One popular activity within physical education curricula today is jump rope. Jump rope is recognized as an excellent activity for developing motor skills and the affective domain, and it aligns with several recommended outcomes for physical education listed by the SHAPE America--Society of Health and Physical Educators. This article describes…

Physical education programs should provide a wide range of physical activities. However, several limitations, such as insufficient space and equipment, make it challenging to incorporate variety into the curriculum. Jegi-chagi, a traditional Korean physical activity, has been proven to be a cost-effective, safe and healthy activity for students.…

First-grader students engaged in a guided historical inquiry about Abraham Lincoln. The teacher carefully intertwined historical content, close reading, critical thinking, and text-based writing during Reading, Writing, and Social Studies classes. Students scrutinized secondary sources, which were largely biographies of Lincoln, to build their…

Research has shown that children's levels of physical activity are set at an all-time low, which can lead to health problems such as obesity and diabetes. So, what can parents do to ensure that their child gets enough physical activity each day? This booklet answers that question and explains why the key to helping a child be more physically…

For over a century, early childhood experts have discussed the importance of play for young children's growth and development. Play is critical for the development of young children as it increases learning (Barton, 2015), supports young children in gaining social and communication skills (Dennis & Stockall, 2015), and leads to social…

School psychologists are asked to provide a number of different services in schools, including evaluating and providing recommendations to educators and parents on children and adolescents with rare genetic conditions. One genetic disorder with physical, cognitive, and behavioral features is Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS). PWS is a unique genetic…

While the COVID-19 vaccines bring hope about the end of pandemic-related closures, leaders worldwide recognize that a fundamental shift has occurred in the way we work, live, and learn. Though we will always need brick-and-mortar schools, our "new normal" must include hybrid and virtual education options for students who do not have…

We review cognitive-linguistic approaches to conveying meaning, sound, and orthographic information across scripts in order to highlight the impact of variability in written and spoken language on learning to read and to write words. With examples of word recognition and word writing from different scripts, including Chinese, Arabic, Persian, and…

Physical educators are constantly looking for new ideas and activities that will quickly grab the interest of their students. 9 Square in the Air is a game that does just this. The game was developed as a way to integrate students who enjoy volleyball and those who like Four Square. 9 Square in the Air provides the opportunity for students to use…

The sequential motion rates (SMR) task, that involves rapid and accurate repetitions of a syllable sequence, /pataka/, is a commonly used evaluation tool for oro-motor abilities. Although the SMR is a well-known tool, some aspects of its administration protocol are unspecified. We address the following factors and their role in the SMR protocol:…

This article addresses how to design developmental games that connect knowledge about motor development with motor learning. As evidenced in the SHAPE America National Standards and Grade-level Outcomes for K-12 Physical Education, understanding children's phases and stages of motor development is essential to designing developmentally appropriate…

Reversing characters (digits and letters) when writing, and complete mirror writing, raise one of the oldest and most mysterious questions in developmental and educational psychology: Why do five-year-old children write symbols (e.g., [reversed E] for E) they have neither learnt nor seen? Attempts to draw up a complete explanatory theory of…

Infants who stay in emergency shelters with their families are most likely to demonstrate resilience despite homelessness if they experience positive, nurturing relationships with their parents. We discuss the strengths and challenges of infants experiencing family homelessness as well as intervention and research evaluation in those contexts.…

Children with disabilities from diverse backgrounds sometimes face additional challenges with psychomotor skills (e.g., handwriting, typing), but many are linked to of lack positive experiences generating and organizing ideas (McBride, 2015). Some children do not feel they have ideas at all, and others do not think their ideas will be appreciated…

Although it was invented nearly two centuries ago in Germany, the balance bike is only now beginning to make its presence known in the United States. A balance bike is a bicycle with no pedals- propelled by running or walking--and is designed to teach young children how to ride a bike in less time by allowing them to practice balance and steering…