Abstract

Recent findings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina’s multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. Children whose motor skills improved the most over the course of an academic year also tended to demonstrate the biggest gains in executive function and numeracy skills. Children who participated in adaptive, group-based motor skill activities demonstrated gains in motor competence, executive function, and numeracy skills. Incorporating motor activities into established classroom practices has the potential to facilitate multiple aspects of children’s development and promote school readiness. The brief includes specific recommendations for early childhood educators.

Highlights

  • Te early learning standards outlined in NC Foundations are organized across fve domains and represent a commitment to promoting multiple aspects of children’s early development

  • Tis new research is entirely consistent with ideas put forth more than 25 years ago by the National Education Goals Panel, which emphasized the interdependent nature of early development

  • We hope that this brief will encourage early childhood educators to consider how they can infuse motor activities into their classroom activities in ways that foster children’s physical, cognitive, academic, and potentially social development

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Summary

Key Points

Recent fndings from the Kids Activity and Learning Study complement North Carolina’s multidimensional approach to promoting school readiness by emphasizing the integrated nature of motor and cognitive development in early childhood. The National Education Goals Panel emphasized that early development is interdependent, so children’s progress or delays in one domain of development may infuence their progress or delays in other domains. In this brief, we provide a selective overview of North Carolina’s early learning standards and highlight fndings from recent empirical research that demonstrates how children’s motor skill development infuences their cognitive development and early learning skills. We consider the ways early childhood educators can use this new information in their classrooms to promote children’s overall physical, cognitive, and learning development

North Carolina Foundations for Early Learning and Development
Motor Competence Skills in Early Childhood
Health and Physical Development
Approaches to Play and Learning
Cognitive Development
Language Development and Communication
Implications for Educators
Summary
Additional Reading and Resources
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