This study evaluated the relationships between the frequency of 37 fundamental movement patterns observed in nurseries and kindergartens and motor abilities, using 6 items, in 3―5-year-old children. The frequency of the 37 fundamental movement patterns was assessed through observation by teachers in nurseries and kindergartens, and the MKS motor ability test for preschool children (25 meter dash/shuttle run, standing long jump, soft/tennis ball throw, dipping endurance, continuous jump over, ball catching) was used to assess motor ability. The participants were 526 teachers and 11,130 preschool children in 109 nurseries and kindergartens across the country. The relationship of the fundamental movement pattern of manipulation with the corresponding motor ability was stronger than the same for locomotion. Overall, each motor ability measurement item was shown to be significantly related to various fundamental movement patterns. Thus, the various experiences of a motor pattern and experience of the motor pattern as various plays are related to motor development. Moreover, although the children with high motor ability had high frequency of various fundamental movement patterns, certain non-locomotion motor patterns, such as “lying” or “digging,” were the most seen fundamental movement patterns in children with low motor ability.

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The aim of this study was to develop an affect scale using simple words and facial images in exercise, which can be used in children and people with disabilities to understand verbal expression. This scale consists of simple words and facial images. It is easy to use in an exercise setting and is assumed to be used in combination with other scales in some cases. It is comprised of three items ： negative affect, positive engagement, and tranquility. The validity of the developed affect scale was examined by finding the correlation coefficient of each of the three items with affect scale (Arai et al., 2003). The correlation coefficient was 0.66 (p＜.01) for negative affect, 0.68 (p＜.01) for positive engagement, and 0.61 (p＜.01) for tranquility. The practicality of the scale was examined by using it in a setting of comfortably paced running in a physical education class of elementary school children. The results showed that the scale was able to detect the changes before and after the exercise and was determined to have satisfactory sensitivity.

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