What´s your moove? -early intervention through physical activity and the YAP model to promote future wellbeing of disabled children Erasmus Project

Project Title

What´s your moove? -early intervention through physical activity and the YAP model to promote future wellbeing of disabled children

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Disabilities – special needs; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

The Young Athlete Program is published and owned by International Special Olympics. https://resources.specialolympics.org/Taxonomy/Community_Building/Young_Athletes_Resources.aspx
Young Athlete Program (YAP) is an inclusive sport and play program for children with and without intellectual disability (ID) for children 2-7 years old. It was developed and evaluated by the Center for Social Development and Education, at the University of Massachusetts at Boston in collaboration with the Frank Porter Graham Research Institute at the University of North Carolina.The program introduces basic sport skills like, running, kicking and throwing. The program includes active games, songs and other play activities that help children develop motor, social and cognitive skills. Providing scripted Lesson Plans to use over an 8 week period and Training video resources. For each week there are 3 days of Lesson Plans for a total of 24 days. Young Athletes Motor Checklist is conducted before starting and then repeated after the 8 weeks, giving a indication of the progress that has been made in these 8 weeks.Young Athletes introduces children to a bright new world of sports and social skills, pride and possibility without borders and barriers. Young Athletes is a fun way for children to get fit. The objective of the program is to give teachers a new, fun and easy teaching tool. For children with and without disabilities and children who are bilinguals as well, the preschool years are a crucial period for supporting motor skill development, given the rapid growth taking place in young children (Favazza, Siperstein, Zeise, Odom and Moskowitz . 2011. Young Athletes Intervention: Impact of Motor Development). Children with and without disabilities will get better opportunities to learn, grow, have fun and be prepared for school readiness and future participation in life. There are three participating preschools in the project in as many countries; Heilsuleikskólinn Háaleiti, Health promoting Kindergarten Háaleiti in Reykjanesbær, Iceland; The goal of the Health Policy in the Kindergarten, is to promote and strengthen the health of the kindergarten community with its emphasis on nutrition, physical activity and creation through playing. All children should learn to respect their own health and others’ and regard it as the basis for a satisfactory living. At the kindergarten, health promotion is at the forefront all of the time. The aim of the Health Policy is to get the child accustomed to healthy living at early age so as to make it a part of their lifestyle in the future. Tallinna Lasteaed Pallipõnn, preschool in Tallinn, Estonia; Kindergarten Pallipõnn has a good reputation and is an acknowledged kindergarten. Kindergarten Pallipõnn is a partner to home that gives an environment and circumstances that favor essential deportment for lifelong learning formation and the ability to get the good knowledge when going to school. We inspire children to learn through the play and to have an interest on learning. We go outside to the nature really often, we eat healthy food. We are role models for the children and we form a healthy eating habit and try to make them value physical activity. Læringsverkstedet, Skogmo, preschool – Jessheim, Norway, is situated near big forrest, which gives a great possibility to outdoor activities. Indoor activities takes place in the classroom and the gym as well. Our goal is for all children to be seen, heard and cared for. All teachers in Kindergarten had introduction of the YAP project before the kick off. To make things easier for the teachers, they were given a script before each lesson, a summarize from the scripted lessons of YAP. In the teachers script, there were games and other activities which were easy to do in the classroom and ideas of how to mix math and langue learning together with the activities. Teachers got a short led – in, before starting each session. The teachers took each of their groups at least twice per week in some activities.. The sport teacher took the YAMC test in the beginning, after each lesson and in the end of the project. The sport teacher took each group of the Kindergarten two times per week and gave children who needed extra time, two times per week, f.x. children with disabilities, children with Icelandic as a second langue, behavior problems and e.c.t. So total some group of children got activities four times per week with the Sport teacher using YAP fully scripted and organized lessons. Impact on teachers is they have implemented a strong model for working programmatically with enhancing motor skills in disabled/special needs children and able children as well. Impact on children they gain in motor, social and communication skills.The long term; Children develop important skills for learning and get a head start for life long learning. https://www.ifsport.is/read/2015-11-25/heilsuleikskolinn-haaleiti-fekk-fyrstu-vidurkenninguna/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 45400 Eur

Project Coordinator

Heilsuleikskólinn Háaleiti & Country: IS

Project Partners

• Læringsverkstedet AS
• Tallinna Lasteaed Pallipõnn