Animal Fun

On June 2,staff across our Talkabout, Chatterbox and Outpost programs attended a personal development course called Animal Fun.

Thirty-one team members joined the course, which is aimed at helping students aged 3-6 years improve their gross and fine motor skills and social skills. It was designed by physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists from Curtin University’s Health Sciences Faculty.

Emeritus Professor Jan Piek developed the idea for Animal Fun as she recognised that most children in this age group love animals and enjoy pretend play. She matched the developmental skills to an animal movement to support children to engage in pretend play whilst at the same time practising the skills. Sue McLaren, Program Director and Facilitator was granted the license in 2016 to deliver the training world-wide.

Animal Fun is an evidence-based program and aligns with the Early Years Learning Framework and WA Curriculum. Children who engage with the Animal Fun Program for just 10 weeks can show significant improvement in both motor skills and social skills, including the fundamental movement skills of one-legged balance, throwing and showed significant improvements in social/emotional development.