ABSTRACT
The early years are exciting times both for children’s physical development, as they grow, changing in shape and size, and for children’s movement development, as they gain in body awareness and as they explore the vast range of available movement experiences within their environment. Through experimentation, trial, error and success, young movers progress towards coordinated, mature movement knowledge and performance. Not only is movement the main medium of exploration for the young child, but also physical activity is essential for normal growth, providing the necessary stimulus for normal development. As young children develop other abilities, including language, observation skills, knowledge of the environments in which they live and understanding of movement contexts, so they also become increasingly physically literate.
