"We find a delight in the beauty and happiness of children

that makes the heart too big for the body."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

**PLEASE REMEMBER TO HAVE YOUR PRE SCHOOLER WEAR SNEAKERS ON HIS/HER GYM DAY. INAPPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR IS A DANGER TO EVERONE. THANK YOU!

The pre-school P.E. program is designed to help develop physical skills appropriate to each child's age and physical development. The emphasis is on participation; the activities are short and varied but repeated often enough for the children to feel comfortable and in control.

At this level, we work at developing basic locomotive skills, i.e. walking, power walking running, skipping, galloping, jumping, hopping, etc. The children learn to identify these motor skills by name and perform them on command. Toward this end we learn a game called "Scrambled Eggs". The children enjoy this game, and it really helps their locomotive development. This game also helps develop spatial awareness, body control and listening skills. This game will become a "regular", but other games throughout the year will incorporate these skills as well.

The children also learn simple dances to music such as the "Loop de Lou", "Mulberry Bush," "Sidewalks of New York," and "The Chicken Dance." They also use ribbon wands for rhythmic movement and lumey sticks to tap rhythmns. Such activities help students develop visual tracking, eye, hand, and object coordination, patterning and sequencing, and memory development.

We work together to develop manual dexterity and throwing and catching skills using soft balls and bean bags. We do activities designed to devlop balance, right-left differentiation, kicking ability,hand/eye coordination, and chasing and fleeing skills. All games and activities help the children to develop listening, concentration, and cooperation skills crucial to higher learning.