Self-regulatory skills are broadly defined as the ability to manage emotions, focus attention, and inhibit some behaviors while activating others in accordance with social expectations and are an established indicator of academic success. Growing evidence links motor skills and physical activity to self-regulation. This study examined the efficacy of a motor skills intervention (i.e., the Children’s Health Activity Motor Program, CHAMP) that is theoretically grounded in Achievement Goal Theory on motor skill performance and self-regulation in Head Start preschoolers. A sample of 113 Head Start preschoolers (Mage = 51.91 + 6.5 months; 49.5% males) were randomly assigned to a treatment (n = 68) or control (n = 45) program. CHAMP participants engaged in 15, 40-minute sessions of a mastery climate intervention that focused on the development of motor skills over 5 weeks while control participants engaged in their normal outdoor recess period. The Delay of Gratification Snack Task was used to measure self-regulation and the Test of Gross Motor Development - 2nd Edition was used to assess motor skills. All measures were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Linear mixed models were fit for both self-regulation and motor skills. Results revealed a significant time*treatment interaction (p < .001). In regards to motor skills, post hoc comparisons found that all children improved their motor skills (p < .05), but the CHAMP group improved significantly more than the control group (p < .001). Children in CHAMP maintained their self-regulation scores across time while children in the control group scored significantly lower than the CHAMP group at the posttest (p < .05). CHAMP is a mastery climate movement program that may be an approach to enhance skills associated with healthy development in children (i.e., motor skills and self-regulation). This efficacy trial provided evidence that CHAMP helped maintain delay of gratification in preschool age children and significantly improved motor skills while participating in outdoor recess was not effective. CHAMP could help contribute to children’s learning related skills and physical development and subsequently to their academic success.

Physical activity (PA) and fundamental motor skills are important components of current and future trajectories of health in young children. This study examined the effects of a 5-week motor skill intervention on preschoolers' motor skill competence and their PA behaviors while participating in the motor skill intervention or outdoor free play (recess). A total of 102 preschoolers served as participants and were part of a motor skill intervention group (n = 64) or a control/outdoor free play group (n = 38). Children's motor skills were assessed before and after the intervention using the Test of Gross Motor Development-3rd edition. PA during the motor skill intervention and outdoor free play was assessed using accelerometers both immediately before the start (baseline, Week 0 or Week 1) and end (late, Week 5 or Week 6) of the intervention. All children significantly improved their motor skills from baseline to late assessment (p < 0.05). Children in the motor skill intervention demonstrated greater rates of change (p < 0.001) and scored higher on all motor skills at the late assessment compared with the control group (p < 0.001). There was no effect of group (control vs. intervention), but there was a significant effect of sex on children's PA during outdoor free play at baseline (p < 0.05). Similarly, there was no effect of group on PA during days with the movement program (intervention vs. outdoor free play) at either time point, but boys were more active than girls at the late assessment (p < 0.05). Last, children in the intervention engaged in more PA while participating in the intervention toward the end of the intervention than at the beginning. The 5-week motor skill intervention was effective at improving preschoolers' motor skills and rates of change in motor skills were higher for children who completed the intervention compared with children in the control group. Preschoolers in the intervention did demonstrate PA changes while participating in the intervention, but these changes did not translate outside of the intervention setting.

A growing body of research has illuminated beneficial effects of a single bout of physical activity (i.e., acute exercise) on cognitive function in school-age children. However, the influence of acute exercise on preschoolers’ cognitive function has not been reported. To address this shortcoming, the current study examined the effects of a 30-min bout of exercise on preschoolers’ cognitive function. Preschoolers’ cognitive function was assessed following a single bout of exercise and a single sedentary period. Results revealed that, after engaging in a bout of exercise, preschoolers exhibited markedly better ability to sustain attention, relative to after being sedentary (p = .006, partial eta square = .400). Based on these findings, providing exercise opportunities appears to enhance preschoolers’ cognitive function.

The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine if process- and product-oriented measures similarly evaluate changes in motor skills across an intervention and (2) examine the relationship between preschoolers’ motor skills when assessed using process-oriented and product-oriented measures before (pretest) and after (posttest) the intervention. Preschoolers (n = 65, M_age = 4.6 ± 0.42 years) completed both process- and product-oriented measures of six FMS – run, hop, jump, catch, throw, and kick, before and after a high-autonomy motor skill intervention. Aggregate total, locomotor, and ball skills, as well as each individual skill, were examined. Children demonstrated improvements in process-oriented (p < .01) skills, but only improved on the product hop, throw, and kick (p < .001) after the intervention. Children’s ranks on process- and product-oriented measures were correlated at pretest (r_s = 0.28–0.72) and posttest (r_s = 0.39–0.68). Therefore, process- and product-oriented measures assess different aspects of motor competence and do not equally evaluate intervention efficacy.