It seems to appear that organized daily PA (2x20 min of exercising on carpet, 50-70 min of walking outdoors) in preschool children along with enough space for spontaneous PA establishes prerequisites for their further healthy development.

The aim of the research was to analyse the level of movement skills in pre-school aged children in context of stimulation to physical activities at school and in the family background. The research group consisted of 62 pre-school aged children (28 boys, 37 girls) with average age 5,6 years. TGMD-2 test was used for the assessment of the quality of movement skills. Questionnaire ESPA was used for the assessment of the stimulation level to physical actvities of children. The level of pre-school children’s movement skills was assessed in groups with different stimulation to physical activities. Among those groups was found statistical significant difference (p ≤ 0,001). Children with high and above average stimulation to physical activity show higher level of managed movement skills. Due to low age of children, parents play significant role. The research results in pre-school children indicate positive importance of aimed stimulation to children’s physical activity which creates quality basis for future lifelong sports. The data was obtained within the project GF_PdF_2018_006.

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Při hodnocení pohybové aktivity dětí je obvykle zachována standardní klasifikace věkových kategorií. Mladším školním věkem označujeme poměrně širokou etapu od 6 do 11, resp. 12 let věku člověka. Při deskripci a interpretaci dat o pohybové aktivitě (PA) dětí je ale nutné zohlednit specifika průběhu ontogeneze v tomto věkovém období a zaměřit se na jejich podrobnější zkoumání. Cílem práce je komparace úrovně pohybové aktivitydětí z 1. stupně základních škol v jednotlivých segmentech dne a týdne z pohledu 2 fází ontogeneze: raného školního věku a středního školního věku. Hodnota aktivního energetického výdeje (AEE : kcal × kg-1 × den-1) byla získána prostřednictvím akcelerometru Caltrac a průměrný denní počet kroků (KROKY : kroky × den-1) pedometrem Yamax Digi Walker. Týdenním měřením byly zjištěny v ukazatelích PA mezi oběmasledovanými soubory signifikantní rozdíly (p<0,001) téměř ve všech sledovaných segmentech dne a týdne. Nejmenší rozdíl v hodnotách byl ale zjištěn v době pobytu dětí ve škole. U dětí středního školního věku zůstává hodnota AEE v době volného času, po ukončení školní výuky, stejná jako u dětí v raném školním věku. Ve dnech víkendu je AEE oproti hodnotám raného školního věku nižší.

The influence of fine and gross motor development on cognitive abilities continues in both preschool and younger school age. Complex researches confirm the existence of a positive relationship between the amount of physical activity, cognitive abilities and academic achievement. The spectrum and level of motor skills are positively correlated with cognitive functions and academic achievement, so it is important to focus on developing basic motor skills in children. The aim of the research is to assess the relationship between the level of gross motor skills and the level of cognitive competence in children who undergo the compulsory school attendance. The research was conducted as part of the GF_PdF_2019_0003 project. The research group consisted of 200 primary school aged children-9.87 ± 0.65 year old. The Ethics Committee approval of the author's department was obtained for the research. The participation of the child in the research was completely voluntary, anonymous, free of charge and with the possibility to withdraw from the research anytime. To assess the level of cognitive abilities, a Cognitive Skills Test (TKS) was used to diagnose three areas: verbal, quantitative, and nonverbal skills. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2 was used to diagnose the level of gross motor skills. It is focused on the determination of locomotor and object control skills as components of human's gross motor skills. The correlation of the relationship between cognitive abilities and gross motor levels was evaluated at p≤0.05. Results revealed that the level of acquired motor skills is very low. It does not meet the requirements determined by curricular documents on primary education in the field of physical education in the Czech Republic. A statistically significant difference in the TGMD-2 test standard score between girls and boys was not found (p≤0.67). At the overall level of cognitive abilities, no significant difference (p≤0.061) was observed in the studied children in terms of gender. Significant correlation between gross motor skills and cognitive abilities (p≤0.05) was confirmed in the given research group in both girls and boys. The relationship between the two variables shows moderate dependence (r = 0.43; rboys = 0.47; rgirls = 0.43). It is necessary to present the results of the research in the given field in professional journals and to apply it in the practice of primary school teachers.

The issue of executive functions is researched in connection with the readiness of pre-schoolers for compulsory school education. Executive functions include cognitive processes that corresponds with planning, thinking and organization of activities, as well as the ability to self-control. Work maturity and ability to concentrate on assigned tasks significantly influence the child's success in the education process.The assessment of readiness before entering the compulsory primary school education includes an assessment of the child's ability to maintain the pace of work. The project IGA_PdF_2019_015 dealt with the issue of the relationship among the pre-school child's motor skills level, compulsory school attendance, work maturity, work pace and concentration of attention. The relationship between the ability to cooperate and the level of motor skills was also examined. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the author's workplace and approval of the management of kindergartens and legal representatives of each child was obtained for its implementation. The research group consisted of 139 children (boys 73, girls 66) attending kindergartens in the last year of pre-school education, which is compulsory in the Czech Republic. The results confirm a significant relationship between working maturity and motor proficiency level (p≤0.05). Given the increasing demands on the level of knowledge and skills of children in compulsory school education, it is necessary to further investigate the issue and implement the findings into curricular documents for education in kindergartens. It is also necessary to review the undergraduate education of future kindergarten teachers.

The level of motor skills is an important indicator of a child's optimal growth and development. Shortcomings in this area can cause a gradual decrease in the child's activity in the school group, which negatively effects the child's adaptive behaviour. The aim of this pilot study was to analyse the relationship between the level of motor skills and the ability to adapt in a given social group -school class. The research group obtained 110 pupils of primary school aged 9-11. The data about adaptive behaviour skills were collected by Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale 2. The level of motor skills was monitored by TGMD-2 test. The research was authorised by the ethical committee of the pedagogical faculty at Olomouc. The aimed development of motor skills could lead to adaptation of pro-social behaviour also in older age categories. The data were collected within the Project IGA_PdF_2017_002.