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Learn about 7 kinds of halfway play that create vital foundations
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Try some play structures that invite halfway play
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Develop your movement observation skills within a developmental movement framework
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Learn to spot when children might need more time building early foundations to enhance their upright movement skills
Learn why halfway play is such an important part of physical development. And how to spot when foundations need more work to support skilled upright movement.
Take this course to:
Building confident bodies
Reviews
" Very detailed course. Who knew there was so much to learn about movement. "
Carys Flynn
CF
" This course is extremely informative. Packed with so much valuable developmental discussion. ”
Adele Quittenden
AQ
" If you get a chance to go on this course go for it, it's so interesting to see how the children develop. ”
Deborah Caimino
DC
" This course is very interesting especially if you work with babies and very young children. It gives lots of very useful information on how the babies body develop and what they need to grow into healthy upright play. ”
Janet Bowers
JB
It's easy to miss or rush Halfway Play. But it's a crucial part of physical development in which children can set themselves up for a lifetime of strong, confident, comfortable movement.
Logan watches the pull and push games that other children invent with one another. He doesn't get involved.
As a baby he loved his activity chair - he spent hours playing in it. When he approached walking, he took a long time to find how to balance himself upright and his loving family spent loads of time bent double, holding his hands, as he practised!
Watch him carefully now and it's as if his limbs don't connect into his core. He uses strength in his arms, but he can't support it with power from the rest of his body. He seems to walk above the ground, not connecting into it.
What might support him well? Floor play first; halfway play next ... the trick is to find the things that will entice him into engaging here. This is not something we can teach him, but if we are canny, we can create environments and offer resources that will entice him into playing his foundations in to action.
Developmental Movement Play in action
Valuing halfway play
Halfway play has an important role to play in building physical power, agency and confidence. Value and support it fully to maximise children’s ability to develop a genuinely confident, grounded physicality.
Developmental movement
Design learning environments and opportunities that continue to value sensory play, floor play and halfway play as part of the everyday learning culture throughout the early years - not just as a stepping stone to upright.
Early identification and support
Use your growing understanding of developmental movement to plan early and targeted support for children who are not meeting the milestones as you would hope.
Develop your pedagogy
When adults think differently, children move differently
Join the course
If you're training individually follow the "Buy Now £42" link. For multiple people to gain access to the course, follow the "Group Bookings" link.
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Head over to the course dashboard and start watching.
Step 3. Get going
Take the knowledge and extend your physical development provision.
Course Info
Content
How to take the course
18 short filmed lessons divided into four modules, lots of visuals. Downloads to support new ways of observing movement. A quiz to finish.
The lessons take 1 hour 20 to watch straight through. The observation you do as part of your everyday routines, (using the structures provided), will be a big part of your learning.
How long can I access the course for?
The course will be live on your dashboard for 3 months.
Will I get a CPD certificate?
Yes, you'll receive a certificate of completion when you have finished all modules.
Course Modules
Module 1: Intro
Module 2: Movement Observation
Introduction to the course and taking a developmental movement approach.
Movement observation lies at the heart of this approach. Two simple techniques to use, Body Scan and Environment Audit.
Module 3: Halfway Play
Looks in detail at 7 kinds of halfway play.
Module 4: Upright Play
Introduces detailed checklists (for you to download) to help you clarify what you already know and see more detail in children's upright movement.
Penny Greenland
Penny has been teaching across the early years sector for thirty-five years. In 1998 she set up the action-research project which led to the creation of Developmental Movement Play and has continued to research and develop the approach ever since.
She is author of Hopping Home Backwards: body intelligence and movement play and a contributor to several early years text books about physical development.