The Poppins Curriculum
Physical Enrichment
Physical Pedagogy is a way to promote positive attitudes towards physical activities, exercise and promoting self care and independence with the hope that the children will carry this with them all throughout their lives. The aim is for the children to not only develop their gross and fine motor skills which is vital for development but to also develop confidence, resilience, positive mental health, social skills, good communication and team work, all of which we aim for every child to leave Poppins with.
Our Intent
The intent for our physical enrichments is we want children to lead healthy, happy and active lives. We want them to learn about self-care through promoting independence, to develop a healthy relationship with food and to experience a whole range of physical movements by learning about their bodies. We want children to be ready for school by developing their proficiency, control and confidence with their fine motor skills, having developed their core muscles ready for sitting and formal learning, and develop their core strength, stability, coordination and agility by climbing trees and exploring their local community.
How we implement our intent in our Physical Enrichment
We go walking in the local community, exploring outside of Nursery and the World around us in the children’s immediate environment. We also have two bigger outings a year where the whole Nursery visits another provision or service, such as a farm. These larger outings do incur an additional charge.
Being introduced to a range of movement to learn about their bodies such as yoga, gymnastics and dance including ballet, tap, modern and breakdancing!
Providing opportunities to run, climb, jump, hop, skip, roll and crawl by using fun games and obstacles.
Ball games, parachute play, ribbon sticks, painting, exploring gross and fine motor movement to music
Self-serving our own lunches and using a knife and fork.
Promote independence and self-care with toileting, washing hands, toothbrushing.
Provide resources for self-choosing and a space to draw, colour and cut.
Provide open resources where children can select appropriate tools to carry out their own plan, for example spades, buckets, trowels, planks, crates, blocks.
Use books and visuals to talk to the children about healthy choices and the food we eat.
Opportunities to practice our fine motor skills with activities such as finger gym, threading, textured exploration and mark making.
Core Principles
Positive attitude: Children are provided with a wide range of fun and engaging physical enrichments which enable them to feel free and learn using their whole bodies. They are given opportunities to laugh, run, jump, climb, crawl and cheer on their peers. Associating fun with physical exercise enhances the children’s positive attitude towards physical exercise
Positive mental wellbeing: Exercise increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates the release of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine, which help a range of cognitive functions, and positive thinking which promotes good mental health. Exercise also promotes a sense of achievement and resilience which also is proven to enhance positive mental health.
Developing friendships and connections: During our physical enrichments we encourage the children to be happy for others, help others when met with struggles and cheer each other on. Working as a team encourages positive feelings towards being part of a community.
Gross motor skills: Physical development in the early years refers to the growth of the body and brain from birth through early childhood. This includes changes in body size, muscle strength, balance, co-ordination, sensory development, and skills such as movement and handling. Gross motor skills are also vital for later writing skills as this develops strength, balance and muscle and bone growth in shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands which are all needed ready for writing skills in schools.
Fine Motor Skills: Fine motor skills are essential for children in their early years, as they involve the coordination of small muscle movements in the hands and fingers. These skills are crucial for activities such as eating, writing, manipulating objects, and dressing. The children practise skills like squeezing, pinching, and twisting to build strength and coordination. To support fine motor development, we engage the children in various activities, such as cutting, building puzzles, and using playdough.
Holistic approach: Our physical enrichments take on a holistic approach to ensure the children are reaching their full potential within the seven areas of the EYFS and the Characteristics of effective learning. This involves including mathematics and literacy as well as expressive arts and design, and understanding the World. We involve cultural capital in their enrichments and learn about the wider World including various styles and language in dance, sports and activities, (this list is not exhaustive). To promote a holistic approach further we have a range of both physical enrichments and child led activities. A child led approach is very beneficial for children’s learning as they are more likely to be engaged if they are doing something they are interested in. We do this throughout the day using in-the-moment planning.
Self-Care: At Poppins we promote positive self-care throughout the daily routines and encourage independence with this. Children are encouraged to wash their hands after every toileting experience, when they have come in from outside and also before every meal time. Younger and less able children are supported in this activity with adult supervision, however the focus is on allowing the children to lead independently. Here at Poppins we have the same attitude as above to other independent skills such as getting themselves dressed, getting ready to go outside and with toileting. Our aims is for the children to take away positive attitudes towards eating. Talk about healthy food and what benefits it has for the bodies is implemented in everyday life at Poppins and especially around mealtimes.
Trips to local parks: At Poppins we like to extend our physical development by going out and using spaces in the wider community. Pitmaston park is great for running, climbing trees, and playing games such as football and cricket. Cripplegate park enables us to climb, slide, swing and crawl as it has an adventure play park.
Benefits
Children develop a positive mindset towards physical activity which enhances both physical and mental well-being.
Preparing children for school with life-long skills such as serving and cutting their food, building their gross and fine motor skills and muscle strength ready for writing. Learning how to dress themselves with their coat and shoes, learning to use zips and buttons which are vital skills for school. Learn how to moving with ease, confidence, and strength. Learning how to use the toilet independently and the importance to practising good hygiene.
We have an holistic approach to child development, learning from all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage
Children will expand their vocabulary as they take part in a wide range of activities, they will learn new words from a wide range of experiences such as dance, ballet, gymnastics and yoga.
Positive attitudes towards healthy eating which the children will take with them through life. Children will develop a positive relationship with food, learning about portion sizes, making healthy choices and trying new foods they may not try at home.
Learning important social skills and promoting British Values, such as turn taking, allowing others to make their own choices and decisions, waiting for a short period of time, being patient with their peers, learning and following rules of a game and respecting others.
Children learn how to stay healthy and how taking part in a form of movement, sport or exercise makes your mind and body feel good. Children develop a healthy relationship with exercise and may even develop a love of sport or dance that they can follow on to their school life and outside of Nursery.
We want the children to leave Poppins with a love of physical activity, sports, games and dance. We want them to feel strong, confident and resilient in their learning, and most importantly to have the skills needed to live happy, healthy lives and with the skills to take through to adulthood.
