Implementing intervention movement programs for kindergarten children

Abstract

The reported study aimed to identify the effects of two 10-week intervention programs on fundamental locomotor skill performance in kindergarten children. Seventy-five children with mean age 5.4 ± 0.5 years participated. Experimental Group A followed a movement program, experimental Group B followed a music and movement program, and free-play Group C was engaged in free-play activities. The TGMD (Ulrich, 1985) was used for the assessment of locomotor skills (running, galloping, hopping, leaping, horizontal jump, skipping, and sliding) before and after the implementation of the intervention programs. Results indicated that both experimental groups significantly improved their performance compared to the free-play group in running, hopping, leaping, horizontal jump, and skipping. Differences were also found between Group A and Group C on sliding. It seems that the performance of fundamental locomotor skills can be improved through different types of organized practice in kindergarten children.