F

4 Great Physical Education

Veteran elementary physical education teachers, Chris Tamborra and Mark Farnsworth, met at a seminar where they were both searching for a solution to “fix recess.”1 A year later, in 2003, Chris (teaching in Massachusetts) and Mark (teaching in Connecticut) collaborated to form the educational consulting firm 4 Great Physical Education.2

  • 1. Tamborra Chris. “4 Great Physical Education.” Received by Playground Professionals on 27 July 2011.
  • 2. Tamborra, Chris. “4 Great Physical Education Time Line.” Received by Playground Professionals on 26 July 2011.
fall height

Fall height is a measurement defined as the “vertical distance between a designated play surface and the protective surfacing beneath it.”1

  • 1. ASTM International Standard F1292, “Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surfacing Materials Within the Use Zone of Playground Equipment,” 3.1.3, p. 2.
Fear

Fear is a distressing response to a perceived danger, whether real or imaginary.1 Physical responses to fear may result in an accelerated heart rate and breathing, sweaty hands, nausea, headaches, stomach aches, and nervous movements. Emotionally, children may become clingy, impulsive, or distracted, and they may suffer from disturbed sleep patterns.2

  • 1. “Fear.” Dictionary.com. < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fear > 19 Oct. 2010.
  • 2. “Anxiety, Fears, and Phobias.” KidsHealth from Nemours. < http://kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=KidsHealth&lic=1&ps=107&cat_id=145&article_set=21758 > 19 Oct. 2010.
Fibar

Fibar, Inc. was founded by Robert Heath in 1979 as a Wood Fiber supplier for equestrian training surfaces. In five years’ time, Fibar had surfaced over 600 horse-training facilities in the United States. In 1986, the idea of using wood fiber for under playgrounds was proposed and researched. After testing, Robert found that wood fiber was substantially better at cushioning children's falls than sand, grass, dirt, or gravel, which were the current "safety" surfaces in most places at the time.

Herman G. Fisher, Irving L. Price, Irving's wife Margaret Evans Price, and Helen M. Schelle founded Fisher-Price in 1930 in East Aurora, New York. Their mission was to produce toys with “intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action.”1

  • 1. “Our Creed.” Fisher-Price Human Resources. < http://www.fisher-price.com/us/hr/aboutus.asp > 27 Jan. 2011.

Good physical condition is how fitness is measured.  Being fit occurs through healthy habits which include exercise and nutrition.1 Being physically fit offers many benefits, such as, a healthy weight, strong muscles, bones, and joints, decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, better sleep, and a feeling of well-being.2

  • 1. “Fitness.” Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Stedman’s Medical Dictionary. < http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fitness > 5 Aug. 2010.
  • 2. “Motivating Kids to Be Active.” KidsHealth from Nemours. < http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/fitness/active_kids.html > 5 Aug. 2010.
flexibility

Flexibility refers to the body’s ability to effectively bend and move without injury. Improving flexibility allows the body to increase the range of motion at a particular joint as well as improving bone, ligament, and joint stability. Similar to other physical motor skills, flexibility is an ongoing process rather than a static point of achievement, and the best way to keep the body flexible is to use it. Poor flexibility hinders performance in every other physical motor skill.1

  • 1. Rodi, Cyndi. “CrossFit Kids 101.” CrossFit Kids.com. < http://www.crossfitkids.com/index.php/crossfit101/ > 15 Nov. 2010.
Flexible Flyer with permission from Jon Holcombe - Sled Hill www.sledhill.com

Speeding down a snowy hill on a Flexible Flyer snow sled has been a winter activity enjoyed by children since the 1880s. The Flexible Flyer continued to be sold for over 100 years with little change from its basic design, and the iconic sled is still highly sought after by young and old alike.

ForeverLawn Inc. offers advanced simulated grass products to commercial and residential markets. Besides all around artificial turf, ForeverLawn creates innovative artificial turfs for specialty markets, such as playgrounds, splash parks, sports fields, golf greens, and kennel and boarding facilities.1

  • 1. “Company Profile.” ForeverLawn. < http://www.foreverlawn.com/profile.html > 21 Jan. 2011.
Four Square

Four square has been a popular playground game for years. It has also been called box ball and Kings corners, and although there is little verified history of the game, it is thought to have been played in some form since the turn of the 20th century when it was mentioned in children’s books. Because it is a fast paced ball game that is easy to play with no time constraints, it has been a great game to play during recess.1

  • 1. “Four Square/Box Ball Rules, History, Tips & Equipment.” Sportsvite. < http://sportsvite.com/sports/FourSquare_BoxBall/rules > 5 Oct. 2011.

Free play is unstructured, voluntary, child-initiated activity that allows children to develop their imaginations while exploring and experiencing the world around them.1 It is the spontaneous play that comes naturally from children’s natural curiosity, love of discovery, and enthusiasm.2

  • 1. “Why your child needs ‘free play’” Rediff.com. < http://in.rediff.com/getahead/2007/may/17child.htm > 16 Aug. 2010.
  • 2. “Free Play” Hasbro.com. < http://www.hasbro.com/playdoh/en_US/freePlay.cfm > 16 Aug. 2010.
Free-Range Kids

The blog, Free-Range Kids, is written by Lenore Skenazy, who was dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” by the media for allowing her 9-year-old son to ride the subway in New York City alone. What started as an opportunity for a child to face a challenge and experience some independence resulted in a blog, a book, and a movement.1

  • 1. “Speaking Engagements.” Free-Range Kids. < http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/ > 27 Oct. 2011.
Freenotes

Grammy Award winning, Richard Cooke had been playing and reading music since he was a boy. However, it wasn’t until he began playing by “ear” that he realized the sheer joy of music and felt that anyone should be able to create music without formal training.

Along with Paul Winter, a Grammy award winning saxophonist, they worked on a plan for a “music camp” for adults in 1955. Richard designed and built musical instruments that accomplished musicians as well as novice musicians could enjoy playing.

His quest took him to many countries, and he visited many cultures where music is played by almost all of the inhabitants. Freenotes instruments are based on the gamelan instruments of Java and Bali.

M. Paul Friedberg is a landscape architect who has influenced urban design of playgrounds, parks, plazas, and outdoor malls. He feels that urban designs are not for creating a break from the city life, rather they “engage the whirl of urban life and (are) unapologetically vital and active.” His designs accommodate recreation for different age groups, facilitate interaction between people in the community, and “enhance life by revealing beauty in the environment.”1

  • 1. Randl, Chad. “Biography of M. Paul Friedberg.” The Cultural Landscape Foundation. <http://tclf.org/pioneer/m-paul-friedberg/biography-m-paul-friedberg> 28 March 2012.

The Frisbee is a plastic flying disc that has been enjoyed as a recreational toy for people of all ages, whether in the backyard, at the park, or on the beach. They are typically used as a game of catch with the Frisbee spinning through the air when thrown.

Friedrich Froebel

Friedrich Froebel was truly a pioneer in early childhood education. He established a new type of school for three and four year old children in 1837, which he called a child’s garden or kindergarten.1 Prior to this there had been no educational training for children under the age of seven. There was no recognition that young children were capable of learning social and intellectual skills.2

  • 1. “Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) – Biography, Froebel’s Kindergarten Philosophy, The Kindergarten Curriculum, Diffusion of the Kindergarten.” Education Encyclopedia. StateUniversity.com. < http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1999/Froebel-Friedrich-1782-1852.html > 21 Dec. 2010.
  • 2. LeBlanc, Miriam.
Dr Joe Frost

After more than 50 years of teaching, consulting, and writing about child development and play, Dr. Joe Frost is acknowledged as the contemporary father of play advocacy.

Functional play has been described as the first play of children. Beginning in infancy, as a child learns to control his actions and make things happen, he finds enjoyment in shaking a rattle, splashing in the bath, and dropping objects repeatedly from his high chair. These repetitive actions are slowly replaced by more complex forms of play, but functional play is enjoyed by children throughout their childhood as they discover new actions to master.1

  • 1. “Learning Through Play: Functional Play.” F.B. Meekins Cooperative Preschool. < http://www.fbmeekins.org/attachments/146_Learning_Through_Play_2_--_Functional_play.pdf > 8 Sep. 2011.

Children move through a developmental progression in the acquisition of motor skills. There are four phases of motor development: the reflexive movement phase, the rudimentary movement phase, the fundamental movement phase, and the specialized movement phase.1

  • 1. Gallahue, David L. and Frances Cleland Donnelly. Developmental Physical Education for All Children. 4th ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. 2003. p. 62.