PMP - What is it?

The first day I volunteered at Sumner School I had the opportunity to help with a programme called PMP. The programme is designed for school age children, ages 5 and up. Sumner School currently offers the programme twice a week on Wednesday and Thursday to the Year 1 students who are all either 5 or 6 years old. PMP helps to bridge the gap between early childhood education and formal learning by giving students the opportunity to develop the physical motor skills necessary for a successful transition into formal learning. 

The Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) is a step-by-step programme which aims to help in the development of a students perceptual knowledge and judgement. Throughout the programme students are provided with movement and motor experiences which help to develop a child's perceptions and understandings of himself/herself in relation to his/her world. The aim of the programme is not for the child to develop specific skills, but to develop the child. PMP helps to prepare the brain for leaning by refining perceptual judgments. There are five critical spheres of sensory and physical influence that help prepare a child's brain for formal learning. They are: fitness, eye-tracking, balance, locomotion, and eye-hand/eye-foot coordination. 


                    Body + Brain = Learning

The learning outcomes of PMP are broken into three different areas: skill, perception, and motor outcomes. PMP aims to help students in developing the following skills: physical education skills, confidence, memory, language, and problem solving. The perceptual outcomes of the program include developing the child's body image, body control, laterality, directionality, space-awareness, and body rhythm. The motor outcomes of the programme are locomotion, fitness, balance, and eye-hand/eye-foot coordination. 

Parent volunteers play a major role in ensuring the programme is run successfully. Volunteers can be hard to come by, so my help has always been much appreciated at each PMP session. Each PMP session has 5 different stations which means a parent volunteer or teacher is needed at each station to lead each group of students through the activity/exercise. 

I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience helping out with the programme so far. As a future teacher, I can see the many benefits that this programme will provide to the students. With a background in exercise science and education, this volunteer opportunity has been a perfect fit for me. I am looking forward to helping out at Sumner school's next PMP session tomorrow. 

For more information about the Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) visit the following website: http://www.movingsmart.co.nz/home/schools/pmp/

Reference:

Moving Smart. (n.d.). PMP - Perceptual Motor Programme. Retrieved from http://www.movingsmart.co.nz/home/schools/pmp/

Sumner School

Sumner primary school is located in Sumner - a seaside suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island and New Zealand's second-largest city with a population around 360,000. Sumner has a population close to 4,000 and it's beaches, cafes, scenery, and coastal walks make it a popular spot for tourists visiting Christchurch.

Sumner school is a full primary school catering to students from Year 0 to Year 8 with a current roll of around 400 students. Students in New Zealand start school at the age of 5 and begin as a Year 0 or Year 1 and progress each year until they reach Year 13. Most children in Year 0 to Year 8 are between the ages of 5-12. The 2012 Sumner school year started on February 1st and will end on December 18th. The school year is broken down into 4 different terms with a 2 week break between each term. Similar to the school year in Canada, students get around 2 months off for summer holidays. 

Watch the video below to learn more about Sumner School

Sumner School's Vision for Teaching and Learning

    The SURFER Values of Sumner School


                   




For more information about Sumner School visit the school website: http://www.sumner.school.nz/index.html