Why Movement Education is Important

Movement Education is not a new concept, but one that the general public has been slow to embrace. Many people look at physical education, or movement education as mere fun and games, having nothing to do with growth and development of young people. The common misconception is that the brain and the body have little to do with one another outside the realm of basic motor coordination. Nothing could be further from the truth. Decades of research have shown there are substantial links between movement and the proper development of analytical and cognitive abilities in the brain (a quick Internet search will provide you with a variety of web sites dedicated to this concept).

Children acquire knowledge through play, experimentation, exploration, and discovery. Exploring a concept through movement offers children a way of learning that helps make abstract concepts understandable and concrete. Movement programs that emphasize language, numbers, colors, music, and rhythm are particularly effective. There is substantial biological, clinical, and classroom resea4rch that supports the conclusion that physical education plays an integral role in boosting cognition, spatial perception, language, attention, emotion, and decision making skills. Enrolling children in movement classes gives them a wonderful opportunity to build those all-important pathways in the brain, while they are playing and having fun!