Pukekohe Hill School
P.M.P
Perceptual
Motor Programme.
The
Perceptual Motor Programme is an exciting program where the skills needed for
formal learning in areas such as Reading, Writing, Word Study and Mathematics
are introduced. All these skills start to develop from birth and continue through
life. There is a point where children need to have skills if they are to cope
in specific subject areas and we give the children a wide range of experiences
in seeing, hearing, touching, making perceptual judgments and reacting.
PMP
aims to develop the child's perceptions and their understandings of themselves
and their world through movement.
Children attend PMP three times each week
for 30-minute sessions. Two sessions are equipment sessions and one is a floor
session where new skills are taught. At every equipment session there are Locomotion
- Balance - Fitness and Eye/Hand-Eye/Foot Co-Ordination activities.
Locomotion
- Balance - Fitness - Eye/Hand-Eye/Foot
Co-Ordination
Memory - Language
Locomotion
Locomotion
is the ability to move the body from one point to another, whether it is by running,
hopping, skipping, jumping, etc. The easier we can achieve this motion the less
likely it will hinder us in any way.
The child with poor locomotion skills doesn't plan an effective route and will often seem to wander from place to place or look clumsy and be easily distracted.
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Balance
We need to
be able to hold our balance whether we are still or moving. Children develop knowledge
of their midline and use this to keep their balance, whatever position their body
is in. Children with poor balance have difficulty finding a comfortable sitting
or standing position. They will spend time thinking about their balance rather
than concentrating on the learning activity they are doing. These children continually
shift position, fidget and often display a short attention span.
Some children
see themselves as one-sided or no-sided and may have trouble with their balance
and direction, reverse letters, do mirror writing or start on the wrong side of
the page.
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Fitness
These activities focus on joint flexibility, muscular strength and stamina. Children
who are not fit spend valuable time focusing on the way they feel rather than
what they should be doing. These children can also have a short attention span
and are unable to sustain physical tasks. A high level of fitness will give greater
endurance on task. PMP provides activities to develop strength, endurance and
flexibility.
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Eye/Hand-Eye/Foot Co-Ordination
This is the ability to make the hands and feet do what the eyes tell
them. Eye/ Foot Co-ordination is essential for most gross motor movements. Eye/Hand
Co-ordination is essential for fine motor movements including writing, cutting,
manipulation of equipment and ball games. Children who struggle in these areas
may have difficulties both in the classroom and on the sports field and will become
very frustrated.
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Memory
Tasks
When
children start school they need to remember a lot of things in sequence e.g. when
you get to your desk, put your name on your work and start the picture. OR wash
your hands, get your play lunch and sunhat and sit on the mat.
Children
are given lots of remembering tasks at PMP. A child may have to remember a series
of pictures, numbers or colours, and repeat them in order to the adult helper.
It is important that they can get the order of the objects correct.
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Language
It
is through language that the child develops the PERCEPTIONS about the world he/she
is discovering during the motor sessions. Many words we use in the English language
have different meanings depending on the situation they are used in e.g. UP
| Stand up | Line up | Wake up | Hands up |
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Do up your shoe laces | Eat up | Hurry up | Pack up |
Children learn concepts like up, through, beside, best when they experience them. Equipment session is about movement and TALK. Helpers aim to increase the children's language by using these positional terms throughout the activity.
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A usefull site to visit is www.movingsmart.co.nz
