In kindergarten, children begin to learn the value of physical activity. They should practice fitness while learning new movements and working to develop key social skills, including good sportsmanship.Kindergartners should also learn to try new types of activities.
As physical education specialist Amy Kaiser explains, “There are skills to learn and games to play. Nothing can be accomplished unless the child feels safe enough to try something new.”Kaiser likens PE to a science lab. “Physical education is the ‘laboratory of life,’” she says. “Children [should] challenge their bodies and brains to try new tasks, accept difficult challenges, and learn a different vocabulary. When students fall down, they have to stand up again. If they drop a ball, they pick it up again. And if they lose, they learn to say, ‘That was a great game. I want to play again.’”