Course:KIN355/2020 Projects/Chasing and Fleeing Games
Defining the Concept and Its Importance
Chasing and fleeing games can be defined as a form of organized physical activity, traditionally played by school-aged children (White et al., 2016). Typically, one child is assigned as the participant who is "it" and they must chase and attempt to reach their peers who are fleeing. Chasing and fleeing games afford the opportunity for children to develop skills across various domains, such as the cognitive and motor domains, and explore basic movement concepts. For example, through participating in chasing and fleeing games, children are able to further develop their spatial awareness, relationship awareness and body management (Bredin, 2020b). These structured gym activities are also beneficial because they are developmentally appropriate, promote creativity and are generally more enjoyable (White et al., 2016).
One significant basic movement concept that can be explored in chasing and fleeing games is spatial awareness (Bredin, 2020b). Since chasing and fleeing games allow children to move freely within a given space, this provides children with the opportunity to “differentiate between self-space and general space, an understanding of directions, levels and pathways” (Bredin, 2020b). Additionally, chasing and fleeing games provide the opportunity to develop relationship awareness. It is necessary to learn to move effectively in relation to other objects and people in chasing and fleeing games. Participating in group games also influences children to understand complex movement relationships and peer-to-peer interactions. Children must be aware of their own positioning, the positioning of others and the environment around them. This encourages development in the social domain as it allows for competition, interpersonal interaction and socially appropriate behaviour according to the tag game rules.
The ability to maintain balance and stability is essential to understanding basic body movement patterns (Bredin, 2020b). One must be balanced and ready at all times to move in any direction. Ready position is commonly learned and used to maintain balance throughout the games. This includes having bent knees to sustain a low centre of gravity, which would allow for quick movements in a variety of directions. Children playing chasing and fleeing games monitor and maintain their centre of balance so they can change directions at a moment's notice. Developing proper balancing techniques will help them in movement scenarios outside of play where they have to maintain balance. Walking, running and dodging are examples of gross motor skills that can be developed in chasing and fleeing games as well. These games can also help improve speed, agility and coordination, as many different body parts must move synchronously and smoothly.
Structured gym activities, such as chasing and fleeing games, have shown to be more advantageous than traditional aerobic exercise, such as running on a treadmill (White et al., 2016). This is because engaging and creative activities such as chasing and fleeing games are perceived as more enjoyable and motivating for children. To contrast, highly structured activities are less preferred and may be seen as a “barrier to physical activity” (White et al., 2016). Moreover, chasing and fleeing games are consistently ranked as one of the most preferred activities by school-aged children. Studies have also shown that through engaging in activities such as chasing and fleeing games, people “[place] less of an attentional focus on their introspective pain cues associated with exercise at a high intensity and greater attention on the activity itself, the impact of environmental factors such as gym game equipment [and] the opportunity to move throughout a large open space. [This can lead] to a higher unconsciously self-regulated exercise intensity while maintaining high effect” (White et al., 2016). These games are important tools in every educator and coach's rolodex of activities to help further childhood development. Chasing and fleeing games provide enjoyable opportunities that can help with motor development and lead to positive health benefits.
Role in Childhood Development and Contemporary Considerations
Chasing and fleeing games provide many benefits to the healthy development of children and the proficient performance of movements. Anaerobic exercise consists of short bursts of intense physical activity without the use of inhaled oxygen (Patel et al., 2017). To contrast, aerobic exercise is a type of exercise that requires continuous breathing, such as running, swimming or walking for extended periods of time (Patel et al., 2017). Chasing and fleeing games include short bursts of anaerobic exercise but also consist of long periods of continuous running, which is a form of aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise has been proven to help the developing brain and more specifically, the executive functions of the brain. The executive functions control effort, goal-directed cognition, and behaviour. Aerobic exercise can also help children develop impulse control and selective attention (Tine & Butler, 2012). These skills can help children succeed in academic environments and become more adaptive. Studies have proven children of lower socioeconomic status have more difficulties than others with selective attention but participation in aerobic exercise increases their ability to attend to information (Tine & Butler, 2012). This is very important to create more equal opportunities in their development with their peers.
Chasing and fleeing games also help to develop fundamental motor skills such as balance, spatial awareness, and also physical development such as muscle strength and coordination. “Fundamental motor skills help children control their bodies, manipulate their environment, and form complex skills and movement patterns involved in sports and other recreational activities” (Akbari et al., 2009). Developing fundamental motor skills is paramount to childhood development. Activities such as chasing and fleeing games enhance muscle growth, heart, and lung development as well as other significant organs essential for typical physical development (Clements, 2004). Chasing and fleeing games are valuable to the development of cardiovascular health through the development and strengthening of the heart and lungs. Good cardiovascular health is vital to daily activities; moving in one’s environment help prevent health-related issues such as heart disease. As mentioned previously, chasing and fleeing games have proven to be more beneficial and enjoyable than traditional gym activities such as running on a treadmill (White et al., 2016). It is thought that children preoccupied with the enjoyment of games and physical activities, rather than being distracted by pain or discomfort caused by physical exercise, work harder (White et al., 2016). Being distracted from the discomforts caused by physical exercise can result in more health benefits because they are more likely to sustain higher intensity exercise for longer periods than when they would when affected by discomfort. Children must be active during childhood because there are many sensitive time periods for motor development in early childhood. Sensitive time periods are spans of time in which optimal development can occur (Zeanah et al., 2011).
An important contemporary issue that early childhood educators, teachers, or grassroots coaches need to be aware of is that most children do not meet daily physical activity requirements as outlined by Health Canada. “Boys and girls should accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate or more intense physical activity per day for optimal growth, maturation and development, and for extensive physical and mental health benefits” (Taylor & Kolen, 2016, p.36). Children do not spend a comparable amount of time participating in physical activity, than the generations past. This may be due to the increase in technology-based games and activities (Clements, 2004). The fact that children are playing less and are not as physically active is a large issue in today’s society because it can negatively impact their health and motor development. One of the main reasons that children drop out of sports or do not participate in physical activity is the lack of enjoyment or loss of “fun.” Studies have proven that chasing and fleeing games are consistently ranked by children as one of the top two most enjoyable games (Foster, 1930). Chasing and fleeing games “provide opportunities for students to develop chasing, fleeing and spatial awareness skills while promoting health-related fitness in enjoyable ways. These activities are designed to include and challenge all students’ physical skills while maintaining enjoyable, health-promoting, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity” (Ningthoujam & Nongthombam, 2017). It is paramount that coaches, grass route educators, and parents create opportunities for physical development that are enjoyable so that children will continue to participate. Incorporating chasing and fleeing games can help to keep children engaged and active.
Practical Applications
The developmental opportunities provided through chasing and fleeing games include spatial awareness, relationship awareness, and body management (Bredin, 2020b). The combination of anaerobic and aerobic exercise within this game facilitates improvements in executive functioning, cardiovascular health and overall positive childhood development (Tine & Butler, 2012; Clements, 2004). The most significant advantage is how enjoyable chasing and fleeing games are for children. This is because when children are enjoying themselves, the effects of fatigue are not attended to as prominently (White et al., 2016). Furthermore, age period impacts what developmental skills are in progress in relation to sensory-motor acquisition (Bredin, 2020c). Collectively, these are important factors to consider when designing effective physical activity programs for children. Through these types of games, children will also have the chance to create meaningful friendships and connections with their classmates. The most common way to implement chasing and fleeing activities is through different versions of tag games such as Duck Duck Goose and Treasure Hunt.
Duck Duck Goose
Purpose statement
The simple activity of Duck Duck Goose is among the first games children learn how to play in early childhood. This activity is an introduction to the concept of chasing and fleeing through a circle time exercise. The most notable fundamental motor skills developed within this game is running and jumping up from a sitting position (Bredin, 2020b). These movement patterns encourage body schema development (Bredin, 2020c). This can be explained as an individual's personal understanding of how to move their body parts (Bredin, 2020c). Additional body actions including tapping heads, and quickly sitting down, which also facilitate aspects within body awareness (Bredin, 2020c). Duck Duck Goose is an exciting and interactive game that is particularly suitable for beginner level learners.
Target age
This activity is designed for children between three to seven years of age, within the preschool to middle childhood age periods (Bredin, 2020a). The rules and instructions of Duck Duck Goose are designed to be simple and easy to understand. Children within this age category must develop a strong basis of laterality leading to the selection of a lateral preference (Bredin, 2020c). This is established through providing the opportunity for children to choose a preferred hand to tap the heads of their classmates (Bredin, 2020c).
Apparatus / Equipment
There is no equipment necessary.
Environment / Set Up
This game should be run within a large play area such as an outdoor field or gymnasium.
Instructions
Students are instructed to sit next to each other and face inward to form a large circle. Then one child is assigned to be “it”. This child walks behind their peers and taps each one of their heads while saying either “duck” or “goose”. When the word “duck” is said the child’s peer must remain seated. However, when the word “goose is said, this peer must then jump up quickly to chase and attempt to tag the child who is “it”. The objective of the game is to tag the person who is “it” before they run around the entire circle and take the spot of the peer they tapped to be “goose”.
Modifications
One way to modify this game for young learners is to provide equipment to assist children in completing the movement tasks. Assisting children in helping them achieve movement goals of the game will keep them engaged and motivated to continue playing. An example could be providing the children assigned to be chasers with a scarf to increase their ability to reach and tag their peers.
Conversely, a modification to make the game more challenging for older students could be placing obstacles across the play area. This will ensure children do not lose interest and feel optimal challenge while playing. An example could be placing cones around the area and instructing students that they must move around the cones. This creates an additional challenge to be aware of their surroundings and further develop skills related to agility.
Treasure Hunt
Purpose Statement
The objective of this capture the flag inspired exercise is to grab as many bean bags as possible from the opposing team’s hula hoop. This dynamic game provides opportunities for young children to explore, learn, and control different movement experiences. Treasure Hunt keeps children involved in understanding their own body actions as well as their movement patterns in relation to their peers. This complexity of this activity allows children to further develop proficiency in gross motor movements. The main fundamental motor skills developed within this chasing and fleeing game are balance, running and dodging. This includes facilitating mature phases of each locomotor developmental sequence (Bredin, 2020b). Moreover, in the process of attempting to complete this objective of the game, children develop retentive skills within object manipulation (Bredin, 2020b). This can be described as the ability to hold the bean bags with one or two hands while running.
Target age
This activity is designed for children between seven to twelve years old, within the middle to late childhood age periods (Bredin, 2020a). Children within this age category are developing an understanding of directionality. This game provides opportunities for egocentric localization by identifying where objects are placed in relation to the individual (Bredin, 2020c). In addition, this activity allows children to learn object localization by understanding the location of the object in relation to external factors within the environment such as cones, peers and more (Bredin, 2020c). These concepts are used by children to examine what is the best course of action to take the bean bags from the opposing team’s hula hoop.
Apparatus / Equipment
The equipment needed for this game are cones, coloured pinnies, bean bags and hula hoops.
Environment / Set Up
This game should be played within a large play area such as an outdoor field or gymnasium.
Instructions
Students are divided into two teams and are then instructed to wear pinnies to indicate their team colour. The play space is then divided in half by a boundary line indicated with cones. Each team is then assigned half of the space and given a collection of coloured bean bags to be placed within a hula hoop. From a creative perspective, these bean bags within the hula hoop can symbolize treasure that must be protected and stolen. As soon as one team's members passes this boundary line, they are no longer considered safe. In this scenario the opposing team can then tag this individual to make them return to their own designated area. The game ends when one team has successfully stolen all the bean bags of the opposing team.
Modifications
A modification to make the activity easier could be playing within a smaller area. In a smaller room or space, children would not have to run as far to reach the opposing team’s hula hoop of bean bags. This would provide children with easier access and more opportunities to successfully achieve the goal of Treasure Hunt.
Whereas, a modification to make this game more challenging could be replacing bean bags with balls. This creates an additional challenge because balls are considered more difficult to grasp and are likely to roll or bounce away if dropped. Therefore, this will encourage children to problem solve and further develop their object manipulation skills (Bredin, 2020b).
Summary
Chasing and fleeing games—also known as tag games—are organized games commonly played by school-aged children in PE classes. One child is identified as the “chaser.” The “chaser” must attempt to tag one of the other children fleeing away within the playing area. These games are fun, fast-paced and afford the opportunity for children to develop skills across various domains. For example, children can further develop their understanding of spatial awareness in the cognitive domain by moving with confidence to an open space. Participating children can gain health-related benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health, through short bursts of intense activity.
References
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