Enhancing motor skill development through play : a practical guide for early childhood educators working with 1–3-year-old children
Madhurasinghe Mudiyanselage, Tharika Prasangi Madhurasinghe; Hikkaduwa Liyanage, Udani Ruwanthika (2025)
2025
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https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111928726
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2025111928726
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this thesis was to develop practical tool for the early childhood educators for the facilitation of motor skill development in 1-3-year-old toddlers based on play. Development work attempted to bridge this gap creating the guidebook, Little Movers, which is evidence-based and age-specific activity recommendations for everyday pedagogical work.
The work was conducted as a practice-based development project collaboration with ECEC unit in Turku. A qualitative research design was applied with data gathered from educators and parents through online surveys, observations, and reflective feedback and combined a review of literature. This guidebook was developed based on Finnish national core curriculum for ECEC (2022), and Montessori pedagogy method. The activities included structured and unstructured play.
The main output of the thesis was the Little Movers guidebook that was tested and evaluated by educators in the commissioning daycare centre. It was found to be practical, flexible, and directly applicable in daily practice. The study indicates that motor play helps children's physical, social, and emotional development and supports pedagogical efforts of educators.
The work was conducted as a practice-based development project collaboration with ECEC unit in Turku. A qualitative research design was applied with data gathered from educators and parents through online surveys, observations, and reflective feedback and combined a review of literature. This guidebook was developed based on Finnish national core curriculum for ECEC (2022), and Montessori pedagogy method. The activities included structured and unstructured play.
The main output of the thesis was the Little Movers guidebook that was tested and evaluated by educators in the commissioning daycare centre. It was found to be practical, flexible, and directly applicable in daily practice. The study indicates that motor play helps children's physical, social, and emotional development and supports pedagogical efforts of educators.