At ABC Life Literacy Canada we advocate for lifelong learning in all its forms. One that’s increasingly on our radar is physical literacy. In response to a worrisome trend toward indoor, sedentary and less active behaviour across all age groups, Canadian organizations are working to identify both causes and solutions to this growing problem. One of the most affected groups is Canadian children and youth, with physical activity levels well below the daily recommendations and screen time on the rise. The ParticipACTION Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth even brings sleep into the equation and notes that some young people may be caught in a cycle characterized by not getting enough sleep, being too tired to move and consequently not being tired enough to get to sleep at night, as a result of lack of physical activity during the day.
Much of the data on physical activity levels among Canadians is alarming, but physical literacy offers a solution. By first targeting parents—the gatekeepers of a child’s physical literacy—expressing the importance of physical activity in a child’s development, and providing fun, free, age-appropriate resources, Canadian organizations are working to reverse this trend. Many of these fantastic resources are also geared toward educators, caregivers and literacy practitioners; great news, as many of our partners in the literacy field that filled out our survey this year, told us that physical literacy was of particular interest.
Physical literacy doesn’t just mean playing sports; it encompasses anything that contributes to an active lifestyle, raises the heart rate and gets those good endorphins flowing. From hiking to swimming to dancing to biking; Canada’s official definition of physical literacy is inclusive:
“Physical literacy is the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life.”
We’ve gathered some of our favourite physical literacy resources for families and educators. With summer just around the corner, consider getting outside and getting your physical literacy on!
The ParticipAction Canada 150 Playlist has 150 activities to get you moving. Sign up for free, try as many activities as you can, track your progress online and you could even win prizes! From traditional Canadian activities like lacrosse and curling, to childhood favourites like pillow fights and hopscotch, you’re bound to find something just right for you and your family.
Have a Ball Together is a website created to provide tools to promote and encourage physical literacy for children aged 0-6 years. There’s a section for families and a section for professionals, each with fantastic activities organized by age, equipment, weather conditions and space availability. There are also suggested activity modifications/accommodations for children with special needs. With free downloads, facts, tips and videos as well as an online training tool for educators, Have a Ball Together is a great go-to for getting young children moving.
Active for Life is a Canadian not-for-profit social enterprise that promotes physical literacy and aims to provide parents with important resources to raise active kids. An incredible hub for all things physical literacy, Active for Life is geared toward parents, educators and caregivers. This website takes the idea of resources to the next level with a bilingual mobile app for kids’ activities and games, a children’s daily activity log sheet, online coaching tutorial for parent-volunteer coaches and helpful articles. Parenting tips about good nutrition, ways to be physically active that don’t involve playing sports and how to encourage your child to be physically active are especially useful. For educators, age-appropriate activities/resources that clearly outline motor development (ex. this activity helps develop good hand-eye coordination and balance) with suggested activity durations that relate to the attention-span of the age group, are incredibly helpful tools for creating physical literacy lesson plans.
And of course, we have some fun, free resources for you on our website! Have a look at the Family Literacy activities, including “Where’s that Shape?” and “Animal Dance.” Try “Be a Yogi” and the “Alphabet Boogie” from Family Literacy Fun, both of which are also available in French.
Whatever activities you try out and whichever ways you choose to bring more physical activity into your life, be sure to share them with your family, friends and community and help spread physical literacy. Happy moving!
