Promoting and Enriching Physical Development through Cross-Curricular Activities - Coursework Example

The essay looks into what leading authorities in this area have to say about physical development how it is constituted in a very young child. It sets down the guidelines a practitioner has to follow in the process of imparting instructions. It finds that instructions should be primarily child-initiated with some amount of intervention from the instructor. The concept of fun from physical activities is highly emphasized, as this is a major component of the essay. It is found that the major opinion is children at this early stage develop and learn in six areas that are highly interrelated.

This facilitates cross-curricular activities that are recommended as a part of physical education. The results from such activities are also enumerated and discussed and it is found at the end that cross-curricular activities not only enhance and enrich physical development but also other essential areas of the child’s learning and development curriculum,The Qualification and Curriculum Authority of the UK lists six areas of development and learning for children in the foundation stage (3-5).

It set out these areas in a document ‘Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage’ and they are as hereunder.Personal, social, and emotional developmentCommunication, language, and literacyMathematical developmentKnowledge and understanding of the worldCreative developmentPhysical development (Foundation Stage Monitoring Report, QCA, 2003/4).The five areas other than physical development are the ones that are being considered in this essay as prime potentials for providing cross-curricular material for promoting and enriching physical development.

Physical development in the foundation stage ensures improving skills of co-ordination, control, manipulation, and movement. Physical development also has two very effective benefits:it helps children to feel confident about what they can do and it gives them a positive feeling about being healthy and active, andeffective physical development enables children to develop a positive sense of well-being. (Physical Development, P. 100, 2006)