and movement with their kids.

Healthy Hometown Coalition Events:

1. CCHS students will begin to join Ms. Susie Thomas’ Walking Club at AES on Monday, November 18th.

2. CCHS students will begin teaching Take 10! Physical Education activities at ECC with all Kindergarten students.

3. Nutrition/Food Expert tabletop is set for Tuesday, December 10th at 1:00 pm at Clinton County Extension Office.

4. Healthy Hometown will participate in Twin Lakes Family Wellness Center’s Turkey Trot Saturday, November 23rd.

Follow Healthy Hometown Project on Twitter: @HealthyHomeKY, and on Facebook: Kentucky’s Healthy Hometown Initiative-Clinton County

Healthy Hometown is working toward a “healthy” Clinton County.