Infusing Physical Activity into Early Childhood Classrooms: Guidance for Best Practices

Self-regulation is a critical emergent developmental competency that lays the foundation for children's later psychosocial health and academic achievement. Recent work indicates that physical activity and energetic play opportunities support children's self-regulation in the early childhood classroom. Many early childhood programs offer opportunities for children to engage in play, but teachers are rarely seen modeling physically active behaviors and face barriers to integrating opportunities for energetic play with early academic skills. Early childhood educational settings hoping to support children's self-regulation development can provide multiple opportunities for children to observe teachers modeling physical activity, provide teacher support and scaffolding for physically active learning centers, and engage children in meaningful energetic play while promoting a range of academic skills. This article provides 10 research-based guidelines for supporting children's self-regulation development through physical activity in early childhood classrooms.