Early Childhood Physical Activity Resources
MSU Extension develops practical resources to support quality physical activity at early care and education (ECE) programs. These materials are designed for child care providers, families, and community champions who support infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in getting enough daily physical activity to support their growth, development, and overall wellbeing.
All resources below are free to use and share. Child care programs are encouraged to share these resources with staff and families, include them in classes or newsletters, and use them as part of outreach, education, or other support efforts.
Early Care and Education Nutrition and Physical Activity Guide
Early Care and Education settings play a powerful role in creating positive experiences with food and movement. See how community champions can apply the Six-Step Community Change Model to strengthen the health of young children.
Early Childhood Physical Activity Best Practices
The Healthier Child Care Environments Toolkit is a comprehensive list of online resources, curated by MSU Extension, that help home or center-based child care providers create healthy, high-quality spaces for children. Use the Physical Activity section to better understand recommended best practices and ways you can achieve them for infant and child indoor and outdoor play and learning.
Early Childhood Screen Time Reduction Facilitator Guide
Six lessons for childcare providers to use in teaching children ages 2-5 about reducing screen time. Help children understand how sedentary screen time negatively impacts their health, and alternative activities they can do to support their growth and development. Each lesson comes with complementary teaching materials and family newsletters.
Doing Yoga with Young Children
A practical, educator‑friendly guide designed to help adults safely introduce yoga to toddlers and preschoolers as an inclusive form of physical activity. It includes ideas for successful classroom implementation as well as sample safety rules. The resource also provides detailed examples of age‑appropriate yoga props, poses, and activities — including yoga “peanut” ball activity cards — along with child‑friendly breathing exercises that support calming, self‑regulation, and smooth transitions.
Get Moving Early Childhood Physical Activity Facilitator Guide
Six lessons for childcare providers to use in teaching children ages 3-5 about physical activity. Help children understand how their muscles, bones, and hearts work together to give them strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance. Also teach them what kinds of activities support their growth and development and what activities need to be done in moderation. Each lesson comes with complementary teaching materials and family newsletters.
Go NAPSACC Starter Guide
The Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self‑Assessment for Child Care is a free, evidence‑based online program that helps Michigan child care providers strengthen policies, practices, and environments to support whole‑child health and meet licensing and accreditation standards. Use this guide to understand how Go NAPSACC works, how to enroll, and how to use it to strength your program across eight key content areas, including nutrition, physical activity, outdoor play, screen time, breastfeeding, oral health, farm to ECE, and social‑emotional health.
Physical Activity Action Steps for Child Care Providers
Based on the Go NAPSACC best practices for child cares, this resource translates evidence‑based goals into clear, doable actions for early care and education programs. Organized around three focus areas — infant and child physical activity, outdoor play and learning, and screen time — the guide helps directors, teachers, and family child care providers create and strength sustainable policies, daily routines, environments, and staff practices that support children’s healthy growth and development.
Michigan State University Extension Physical Activity - Kids
Looking for ways to be active? Whether you’re just getting started or searching for new ideas, MSU Extension offers fun, practical ways to build movement into your day. Learn more about how much physical activity children of different ages need and how you can help them achieve it.
Print
Email