Good morning educators, children and friends!
Introduction
The Nurture Kids Festival is holding its first full-fledged physical event since the start of the pandemic. I am delighted to see this very huge turnout and so many happy and eager faces waiting to participate in the activities!
Earlier, I saw the educators taking care of the little ones, there are many of you here, and I am reminded of the important role you play in shaping and influencing the children during this very critical phase of their lives.
Today's event is a very special "space" created to allow you and the children under your charge to not only enjoy sporting activities safely but also to strengthen your relationships and form strong trusting bonds with the children. Through participating in sports, we hope children can gain valuable life lessons and pick up good values such as sportsmanship, teamwork, and resilience.
In today's digital era, our children often spend more time on their electronic devices rather than physical sport. This move towards a sedentary lifestyle can lead to unwanted health problems such as myopia and increase the risk of developing chronic illnesses. The good news is we can take active steps to prevent poor health, starting from now.
We use fundamental movement skills every day like when we walk, run, jump, throw and even when we catch a ball. It is important for our children to acquire these skills to set the foundation for participating in sports and physical activities in the future.
We could start by providing our children with the opportunity to acquire strong fundamental movement skills through active play, by learning to move and moving to learn, anytime and anywhere.
Introduction of the Fun Start Move Smart – Learning to Move, Moving to Learn Resource Guide (2023 Edition)
I am pleased to introduce the 2023 edition of Fun Start Move Smart – Learning to Move, Moving to Learn resource guide, put together by Sport Singapore and experts from the preschool sector. This new resource guide builds on the foundational work of the "FUNdamental MOVEment Skills for Growing Active Learners" published in 2010, which has enabled many early childhood educators and coaches to help children in Singapore to develop their physical literacy.
So the new 2023 edition presents a key shift in focus, from learning fundamental movement skills in isolation to using movement to build a strong foundation in fundamental movement skills for pre-schoolers. Factors such as active play, outdoor learning as well as being physically active in other learning domains and lesson transitions, are now contributing sources to kickstart and enhance a child's educational journey. This new focus will better support children across diverse abilities while enhancing their physical literacy and learning capacity.
So I hope educators will find the teaching strategies and activity ideas from the resource guide useful for you in your outdoor classrooms. I strongly encourage all to use these rich materials and share the knowledge gained to help the younger generation enjoy a fulfilling start towards a healthy adulthood.
Closing
Let us all continue to work together and make a conscious effort to stay active and stay healthy.
I wish everyone a happy, fun, and fruitful day out at the festival.
Thank you and enjoy yourselves!