What are Fundamental Movement Skills?

Fundamental Movement Skills are the building blocks necessary for the development of more specialised, complex skills used in play, games, sports and other physical activities. 

Fundamental Movement Skills are classified into 3 main categories: 

Stability skills 

These skills include: balancing, bending, turning, twisting and stretching 

These skills involve moving or standing still with one part of the body making contact with the ground, or equipment, and moving around your own vertical or horizontal axis. 

Locomotor skills 

These skills include: walking, running, jumping, hopping, dodging, skipping, galloping  

Transporting the body in any direction from one point to another 

Object control skills 

These skills include: throwing, catching, kicking, punting, striking, dribbling (basketball and soccer) 

Controlling objects such as balls, hoops, and bats by hand or by foot

Why are fundamental movement skills so important
Why are they so important?

Fundamental Movement Skills are the building blocks for more complex skills which allow us to take part in sports and other physical activities.  
 

For example, the Fundamental Movement Skill of running is the starting point for moving around the court in tennis or netball. If a child does not develop these skills, it limits their physical capabilities and they are therefore less likely to participate successfully in many sporting and recreational activities.

Benefits of mastering fundamental movement skills
What else does developing Fundamental Movement Skills lead to?
  • Improved physical literacy
  • Influences physical activity levels from childhood to adolescence
  • Improved health-related fitness
  • Decreased risk of becoming overweight or obese
  • Better academic outcomes
  • Higher confidence and self-esteem
  • Increased social skills
  • Lubans, D. R., Morgan, P. J., Cliff, D. P., Barnett, L. M., & Okely, A. D. (2010). Fundamental movement skills in children and adolescents: review of associated health benefits. Sports medicine, 40, 1019-1035.
Guide to when each of the fundamental movement skills should be developed
Sequence of FMS development

Fundamental movement skills in children develop at different rates. To the right is a guide to when each of the different FMS should be introduced and the expected time of mastery. Download the sequence of FMS development pdf >

The Fundamental Movement Skills
Learn about 24 Fundamental Movement Skills, including what they are, their stages of development, teaching strategies and other helpful resources
Catching
Catching

Fully developed catching skills don’t develop until 6-9 years old. Children need a lot of opportunities to catch balls, as they learn to track the trajectory of the balls.  

Teaching strategies and resources for catching

Dodging
Dodging

A fairly complex skill, children should be introduced to dodging in year 2 with tag games and should be fine-tuned by year 5. Dodging requires the development of previous skills such as running, skipping and hopping 

Teaching strategies and resources for Dodging

Dribble (basketball)
Dribble (Basketball)

Bouncing the ball while walking or running is a very difficult skill which should be introduced in year 1 and mastered by year 4. 

Teaching strategies and resources for basketball dribbling

Children soccer dribbling
Dribble (soccer)

Dribbling involves moving with the ball whilst controlling it. This skill can be introduced in Kindergarten/Pre-school as it will help children develop their ball tracking skills as they tap the ball and run after it. The skill should be mastered by age 10. 

Teaching strategies and resources for soccer dribbling

children stretching
The Core Fundamental Movement Skills

Balancing - Balance starts developing soon after birth as children start acquiring skills such as rolling, sitting and walking. It’s important to focus on balancing with young children as it is an essential part of everything we do and affects the development of other locomotor and object control skills. 

Teaching strategies and resources for balancing 

Catching – Fully developed catching skills don’t develop until 6-9 years old. Children need a lot of opportunities to catch balls, as they learn to track the trajectory of the balls.  

Teaching strategies and resources for catching

Dodging – A fairly complex skill, children should be introduced to dodging in year 2 with tag games and should be fine-tuned by year 5. Dodging requires the development of previous skills such as running, skipping and hopping 

Teaching strategies and resources for Dodging

Dribble (Basketball) - Bouncing the ball while walking or running is a very difficult skill which should be introduced in year 1 and mastered by year 4. 

Teaching strategies and resources for basketball dribbling

Dribble (Soccer) - dribbling involves moving with the ball whilst controlling it. This skill can be introduced in Kindergarten/Pre-school as it will help children develop their ball tracking skills as they tap the ball and run after it. The skill should be mastered by age 10. 

Teaching strategies and resources for soccer dribbling

Galloping - Galloping is used in many types of dance and helps develop leg strength, coordination and dynamic balance and endurance. Children learn to gallop between the ages of 2 and 3. 

Teaching strategies and resources for galloping

Hopping - Hopping requires balance and strength which is a good indicator of being able to maintain balance while moving. Children between the age of 5 and 7 should show marked improvement in speed, control and technique.  

Teaching strategies and resources for hopping 

Jumping - Jumping should be introduced in Kindergarten/Pre-school and children will be expected to master the skill by the end of Year 3. Jumping can either be for distance or for height. Both are similar in teaching style. 

Teaching strategies and resources for jumping

Kicking (soccer) – Kicking should be introduced in Kindergarten and be mastered by Year 4. Encourage the use of the inside of the foot initially to contact the ball and then introduce different types of kick using the top of the foot.   

Teaching strategies and resources for soccer kicking

Over arm throw – should be introduced at the end of kindergarten/pre-school. It is a very complex movement, but encouraging children to throw in playful ways is an effective way to teach the over arm throw in the early years. 

Teaching strategies and resources for overarm throwing

Punting – the punt, or AFL kick is a difficult skill to master as it involves kicking a moving ball whilst it is still in the air. This skill should be introduced at age 5-6 and be mastered at age 10 or older.

Teaching strategies and resources for punting 

Running – children should be introduced to the skill of running by kindergarten/pre-school and should master the skill by the end of year 3. The ability to run is essential to most sports and is a skill that should be practiced very often. 

Teaching strategies and resources for running

Skipping – before learning to skip, children should be able to hop, gallop and side-step. Skipping should be mastered at the end of year 3. 

Teaching strategies and resources for skipping

Striking – striking is the most complex fundamental movement skills, and is essential in sports such as tee ball, cricket, tennis, hockey, and golf. Striking should be introduced in the foundation and by year 2 a two handed strike should be doable. 

Teaching strategies and resources for striking

Underarm throw - used over short distances, the underarm throw helps children develop the skills to make perceptual judgements on distance, space, and release strength. 

Teaching strategies and resources for underarm throwing

For early learners 

Climbing - Starts from an early age before children can walk. It shows a child’s ability to problem solve as they manage their body’s on unfamiliar surfaces 

Teaching strategies and resources for climbing

Crawling - Crawling enables babies to learn how to co-ordinate their arms and legs, develops spatial awareness and builds upper body strength. 

Teaching strategies and resources for crawling

Grasping - Grasping is a fine motor movement that develops in babies as early as 3 months old. Grasping is a skill that will provide the building blocks for all fine motor skills. 

Teaching strategies and resources for grasping

Head and neck control - Tummy time is very important for babies to build neck, head and upper body strength to crawl and pull to stand when they are older. Babies must develop head control before they can work on walking or sitting. 

Teaching strategies and resources for head and neck control

Rolling - As a child's first form of independent movement, rolling is important for the development of core strength and whole body coordination 

Teaching strategies and resources for rolling

Standing - Pulling to standing position and cruising are important developmental milestones that happen before walking. Cruising is when a child holds onto an object such as the edge of a table and uses it as a support to walk 

Teaching strategies and resources for standing

Walking - Babies will progress from walking with support to walking with arms held up and legs wide with an irregular gait and lots of stumbles and falls. Walking will start anytime from 8 months to 18 months. 

Teaching strategies and resources for walking

Actionable ideas
So, what can you do to accelerate your children’s fundamental movement skill development?
how to teach FMS
How to Teach FMS

In the first few years of schooling, physical activity should be centred around the introduction, exploration, and focused teaching of basic Fundamental Movement Skills. 

When teaching FMS, try to: 

  1. Break down skills into simpler movements. Teach each part sequentially which will increase confidence and understanding of the requirements of the skill 
  2. Demonstrate the skills as you want them to be performed, saying the teaching cues when executing them 
  3. Use child friendly and imaginative cues e.g. a penguin foot for kicking a soccer ball with the inside of the foot 
  4. Provide lots of encouragement and constructive feedback 
  5. Focus on distance before accuracy 
  6. Use the appropriate equipment. I.e children will use smaller soccer balls than adults 
  7. Make it fun! 

To find out more about how to teach FMS, check out our Teaching FMS Workshop 

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Fundamental Movement Skills Activities

Balancing -> balance twister, musical balances, friendly pixie, beans 
Running -> connect 4, blast off, wicked witch (locomotor) 
Catching -> wicked witch (catching), all types of catching (ECEC) 
Kicking -> shrinking goals, introducing goalie, kicking stations 
Jumping -> lilypads and leapfrogs 
Skipping -> rock bridge tree tag, waspital, hula hoop car trip 
Over arm throw -> catch the magical creatures (throwing), hoop elimination 
Galloping -> Animal walks, turtles snakes and islands 
Walking -> Indoor obstacle course 

Check out some of KIDDO’s other FMS content
Research, presentations and videos to broaden your knowledge of FMS
Children developing their fundamental movement skills
KIDDO improves fundamental movement skills and confidence to be active in school aged children

Discover how KIDDO boosts FMS and confidence in school-aged children, improving physical literacy and fostering lifelong engagement in physical activity. 

 

Access the article here 

Children holding balls above their head
Teaching fundamental movement skills in Kindy and Pre-Primary with KIDDO

A workshop for early childhood educators, you’ll come to understand: 

  • The importance of FMS 

  • How to teach FMS 

  • How to deliver a KIDDO lesson 

  • Assessment of FMS 

 

The presentation can be accessed here

Assessing fundamental movement skills
Assess Fundamental Movement Skills with KIDDO

Check out some resources on how to use KIDDO’s FMS assessment platform here 

Teaching FMS Webinar Part 1

The impact of FMS development, how to teach FMS and deliver fun and engaging lessons 

 After watching this video you’ll know: 

  • How a child's fundamental movement skill development can impact their schooling and their entire life 

  • How to teach FMS and how to deliver an effective and engaging FMS lesson 

Download the presentation pdf document > 

Teaching FMS Webinar Part 2

Programming, planning, assessment and school outcomes 

 After watching this video you’ll know: 

  • Expert advice on programming and planning for FMS across the school year 

  • How to assess Fundamental Movement Skills like a pro 

  • The tangible outcomes that schools are seeing in the FMS development of their students 

 Download the presentation pdf document > 

Balancing
KIDDO's FMS Teaching Cues Poster

A poster that provides teaching tips for a range of fundamental movement skills 

Download pdf