Nova Scotia educates its teachers about physical literacy
Physical literacy is about your kids developing fluency in basic movement skills like throwing and running. As parents, you can do a lot to help your kids become physically literate, but you’re only one point of contact. Coaches, PE teachers, and recreation leaders also have a big role.
But who teaches the teachers about physical literacy?
The province of Nova Scotia is tackling this issue by offering recreational leaders of all descriptions workshops on how to recognize and nurture these fundamental movement skills in kids.
In an interview with the CBC, Mike Hudson, a sports consultant with the Nova Scotia department of Health and Wellness, talks about how movement is the foundation of physical literacy. And just as kids need to be taught words in order to make sentences, kids need to learn how to perform basic skills like jumping and kicking in order to move capably and confidently.
Giving your kids’ PE teacher, their soccer coach, and the higher school-er who teaches them swimming the same core ‘curriculum’ for physical literacy means your kids are far more likely to get the solid grounding they need in these fundamental movement skills. And kids who enjoy moving are far more likely to be active, to play sports, and to carry these habits with them on onto adulthood.
Want to make sure your kids’ teachers and recreation leaders are on the same page about physical literacy? Here are some lesson plans for teaching basic movement skills in PDF format that you can pass on to them: