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Encouraging Physical Development Through Movement Play By Carol Archer, and Iram Siraj Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications, 2015, 164 pages (Kindle Edition) ISBN: 978-1-4462-9711-7 (hbk), 978-1-4462-9712-4 (pbk)
A sedentary lifestyle is becoming more common for preschool aged children in Canada, resulting in negative impacts on their overall health and development (Timmons, LeBlanc, Carson, Connor, Dillman, Janssen, Spence, Stearns, 2012). Therefore, Encouraging Physical Development Through Play, a book targeted at parents and early childhood educators, is a timely read. Archer and Siraj posit, "movement-play is at the heart of physical development for infants and young children and ... is inextricably linked to other domains of a child's development, including physical, cognitive, social and emotional development, communications and self-regulations" (p. 22).
The book is divided into six chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of movement-play. Chapter 1 includes recent research regarding the connection between brain development and movement play. Chapter 2 presents the positive benefits of daily movement and activity for both adults and children. In Chapter 3, parents, early childhood educators, and directors are challenged to ensure preschool children have enough opportunities to participate in daily movement-play, thereby promoting healthy physical and cognitive development. Chapter 4 provides a small-scale study completed by the authors about the quality of movement-play along with the results of their study. The final two chapters feature ideas about promoting, leading, and managing the practice of movement-play at home and in early childhood settings.
Archer and Siraj present a unique challenge to all adults involved with preschool children. They challenge adults to spend more time engaging in physical activity with the children, and less time as sedentary observers. This supports current research on the important role adults' play in encouraging preschoolers to...