Key features of movement education include:
* Exploration and Discovery: Children are encouraged to explore their own movement possibilities and discover different ways to move their bodies. This often involves unstructured play and experimentation.
* Problem-Solving: Activities often involve challenges that require children to think critically about how to move their bodies to solve a problem. For example, how to get across a space without touching the ground, or how to move an object using only their feet.
* Creative Expression: Movement is viewed as a form of self-expression, and children are encouraged to be creative and imaginative in their movement choices.
* Individual Differences: The approach recognizes and values the unique movement capabilities and learning styles of each individual child. It's not about comparing children to each other, but about helping each child reach their own potential.
* Process over Product: The focus is on the process of learning and exploring movement, rather than achieving a perfect execution of a specific skill. Mistakes are seen as opportunities for learning.
* Body Awareness: Developing a strong sense of body awareness is central, including understanding how the body moves in space, the relationship between body parts, and the forces acting on the body.
* Relationship to the Environment: Understanding how to move effectively in relation to objects and other people in the environment is also a key component.
Movement education aims to develop not just physical skills but also cognitive, social, and emotional skills. It fosters creativity, problem-solving abilities, self-confidence, and cooperation. It differs from traditional physical education which might be more focused on specific sports or drills with a greater emphasis on achieving a standardized performance level.