Wilma van der Leede, principal of De Waterhof, explains in the video how sport and exercise, learning through movement and learning to move, have been given a very important place in the school’s new vision. “Based on research we conducted with the team, we discovered that movement should support learning.” Jacey from Year 7 then explains how the class has been working with Fit & Vaardig for some time now. She sees a major advantage: “When we do Fit & Vaardig, I can always release my energy. It also makes me calmer, because I’m usually very active.”
Nick Keijser, physical education teacher, explains how Fit & Vaardig works: “The children do maths and language lessons through movement. They do this when they need to practise the assignments until they become automatic.” The school has now reached the point where the children must be offered this twice a week. Keijser: “So it is no longer a choice for the teachers. It is part of the school’s vision.” Nicky Freriks, the Year 7 teacher, is also positive: “Fit & Vaardig is an alternative to practising automatic skills on Chromebooks. We now do the things that children can learn quite quickly by heart while moving.” Freriks notices that the children really look forward to the activity sessions. They also benefit greatly from being able to stand up and move around for a while.
Watch the full video below: