Children are naturally active from a very young age, this is how they learn to roll, crawl and walk. They have opportunity at Primary school to be physically active within their PE sessions. Physical education sessions are key to getting the children to be physically active and healthy, what’s more is that it helps boosts concentration, mental capacity and of course their fitness. Lots of studies have shown that children who take part in Physical activity, see higher success in school due to the increased blood flow and the growth of the hippocampus. (Hippocampus is a part of the brain that holds the emotion, memory and nervous system of the body.)
Being active as a child will build strong bones and muscles, strengthen the motor skills depending on ages and give the body the right capabilities for healthy growth. Children often state they don’t like certain sports, it is important to remember most of the time it’s because they feel they cannot do it. So being able to adjust the task depending on ability, should help the child feel like they have accomplished the goal. A positive environment with lots of encouragement, children should associate exercise with good connotations, therefore not rejecting physical activity.
Children will build up self-esteem through physical exercise, they will accomplish the goal, work with children they haven’t worked with before, help other children achieve a goal, play as a team and work together.
With Physical exercise children will be using their energy so will maintain an healthy weight, you can also include some sessions on what is good or bad to eat, so they have knowledge of what it’s the better choice to fuel their little bodies.
Children will only enjoy PE of the teacher is making each session different from the last, keeping the goals moving forward so they are accomplishing something new each session, inspiring the children through their teaching, learning new sports, dance or gymnastics.
Primary school provides the foundation for everything later on in life not just mental ability but also physical. We need to inspire the children to enjoy physical activity and see it as rewarding and fun.