On the final day of the program, teachers meet with parents to discuss their children s progress and to make recommendations for including physical activity into the children s daily lives. Skipping Ball Rolling Photos from the 1998 Preschool Movement Program Part of the aquatic lessons include beginning swimming skills like the supine float. Physical fitness is an important part of every child's movement lesson Every day children work on manipulation skills like kicking. Teachers use problem solving teaching styles to help children learn the skills. A large climbing apparatus called a Trestle Tree and Cargo Nets are used to further enhance children's understanding of their bodies and how they can move.
Teachers evaluate the effectiveness of their lessons on a regular basis.
Lessons are video taped and student activity time, feedback, and teaching style congruence is determined. Teachers and their University supervisors watch the video tapes and assess their teaching performance. Children who attend the Developmental Preschool Movement Program are encouraged to participate in a longitudinal research project that focuses on the habitual physical activity patterns of young children. In addition to the data collected during the program, e.g., fitness levels, movement skill inventories, and growth measures, children occasionally wear a heart rate monitor during the program and while at home. The heart rate monitor looks like a wristwatch and the transmitter is located in a belt that is worn around the chest.