Anne Kienbaum 
Promotion of movement in kindergarten 

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject Pedagogy – Nursery Pedagogy, Early Childhood Education, grade: 1, 3, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, language: English, abstract: The institution of kindergarten is particularly suitable for implementing physical activity promotion among preschool children. A large proportion of children between the ages of three and six attend kindergarten and spend a significant part of the day there. Thus, ‘for a high proportion of 3-6 year olds, kindergarten forms an essential part of their living environment’ (Winkler p.13). Children can be reached here with movement promotion at a crucial age, in which ‘fundamental attitudes to one’s own body are formed and movement behavior is decisively influenced’ (Winkler p.11).

This raises the question of what starting points and possibilities exist for kindergartens to design and implement physical activity promotion in such a way that it can contribute to the overall healthy development of children. For this purpose, the effects of changes in the living environment of children on their opportunities for movement and experience will be considered. Then the importance of movement for children’s development will be explained. Against this background, consequences for goals and implementation requirements of physical activity promotion in kindergartens are developed. Finally, examples are given to show which starting points exist in kindergartens to implement physical activity promotion in such a way that it can promote the healthy development of children.