Free templateChild Development & Programming

Movement, Music & Whole-Body Learning Guide

A 14-page Learning Lab guide for three movement activities: Sound & Movement Exploration, Ribbon & Movement Art and Obstacle Course Builders. It gives ready-made parent communication scripts for three age groups, a short newsletter version, an educator quick reference with materials, prompts and observation ideas, an observation and documentation sheet, and a family handout of at-home ideas.

Format: Printable PDF · A4
Pages: 14
Best for: Educators · room leads
Updated: Oct 2026

Download free template See what’s inside

No sign-up required. Print it and share it with your team — it’s free for any child care program to use.

Preview of the Movement, Music & Whole-Body Learning Guide

What’s inside

Parent scripts, educator reference pages and a family handout

Parent Communication ScriptsA short script and a Conversation Starter for each activity at 12–18 months, 19 months–under 3 years and 3–4 years. The guide says they can be used during pick-up, in daily reports, newsletters or on parent communication boards.
Quick Social Media/Newsletter VersionOne paragraph summarising the month, five Learning Highlights and a “Try it at home” line suggesting a family dance party, ribbon movements with scarves or a simple obstacle course.
Educator Quick Reference HandoutLearning Goals and “Connections to Flight”, then for each of Explore, Create and Build: Materials, Educator Prompts, Learning Opportunities and Observation Ideas.
Observation & Documentation SheetA “Watch For” checklist under Physical Development, Social-Emotional Development and Cognitive Development, five items each, with a Notes area for child observations.
Family Connection Handout“Today We Learned Through Movement!” — what children explored, the skills involved, and five Try It at Home ideas: Dance Party Challenge, Freeze Dance, Ribbon Fun, Family Obstacle Course and Follow the Leader.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

1
Start with the quick referenceThe Educator Quick Reference Handout begins on page 7 and holds the materials, prompts and observation ideas for the three activities. Read it before the parent scripts at the front.
2
Gather the materialsExplore lists shakers, bells, drums, rhythm sticks and scarves; Create lists ribbons or streamers, scarves and large paper rolls; Build lists cones, mats, blocks, tunnels, hoops and more.
3
Observe with the checklistPrint the Observation & Documentation Sheet, tick what you see under the three development headings and write a line in the Notes area.
4
Tell families the same dayCopy the script for your age group into a daily report or say it at pick-up, add the Conversation Starter, and send the Family Connection Handout home.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Personalise the scripts

The scripts are written generally (“Today your child explored…”). Add one specific thing the child did so the message does not read as a template.

Vary the music

One of the Explore prompts is “What happens when we move to different kinds of music?” Have a fast piece and a slow piece ready to compare.

Check the course before children do

The first Build prompt is “How can we build a safe course?” Walk it yourself, check mats and spacing, then ask children the same question.

Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro

Plan the week in the app — tagged to your framework automatically

Build the same plan in ChildFriendly Pro and every observation you log is tagged to FLIGHT, ELECT, ELF or your own outcomes, added to each child’s portfolio and shared with families in their daily journal.