The influence of extra-curricular physical activities in the development of coordination in pre-school children.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study is to provide information in relation to the coordination ability of pre-school children. The study aimed to investigate the influence of pre-school physical activity, as part of the enrichment curriculum, on the coordination of the pupils.

METHODS: A sample of 120 preschool children (M=63; F=58) aged 4 and 5 years old (M = 4.47, SD = 0.5), with differing levels of physical activity carried out by the Children Body Coordination Test instrument (TCCI), Soares (1993). Proceeded to descriptive statistical analysis of coordinative benefits students, depending on the variables gender, age group, practical activities, years of practice, number of workouts and total weekly sessions of physical activity. We conducted an inferential analysis of data for comparison of means in the variables under study.

RESULTS: Practicing enrichment activities has been demonstrated to assist in the development of children's motor skills with those having engaged in such activities achieving a higher level of performance.

CONCLUSIONS: The practice of extracurricular physical activities significantly enhances the general coordinative abilities in children aged 4 and 5 years of age, but it was found that 5 year old children had a significantly higher performance compared to 4 year old children.