In the graduation thesis we focused on teaching of cycling in fundamental movement phase. We defined factors influencing successful learning, and gave ideas when and how to start with cycling. We presented various types of bicycles (balance bike, tricycle, bicycle), which are suitable in regard to development of children in the pre-school period.
In the pre-school period, children meet with different sports devices. In teaching handling them, balance plays a key role. Teaching cycling teases senses that cooperate in balance. Balance represents screen for performing any physical activity. Therefore, in the pre-school period this is a key motor skill. We believe, it is thus sensible offering children different types of bicycles as often as possible.
Teacher´s basic document, from which their planning and implementation of work must derive, is Curriculum for kindergartens. This is a national contents document for public kindergartens, which defines individual areas, which we develop in children in the pre-school period (language, mathematics, art, movement, nature, society). It presents curricular principles, general and global objectives for individual areas and examples of contents and activities. In the Curriculum, examples of activities for the Movement programme are stated separately for two age period. That also affects cycling. In connection to the area of society, Curriculum for kindergarten defines also cross-sectional topics, namely traffic and environmental education.
Kindergarten can also offer enrichment programmes that are planned and implemented by teachers, and are a part of implementing curriculum, and are in accordance with the Curriculum for kindergartens. One of them is the Mali sonček movement/sports programme, which was developed as extension of the Zlati sonček programme, and is implemented in kindergartens since 2011/2012. It also defines tasks and levels of cycling that children in the pre-school period should won.
In the graduation thesis we presented all the mentioned documents, which are a help for teachers in planning and implementation of the activities with bicycles. We also designed a programme with methodical procedures, which in our opinion should bring a child to control the bicycle in a playful way. With analysis of the chosen existing games, we established current trends of teaching cycling. Based on critical analysis of the chosen games through a prism of specifics of development of a pre-school child, we presented an idea for teaching cycling in fundamental movement phase. Thus, we demonstrated the teachers a starting point for designing of new games, which will take into account all specifics of learning in a pre-school period.
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