Elementary School Physical Education Games And Fitness Activities Benefits

It is generally known that movement is a natural process of life and living, it's also generally agreed that the concentration of a child's education is on movement. A well organized Physical Education program which consists of a series of movements, therefore, is the fundamental basis of a child's educational development.

What is Physical Education

The first pertinent question you may ask is what is Physical Education? Physical Education as a term, consists of two words namely physical and education. The word physical means body, that is the physical body. In this case the human body.

Education is generally defined as a change in human behaviour as a result of what the child is able to do, see, feel, hear etc- all his experiences. In this case, the physical activities the child is able to do, see others do, and hear how they are done.

Physical Education therefore can be defined as the development of an individual (changing his behavior  physically, mentally, socially and emotionally) through the medium of physical activities purpose designed to achieve these objectives.

Benefits of Physical Education Games

i. Promoting physical growth and total physical health of the child

ii. Development of those skills fundamental in sports and games late in life e.g walking running, climbing, jumping, throwing, catching etc.

iii. Development of muscular strength, flexibility, endurance as well as motor coordination. This will help them meet their everday personal and social pressures and challenges with relative ease.

iv. Creating a learning environment in which pupils or students and teachers interact in a personalized manner.

v. Emphasizing the mastery of subject matter and the development of the child's mental processes.\

vi. Development of the child socially and emotionally.

vii. Giving equal opportunity to all children to participate in physical activities in a well designed instructional program.

viii. Providing the opportunities for engaging in all school sponsored intra-moral and inter-school activities.

Physical fitness activities

These are activities designed to promote the physical fitness of students or pupils. Physical fitness are many. They include different kinds of exercises, sports and games activities, recreation and leisure activities.

Physical fitness activities can be organized as a part of the school intramural program. In the organization of physical fitness activities, the Physical Education teacher must consider the characteristics of pupils. Activities should be selected to match the ability of pupils to take part in them.

The Intramural Program

The intramural program is designed for students to take part in physical activities after the close of school work. It involves different kinds of sports and games.

The Inter school Sports

This is a program for the talented athletes in the school. Through this program members of the school teams play matches against teams from other schools.