This month, the Clark Fork School staff attended a training on Big Body Play- which is the type of large gross motor play in which all children need to engage for healthy physical and emotional development. The class was taught by the wonderful Grace Decker from Child Care Resources and involved identifying big body play, discussions touching on comfort levels and safety, and brainstorming ways to implement this kind of play in our daily curriculum. Our next step will be to have in-depth discussions as a staff to develop rules and guidelines.
As Grace Decker says: "All behavior is communication." Children show us their needs through their actions. If a child needs quiet time, we respect that and give them the space to be calm or alone. Children NEED to be physical in a myriad of ways to develop to their full potential. If we are constantly needing to redirect play because it becomes too "wild," then it may be that we need to give them an outlet to appropriately express themselves through more rambunctious movement. Having school-wide big body play guidelines will ensure that we do this safely.
Keep an eye out for more info and updates about how CFS implements big body play and meets the needs of our students!
As Grace Decker says: "All behavior is communication." Children show us their needs through their actions. If a child needs quiet time, we respect that and give them the space to be calm or alone. Children NEED to be physical in a myriad of ways to develop to their full potential. If we are constantly needing to redirect play because it becomes too "wild," then it may be that we need to give them an outlet to appropriately express themselves through more rambunctious movement. Having school-wide big body play guidelines will ensure that we do this safely.
Keep an eye out for more info and updates about how CFS implements big body play and meets the needs of our students!