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Leading According Age Groups

Leading Children

Physical Abilities

Knowing what children are physically capable of is important to leaders who are structuring childen's physical activities

Movement helps the child to discover his body and to form a body image.
Controlled movement brings pleasure and the satisfaction of mastery.
Running, tumbling, skipping, jumping rope, tricycle riding and climbing help in motor skills development.

Some noteworthy developments that are evident in early childhood are increased reaction times, refinement in eye-hand coordination, and improvements in manual dexterity.

These developments are know as motor development. the number and diversity of new motor skills are very important in the developement of young children.

Social and Emotional Abilities

During early childhood youngesters are able to expand their social horizons and develop considerable independence and autonomy.

Children begin to emerge during early childhood as individuals

They gain insight in to their unique self-concepts and personality traits

Children must learn to handle a wide range of emotions in their early years

Being sensitive to the needs and feelings of one's peers is important facet of social development for young children.

The child's early prosocial behavior is greatly influenced by exposure to an adult role model and certain social situations

Cooperative development behavior is accompanied by a parallel growth of the competitive spirit - This occurs as children being to strive for accomplishment and praise

Responsibilities of the Recreation Leader

o Need to be attentive to a child’s physical growth

o This is a major developmental process in childhood

o Can facilitate motor skill development in younger children by:

§ Providing opportunities for rhythmical and unstructured movement

§ Providing a physical environment that encourages running, jumping & climbing

o Can be a positive role model

o Can allow freedom or self-expression and exploration

o Offer appropriate reinforcement

o Remain sensitive to changing needs

o Should place a lot of emphasis on rhythm , body awareness, and unstructured large movement opportunities

o Dance movement is an excellent means of motor development: music and rhythm provide links between movement, emotional expression, creativity, and self awareness.

All of the information above came from the book, Leadership in Recreation, written by Ruth V. Russell.