This article is an adaptation of Chapter 5 of 500 Preschool Movement Games (2002). It outlines Founder Nanhai Hong's five overarching goals for early childhood physical education. In this North American ECE edition, these objectives are presented as broad planning values that celebrate whole-child development, rather than rigid developmental screening criteria or state curriculum mandates.
The Five Foundational Movement Goals
Chapter 5 presents movement education not merely as physical exercise, but as an integral foundation for children’s physical, emotional, and social development:
Broadening Movement Experiences
The author challenged the assumption that because children are naturally active, adults should remain entirely hands-off. Hong argued that thoughtful educators should guide emerging physical drives, introducing children to diverse movement forms and equipment they might not discover on their own.
Teaching Safety & Movement Knowledge
Physical games provide practical opportunities to teach spatial boundaries, equipment handling, and risk awareness. Learning how to move safely within a shared space is treated as valuable practical knowledge for daily life.
Balanced Physical Control & Body Awareness
Physical play supports balanced multi-limb coordination. Through voluntary movement practice, children gain intentional control over their bodies, building self-awareness through direct mastery of physical actions.
Nurturing Personal Character & Resilience
In the 2002 text, Hong associated movement play with qualities such as initiative, patience, courage, and learning to manage emotions during challenging experiences. This English adaptation preserves the educational emphasis on persistence and emotional self-regulation without claiming that movement play increases IQ or guarantees personality outcomes.
Social Cooperation & Shared Rule-Following
Group movement games create a social setting where children encounter cooperation, competition, conflict, shared rules, and social courtesies. In this English adaptation, these are treated as opportunities to practice participating with peers, negotiating disagreements, following agreed rules, and handling both cooperative and competitive moments without making competition the central goal.
Reframing Goals as Educational Opportunities
In contemporary early childhood education, these historical goals are best understood as opportunities for joyful exploration and practice rather than guaranteed developmental outcomes:
Classroom Application for Educators
Rather than assessing whether every child achieves a uniform level of athletic performance, educators can use these five goals as a guide for curriculum variety: ensuring that weekly lesson plans balance individual gross motor practice, partner challenges, low-prep equipment, and cooperative group routines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these five goals designed as standardized developmental testing targets?
Why does the curriculum emphasize teacher guidance over completely hands-off play?
How do these goals support social-emotional development in preschool?
500 Movement Games Collection: Theory Chapter 5 — Goals of Movement Education
This curriculum originated from Nanhai Hong's years of practical early childhood physical education teaching. Jenher Preschool preserved the core activities, digitizing and updating the text, instructions, and safety guidelines for modern early childhood classroom needs.
This material is freely provided for classroom teaching and non-commercial research. When citing, please attribute "500 Preschool Movement Games" with a link to this webpage. Commercial resale or unauthorized mass reproduction is strictly prohibited.
Before starting, assess each child's readiness and ensure an open, slip-resistant play area with continuous adult supervision. For children with specific health, motor, or developmental considerations, please consult a pediatrician or pediatric physical therapist.