What is Physical Literacy? (Part 1)

Physical Health Education Canada defines physical literacy as the ability to “move with competence in a wide variety of physical activities that benefit the development of the whole person”.

A physically literate person is able to confidently display fundamental movement skills such as:

• Walking
• Running
• Jumping
• Throwing
• Catching
• Dodging
• Kicking

Physical literacy gives children the tools they need to take part in physical activity sports. When armed with these skills, kids can be confident in their abilities, which encourages them to make active, healthy lifestyle choices and leads to success.

Physical literacy is a journey, not a destination.

Physical literacy is something children begin to develop the day they are born and will continue to develop throughout their lifetime. It is an adventure that will be full of twists and turns, challenges and fun, success and additional attempts, and risks along the way.

Environment plays a role as well. For the full development of physical literacy, children should learn fundamental movement skills and fundamental sports skills in each of the four basic environments:

• On the ground: the basis for most games, sports, dance, and physical activities
• In the water: the basis for all aquatic activities (e.g. swimming)
• On snow and ice: the basis for all winter sliding activities (e.g. skating)
• In the air: the basis for gymnastics, diving, and other aerial activities

Learn more with a video entitled: Introduction to Physical and Health Literacy.

Stay tuned for more information on physical literacy in the weeks to come! In the meantime, try these activities:

Letter Scavenger Hunt:

Take turns naming letters. Encourage your children to run (or crawl, skip, hop, etc.) around the room trying to find objects that begin with your chosen letter! Can you make it all the way from A to Z?

Letter Sculpture Game:

Take turns calling out different letters of the alphabet and then try to form that letter with your entire body! For an added challenge, jump into the air and strike a letter pose!

For more fun, skill-based activities, sign up for a KidActive account.