Sociability through the Movement of Young Children: The Effects of Exercise Programs involving Rhythm Play on the Potential for Physical Expression

This study aims to examine the potential for physical expression on the part of infants through observations of their motions before and after exercise programs, with an understanding of the potential for physical expression as the development of a sociality that seeks to communicate with other children in the experience of an exercise program. The 106 study participants comprised 29 three-year-olds, 44 four-year-olds, and 33 five-year-olds. During the exercise intervention period, a exercise program focusing on rhythm play was carried out for 6 minutes per day. The ability for physical expression was analyzed using 12 criteria related to the areas of motion, space, dynamics, time, and relationships, which revealed the characteristics of each grade of students. Significant interactions were observed in criteria 11 and 12, related to the area of relationships, across all grades. Specifically, in the efforts of those from around the age of four, which involved repeating motions in a particular rhythm, it was shown that this could be expected to greatly increase the impact on the potential for bodily expression. It was discovered that the experience of an exercise program involving rhythm play, even if they only experienced it a few times, brought a greater degree of richness to the movement of the children while at the same time expanding their awareness of other children and giving rise to behaviors through which they actively participated in communication.