Physical Development: We're Full of Beans
Early Childhood Today | 8/2000
Enhancing physical play with bean bags, in these activities by Eric Strickland.

Physical Development: End-of-the-Year Celebrations
Early Childhood Today
Hold a festive get-together where children, family, staff, and community members can enjoy one another and have fun outdoors in this end-of-the-year celebration by Francis Wardle.

Physical Development: Physical Play for an Indoor Day
Early Childhood Today | 1/2000
Turn "stir crazy" into a stirring good time with these fun activities and Physical Play for an Indoor Day, by Eic Strickland.

Physical Development: Moving Toward Reading
Early Childhood Today | 10/1998
Young children are total body learners - learning with all of their beings. Skipping rope and other activities that combine strong rhythmic and repetitive activity with words help children learn how important rhythm, patterning, and repetition are to language, and also how to break down language into these critical elements.

Physical Development: Move to the Music
Early Childhood Today | 1/2001
The sounds of instruments give rise to spontaneous movement and dance. Adults can help guide children as they achieve a delicate balance between creative chaos and creative expression. This balance can be found, in part, by helping children explore the relationships between sound and movement.

Physical Development: Just Along for the Ride
Early Childhood Today | 10/2000
Young children develop a variety of skills and derive many health benefits from riding toys.

Problem Solving Through Outdoor Play
Early Childhood Today | 4/2001
It's springtime! Now is the time to enjoy the outdoors as an environment for your curriculum. Problem solving is one curriculum area that offers exciting possibilities when you take full advantage of your outdoor space. For more information, see the related articles, "Outdoors Rain or Shine", "Problem Solving Around the Room", and the downloadable PDF "How Children Problem Solve", linked to the main article page.

Physical Development: Swing, Slide, & Climb!
Early Childhood Today | 5/2001
Strickland offers the benefits of outdoor play areas for children. Free play on a climber in a well-designed play area naturally inspires children to be active.

Moving Outdoors: All the Right Moves
Early Childhood Today
As children develop motor skills, they're also exploring their place in the world. They discover and understand their own space and then learn about the relationship between it and the spaces around them. Throughout this process, they're fine-tuning their knowledge of their bodies and how they can use them. Gober explains how to encourage appropriate, educational play in children as they learn new motor skills and figure out how to control their bodies, in Scholastic Early Childhood Today.

Physical Development: Physical Play, All Day
Early Childhood Today | 8/1998
Wardle discusses how classic early childhood materials and equipment can be used to help children's physical development.

Physical Development: Strength and Coordination
Early Childhood Today | 2/2000
Strength and coordination are two areas of physical development that are often overlooked when planning early childhood curriculum. If physical development is left to chance, children may not reach their full potential in both of these critical areas. Strickland offers advice for stimulating physical development in children.

Physical Development: How to Create Mindful Movement
Early Childhood Today | 8/1999
Eric Strickland offers ways to make physical movement meaningful, rewarding, and fun!