Teaching Aids for Kindergarten PE Curriculums

teaching aids

There is now a vast amount of scientific research that shows that increased stimulation generally results in improved neurological function which controls motor skills. There is equally compelling evidence to show that if a young child is placed in a deprived environment and left there for an extended period of time, it is almost certain that its physical development, growth, and brain function will be adversely affected.

Stimulating environments

A young child needs to be placed in an environment where its senses are going to be appropriately stimulated, and where there is space and opportunity to practice and repeat its gradually developing motor skills.
By ensuring that children are exposed to a rich sensory environment, parents and coaches will be directly influencing the motor skill & brain development of their children.
The variety and richness of stimulating environments children are exposed to and genetics determine exactly what level of motor skill development a child will achieve.

Using teaching aids

Using teaching aids is one of the best ways to expose children to a stimulating environment, develop motor skills, and facilitate putting together PE curriculums.
The best way to grab your little ones' attention is to place colorful toys in front of them. All kids love toys, and the right ones are very beneficial.
When parents buy toys, they're rarely thinking about whether this is going to be great for their child's motor skills to develop an optimal foundation.

Awareness

Most parents and coaches are not even aware that toys and teaching aids play a significant role in children’s motor skill development. However they are one of the keys to children’s motor skill development, research finds.
The right toys or teaching aids can enhance children's development, making their playtime more fruitful than you think but still tons of fun.
Toys/teaching aids are especially important when you consider children that are premature, low birth-weight, or have a condition that could impair motor skill development.

Academic versus physical development

In our opinion, there is too much emphasis in the early years on skills gearing towards academic success. We highly suggest putting at least an equal amount of emphasis on teaching aids that develop motor skills and promote physical activity at a young age.
Teaching aids that develop motor skills not only assist in physical development but also develop the brain.

To have a well-rounded development you can’t neglect developing motor skills that build the foundation for being physically active, often for a lifetime. It will come back to haunt children in the future sooner or later, be it academically, self-confidence, ability to focus, to sleep well, maintain health...

We would look for toys, games, teaching aids that

encourage physical activity
cater to all motor skills (rhythm, orientation, reaction, balance, differentiation, hand-eye coordination, and physical activity). E.g. if your child loves balls, e.g. get a speed ladder to develop a rhythm or EZ steppers for Balance. If your child favors dancing, get some balls to learn throw and catch; the more varied, the better.
encourages interactive play with other children especially when they get older.
are age-appropriate or they lose interest very quickly.
inspire creativity.

To see how we use all these teaching aids in our PE lessons

Teaching Aids for Kindergarten PE Curriculums we use
(some of these links are affiliate links)

Carpet/rug	Balance Disc	Balance Bench	Bin
Broom	Balloons	Balance Beam	Cart
Card Boxes	Cloth Pegs	Cones	Plastic Cups
Dodge Balls	Drink Coaster	Foam mat	EZ - Stepper
Fishing net	Foam frisbee	Exercise mats	Hoops
Floorball/Unihockey	Soft landing mat	Mini-net	Monster clomper
Noodle	Pop up goals	Post it	Parachute
Rackets	Juggling scarves	Rope	Slackline
Agility Ladder	Sport-Launcher	Stacking cups	Stepper
Tambourine	Targets	Car tire	Trampoline
Kick-Flipper	Scooter	Jumping Ring	Set of rings
Fishing Net	Butterfly Extendable Net	Fly Swatter	Push Cart
Bean Bags	Pedalo	Pet bottle	Table
Target Mat	Toy Car	Color Dice	Disc Cones
Number Dice	Foam Roller	Hurdles	Small Bins
Tunnel	Parrot hat	Chinese Jump Rope	Marbles
Round Laundry Basekts	Chalk	Orka Whale	Pullback Race Cars
Play Food	Net Mesh Bag	Arrow Marker	Handkerchiefs
Laser Pen	Bucket Blast	Play Tent	Stomp Boards
Poles	Rubber Bands	Poster Tubes	Scrimmage Shirts
Floating Rings	Bone Dog Toy	Headlamps Flashlights	Parachute Toy
Parachute Toy	Target Net	School Chairs	Spray Bottles
Wind Spinner	Shopping Cart	Plastic Fruits	Bird Nose
Drumm Sticks	Vacuum Cleaner	Pirate Hook	Rubber Chicken
Line Markers	Penalty Box	Spike Ball

Balls:

Basketball	Mini Basketball	Small Beachball	Larger Beachball
Gymnastic Ball	Medicine Ball	Racquetballs	Small Foamballs
Large Foamballs	Coated dodge balls	Small rubber balls	Foam soccer ball
Reaction ball	Table tennis ball	Hopper	Moon Hopper
Mini gym ball	Franklin ball (for soccer)	Soft mini American football	Juggling balls
Squash balls	Indiaca/Peteka balls	Badminton Shuttles	Unihockey/Floorballs
Mini volleyball	Omnikin Balloon Ball	ReactABall	Hands-Free Soccer Kick
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