MOVE IT, LEARN IT | Explore Through Movement and Play is one of my FAVORITE basics! We like to take any opportunity available to tire Zion (3) out for bedtime lol. More importantly, kids experience the world through movement and play. They learn coordination and how to control their little bodies and in doing so they gain awareness, strength, and confidence. Zion loves to ride bikes with his older brothers who are 7 and 6. We ride around the neighborhood or up to the store playing old school hip hop as we walk and the kids ride. And they LOVE it!!! It turns an ordinary trip to the store into great family time! He has so much fun trying to do the tricks that his big brothers do in his 3-year old way; and all the while he is learning essential listening skills as we give directions while we cross the street, learning the balance necessary for riding a pedal bike and he points out trees, animals, and other familiar things that he sees along the way.
Incorporating movement and play doesn’t always have to happen at a park, on a walk, or involve a ton of running around. Zion loves to play Sneaky Snacky Squirrel, a board game for toddlers that helps with counting and dexterity. And let’s face it parents, some days we are just zapped for energy and so we’ll play games where I’m sitting vocalizing directions – calling out an emotion and he has to make that face or I’ll have him search for objects around the house like a red ball or a blue car. Whether we are riding bikes, marching while picking up toys, having an impromptu 30 second dance party to get our wiggles out, or just making different emotional faces, the Basic of movement and play can easily be woven into everyday parts of life.
By: Kenny Roberts – Podcaster with True Dad Podcast, Children’s Book Author
