Primary School

PMP is seen as part of the programme of total experiences. It is not a physical education programme alone, or music, or fitness, or dance, or gymnastics. It is a programme that uses facets of all of the above in order to develop children’s perceptions and understandings of their world.
These perceptions and judgments that are formed over time help determine how children react to their environment, to others, and to new ideas.

MSPMP is different because it aims to develop the child rather than the skill. It is not purely a motor programme. It is a perceptual motor programme where language is the key factor in providing the perceptual knowledge about the motor experience. The programme has its roots in the development of language, the gaining of problem solving skills, and general readiness areas.

The Moving Smart Perceptual Motor Programme (MSPMP) is a step-by-step programme, designed and individualised for the development of PERCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE and JUDGEMENT, delivered in a well-rounded movement diet (using the Kinetic Scale) of fun physical experiences the brain needs to grow and develop.

Perceptual knowledge/judgement comes from physical and sensory experiences that are repeated over and over. The perceptions that are formed over time help determine how children react to their environment, to others, and to new ideas.
When this is well developed, consequential reactions are more likely to be appropriate for any given situation. When it is not, it can impede learning. Children with common problems such as inattention, day dreaming, wandering, laziness, clumsiness, and disruptive behaviour are often those with a poorly developed “perceptual world.” These children risk becoming frustrated and stressed which can shut down their ability to concentrate and comprehend.

A consistent and varied “diet” of physical and sensory experience is the key to developing perceptual judgments. The greater the store of experiences the better developed the perceptions and motor reactions. And when those perceptions and reactions become automatic, the brain is free for higher thinking tasks.

In short, refining perceptual judgments prepares the brain for learning.

Many children enter our classrooms today unready for formal learning. The simplest things trip them up… having to sit still and listen… being unable to hold a pencil correctly… coping with multiple instructions at once, and on and on.

And while this presents challenges for early learners and teachers, the bigger consequences may have a much farther reach. Early frustration and feelings of failure can result in low self-esteem, fear/dislike of the formal learning environment, and underachievement throughout the school years. Helping children bridge the gap between the playful, rough ‘n tumble world of preschool life and the disciplined world of the classroom will pay dividends for all of the learning years ahead.

Quite often, those early challenges in the classroom can be mis-diagnosed as misbehaviour or redressed with “formal learning” techniques for which children may not yet be ready. For instance, a child’s inability to sit still and listen may have less to do with his lack of discipline than a lack of vestibular stimulation. A child’s poor pencil grip may have less to do with the number of hours she’s held a crayon in her hand, than the number of hours she’s spent on the monkeybars.

Understanding the “learning nexus” between a young child’s brain and body, and how PMP works to develop children’s physical motor skills plays an essential part in providing children with the foundations necessary for success in their early school years. Having a new knowledge base of why it’s important for kids to move and how to run MSPMP will equip educators with the missing link in helping children make the leap to a lifetime of learning.

MSPMP is a motor coordination programme for school age children, comprised of sequential movement activities across the Kinetic Scale (six different stations) for classes of up to 30 students, ages 5 & up.

By revealing the “learning nexus” between the body and the brain, PMP isolates the six critical spheres of physical and sensory influence that prepare the brain for formal learning.

The MSPMP programme is…

• HOLISTIC. Movement/Language development programme, with focus on Motor Coordination, Cognitive Development, Self-Esteem, Social Skills and ability to cope better in the classroom.
• DIAGNOSTIC. Helping teachers recognize children’s needs in relation to Sensory, Balance, Intuition, Power, Coordination, Control, and the ramifications of these foundations unfulfilled.
• PROBLEM SOLVING. Gives children strategies for problem solving.
• EASY IMPLEMENTATION. Delivers carefully crafted sequenced (and fun!) activities, packed with learning foundations.
• A SMIDGEN OF PREVENTION. Designed to be preventative rather than curative.
• FITNESS-ORIENTED. Covers many strands of traditional Junior PE/Health Curriculum.

Achievement in the equipment session depends on good preparation done at Floor Session time. The MSPMP programme is divided into integrated, synchronised sessions as follows.