By Stephanie Lord-Darby
If you’ve got a preschool-aged child, you’ve probably noticed something different about today’s classrooms. Teachers are pressing pause on sit-still learning and adding in movement, brain breaks, and short physical break-out sessions. Kids are getting up, stretching, dancing, and moving their bodies between more formal tasks.
It’s like the education system cottoned on to something we’ve known for years: movement and learning are deeply connected.
Think of popular brain-break channels like Danny Go, GoNoodle, or Cosmic Kids Yoga. Aussie kids are jumping, twisting, and stretching their way through the school day—and it is not “just for fun”. This kind of intentional movement, exercise, and brain break time is part of what we call physical literacy.
What is physical literacy?
Steven-Smith (2016) describes physical literacy as the mastery of fundamental movement skills that allow children to move confidently and with control in a wide range of settings. In simple terms, it’s helping kids feel at home in their own bodies. Able to run, jump, balance, throw, catch, climb, and more, so they can join in, stay active, and do their best.
For more than 40 years, we’ve been saying the same thing at GymbaROO: when children are supported to become their most coordinated selves, it changes the way they engage with learning every single day. Healthy body, healthy mind.
And research backs this up. Education researchers have long known that “physically active kids perform better academically” (Stevens-Smith, 2016).
Why movement matters so much for young brains
At GymbaROO, none of this is new. For over four decades, our programs have been built around a simple, powerful truth:
Movement is the key to learning.
Early movement experiences give children the stimulation and skills that lay the foundations for all complex thinking, doing, and being.
Why? Movement lights up all areas of the brain important for learning. From birth, children are wired to move through a sequence of physical milestones—rolling, crawling, sitting, standing, walking, climbing. Each of these movement milestones lines up with key stages of brain development.
The quality of these early movements helps determine how strong and well-organised those brain pathways become. Stronger pathways mean a stronger foundation for learning later on.
And there’s another important piece: children who are socially and emotionally well tend to be happier—and happy children learn.
Physical literacy: more than ABCs and 123s
In the classroom, teachers are now weaving movement into all kinds of academic learning through integrated lessons and brain breaks. Becoming physically literate is not something children can achieve by sitting still and listening; it comes from engaging in physical activity (Roetert & Jefferies, 2014).
Cochrane (2021) reminds us that physical literacy is about far more than just knowing your ABCs. It is the foundation of movement itself and, by extension, a foundation of learning. The Australian Sports Commission’s Play Well framework (2025) reinforces this, highlighting the importance of “holistic lifelong learning through movement and physical activity” for physical, psychological, social, and cognitive wellbeing.
In other words, movement is not an “extra”. It is core business for growing healthy, capable learners.
What teachers notice about GymbaROO kids
Across Australia, GymbaROO children are a welcome addition to classrooms.
Teachers often tell us that these children are:
- physically fit,
- socially adept,
- emotionally mature, and
- ready to learn.
They tend to approach school tasks with more ease and confidence.
That’s because the GymbaROO program is specifically designed to prepare a child’s brain and body for the higher-order challenges that school brings. We focus on making sure children are both physically and neurologically ready to learn.
Movement: how young brains grow
Movement is not just “exercise” or a way to burn off energy. It is one of the main ways young brains grow and organise themselves.
When children move, they are not only building muscles. They are also creating and strengthening the brain pathways that support:
- focus,
- memory,
- self-regulation, and
- academic performance.
Put simply: children need to move to learn.
At GymbaROO, we support this essential brain and body development through a carefully sequenced program of motor skills. These skills build from the ground up—step by step—like climbing a ladder.
If earlier rungs on that ladder are missed or underdeveloped, it can be harder for children to build the more advanced skills they need in the classroom. That’s why we place purposeful movement at the heart of everything we do.
Because movement is not just something extra you add on top of learning.
Movement truly is the foundation of learning.
References
Carl, J., Barratt, J., Wanner, P., Töpfer, C., Cairney, J., & Pfeifer, K. (2022). The effectiveness of physical literacy interventions: A systematic review with meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 52(12). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-022-01738-4
GymbaROO-KindyROO. (2025, January 8). Why GymbaROO kids excel academically. https://www.gymbaroo.com.au/about-us/why-gymbaroo/gymbaroo-kids-excel-academically/
GymbaROO-KindyROO. (2025, March 12). How GymbaROO-KindyROO prepares your child for NAPLAN success. https://www.gymbaroo.com.au/articles/how-gymbaroo-kindyroo-prepares-your-child-for-naplan-success/
Play well. (2025). Australian Sports Commission. https://www.ausport.gov.au
Stevens-Smith, D. A. (2016). Physical literacy: Getting kids active for life. Strategies, 29(5), 3–9.