Improving Motor Skills in Early Childhood through Goal-Oriented Play Activity

Abstract

Goal-oriented play activity encourages children to exercise and triggers the movement of body muscles. Active muscles are stronger, more agile, faster, and more powerful. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine that goal-oriented play activity in early childhood improves motor skills. Methods: Forty children aged 4.5–6 years old were recruited and took part in a set of training activities divided into Posts 1–5. To pass each post, a child had to run, walk on a balance beam, move sticks, throw and catch the ball, and arrange blocks. Training was given three times every week for 12 weeks. Data collected consisted of running 25 m, walking on the balance beam, throwing the ball as far as possible, locomotor movement, arranging cans, and bouncing the ball. Paired t and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for analysis. Results: The results showed that there were significant differences in the motor skills evaluated pre- and post-training with p < 0.05. Conclusion: All six training activities conducted for 12 weeks provided significant improvements in the motor skills areas in children aged 4.5–6 years old.

Full text

children
Article
Improving Motor Skills in Early Childhood through
Goal-Oriented Play Activity
Panggung Sutapa 1, * , Kukuh Wahyudin Pratama 2, Maziah Mat Rosly 3, Syed Kamaruzaman Syed Ali 4
and Manil Karakauki 4


Citation: Sutapa, P.; Pratama, K.W.;
Rosly, M.M.; Ali, S.K.S.; Karakauki, M.
Improving Motor Skills in Early
Childhood through Goal-Oriented
Play Activity. Children 2021,8, 994.
https://doi.org/10.3390/
children8110994
Academic Editor: Niels Wedderkopp
Received: 3 September 2021
Accepted: 20 October 2021
Published: 2 November 2021
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
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Copyright: © 2021 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
1Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Sport Science, Yogyakarta State University,
Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
2Department of Sport Science Research and Development, Institute of Advanced Science, Engineering,
and Education (IASEE), Shah Alam 40150, Malaysia; kukuh.pratama@iasee.org
3Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia;
maziahmr@um.edu.my
4Department of Physical Education and Health, Faculty of Education, University of Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; syed@um.edu.my (S.K.S.A.); manil@siswa.um.edu.my (M.K.)
*Correspondence: panggung_s@uny.ac.id
Abstract:
Goal-oriented play activity encourages children to exercise and triggers the movement of
body muscles. Active muscles are stronger, more agile, faster, and more powerful. Purpose: The
purpose of this study is to determine that goal-oriented play activity in early childhood improves
motor skills. Methods: Forty children aged 4.5–6 years old were recruited and took part in a set of
training activities divided into Posts 1–5. To pass each post, a child had to run, walk on a balance
beam, move sticks, throw and catch the ball, and arrange blocks. Training was given three times
every week for 12 weeks. Data collected consisted of running 25 m, walking on the balance beam,
throwing the ball as far as possible, locomotor movement, arranging cans, and bouncing the ball.
Paired t and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for analysis. Results: The results showed that
there were significant differences in the motor skills evaluated pre- and post-training with p< 0.05.
Conclusion:
All six training activities conducted for 12 weeks provided significant improvements in
the motor skills areas in children aged 4.5–6 years old.
Keywords: motor skills; childhood; goal-oriented play activity
1. Introduction
Play is a fun and exciting activity for children. Playing is a necessity, so it is suitable for
people to say that playing is a child’s world. Playing provides an opportunity for children
to adapt to others and the environment and impacts on their motor development, thinking
ability, and the ability to solve problems [
1
]. There are still many parents who prioritize
children’s academic skills in reading and mathematics, because they assume that being
good at reading and math means having more abilities [
2
]. This kind of assumption is
based on the presumption that play is a waste of time. In fact, many children can benefit
from more targeted and planned play such as goal-oriented play activity.
Goal-oriented play is active play that requires working the body muscles, which
stimulates muscle functions. Sufficient muscle activity makes the blood flow to the brain
smoothly, increasing blood circulation. Motor movement is only possible when the mus-
cular system attached to the bones and nerves innervates them. Enjoyable playing makes
children happy and willing to repeat the same activity, so they do not feel that they are
training the muscles to work. As stated by St. John [
3
], motor exercises and activities will
benefit all students with delays, but the larger the delay, the more important the training
and the bigger the impact on academics. Reduced physical activity in children can lead to
reduced physical abilities, resulting in a decrease in motor quality [
4
]. Children who grow
Children 2021,8, 994. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8110994 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/children

Children 2021,8, 994 2 of 11
and develop with low motor abilities lose confidence. Adequate motor capabilities and
nervous system development enable children to coordinate their limbs properly.
Early childhood is the golden age. It is the most important time to stimulate their motor
abilities. The development of the nervous system begins at this time so the stimulation
will greatly help accelerate the development of motor capabilities. Children who only
play passively, such as playing with touch screen (on their smartphones), will experience a
decrease in their motor skills [
5
]. The development of motor skills plays an important role
in daily life so the development of motor skills should be optimal. Passivity in children
has an impact on fat accumulation, contributing to obesity, while children who are actively
moving have an increased chance of becoming more dynamic and healthier persons. From
the explanation above, there are clearly two conclusions. The first is that playing helps
children develop their motor skills. Second, spending more time at play will contribute to
the child’s good physical health. Thus, this research will determine whether goal-oriented
play activity can improve motor skills in early childhood.
Goal-oriented play is a form of play that is carried out through activities moving from
one post to another continuously. It comprises different types of activities that must be
accomplished sequentially. Mixed play makes it possible to develop motor elements such as
strength, durability, agility, speed, balance, and coordination. Play is a necessity for some
people because it can provide relief from the various problems they face. Bergen [
6
] stated
that the key to play is fun; thus, the activities that do not provide pleasure cannot be called
play. Furthermore, he explained that play ignites creativity and gives us pleasure. This is
in line with what Mukherji and Dryden [
7
] stated, that play offers children the opportunity
to develop key skills across domains. These skills associated with each developmental
domain are social development, physical development, intellectual development, and
communication/language development.
Play is an enjoyable activity that has an impact on pleasure and self-satisfaction. The
activity is not based on age or gender, there is no coercion, and the default rules provide
satisfaction for the player. It was supported by Sutapa et al. [
8
], who stated that play activity
reflects the existence of the self, the part of the organism that exists both independently
and interdependently and that can reflect upon itself and be aware of its own existence.
Play for children who are still in the growing and developmental stages helps them to
understand the outside world and to develop and stimulate their problem-solving abilities,
which also increases their understanding of these life challenges. This is in accordance
with Hong et al. [
9
], who argued that play offers trial and error activities that develop
children’s intellectual intelligence. Play is performed by moving muscles repetitively to
increase muscle strength, speed, and agility, resulting in the development of gross and fine
motor skills.
The benefits of play for children include not only making them sweat but also facilitat-
ing growth and development, developing intra- and inter-personal intelligence, improving
sense sharpness, and spurring creativity. Play can also be a therapeutic medium. Play sup-
ports children’s expression of fun and creative thinking, offering them a new experience in
exploration. Play can also encourage children’s activity, as reflected in an active family [
10
].
Playing actively provides the opportunity to adapt to others and the environment and to
strengthen the muscles. Active play has the paradoxical effect of increasing attention span
and improving the efficiency of thinking and problem-solving. Two hours of active play
per day may help reduce attention deficits and hyperactivity [11].
Playing is a process connected to sensory tools that aid development in children, both
physically and psychologically. Active play is a means of training children to strengthen
their muscles so that they can become stronger, faster, and more agile and have better
motion control [
12
]. Muscles function as human motor mobility devices regulated by the
nervous system, so it is often said that muscles and nerves are the functional units of
motion systems in term of physiology.
Motor skill is the ability of the nervous system to control motion performance. Motor
skills are divided into gross and fine motor skills. Bardid et al. [
13
] stated that the MOT 4–6

Children 2021,8, 994 3 of 11
was designed to assess the gross and fine motor skills of preschool children (4–6 years old)
and allows early identification of children with motor delay. Gross motor skills include
locomotor, object control, and balance skills. Furthermore, Rudd et al. [
14
] stated that
fundamental movement skills are often described more precisely as basic stability, object
control, or locomotor movements involving fundamental motor skill (FMS) levels. In the
end, the preschool period is an important indicator for the later participation of children
in many sports activities. Kokštejn et al. [
15
] argued that achievement of sufficient gross
motor skills involves the ability to perform single movements that use large muscles,
while fine motor skills comprise ability in movements that require coordination between
different organs, e.g., hands, eyes, arms, and limbs. Fine motor skills are related to
coordination between eyes and hands, eyes and feet, or eyes, hands, and feet, as well as
the ability to move fingers [
16
]. Madrona [
17
] stated that the aim of motor development
is to achieve the control of one’s own body so that we can exploit all its possibilities
of action. This development is shown through motor function, which consists of the
rehearsal of movements aimed at the different relationships children establish with the
world surrounding them. Payne and Isaacs [
18
] affirmed that fine movements are primarily
regulated by the small muscles or muscle groups. Many movements performed by the
hands are considered fine movements because the smaller muscles of the fingers, hand, and
forearm are critical to finger and hand movement. Similarly, Johnston and Halocha [
19
]
argued that fine motor skills are those manipulative skills that involve small movements
and small muscles in acts such as picking up, feeding themselves, treading, drawing,
cutting, and dressing. Fine motor skills develop slightly later than gross motor skills and
require patience and practice to develop. Furthermore, Hill and Khanem [
20
] mentioned
that motor development and its impact on other areas of physical and mental health
as well as cognitive achievement are also central areas of focus for those working with
children with neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, Wang [21] stated that elements
of motor capability include strength, durability, speed, agility, balance, and coordination.
These elements of motion are basic elements in various sports that are indispensable
to further development [
22
]. Physical activity cannot be separated from its three main
elements: nerves, muscles, and bones. Nerves play the most important role in body
activity supporting the muscles and bones, meaning that no movement occurs without
the activity of the nerves. The two systems of muscles and bones support each other in
the development of locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative motor skills. Locomotor
skill is often interpreted as moving from one place to another, non-locomotor skill is
undertaken without moving, and manipulative motor skill is movement when playing
with a particular object.
Play is grouped into three categories, namely, sensorimotor, role-playing, and con-
structive. Sensorimotor play is the simplest form of play and is characterized by repeated
muscle movements that increase strength, speed, agility, and balance. Role playing is spon-
taneous and constructive play where the main goal is to make the doer happy. Semoglou,
Alevriadou, and Tsapakidou [
23
] stated that early childhood education emphasizes the
significance of fine motor tasks and the use of learning aids, and Spanaki et al. [
24
] claimed
that the fine motor training program had a positive effect upon the graph motor skills of
kindergarten and early elementary school children. Chen et al. [
25
] explained that motor
exercises and activities will benefit all students with delays, but the larger the delay, the
more important the training and the bigger its impact on academics. Robinson et al. [
26
]
explained that a mastery climate is an innovative and exceptional pedagogy for teaching
children motor skills and encouraging physical activity. Koralek [
27
] found that manipulat-
ing and using tools with playdough and clay lets pre-schoolers discover the properties of
this pliable material.
This research is needed to prove that goal-oriented play activity is very effective in
improving motor skills in children. In addition to their enjoyment, children do not feel
bored when playing. Each element in the different game posts strengthens the elements of
their motor skills so that they complement each other. This research is focused on children

Children 2021,8, 994 4 of 11
aged 5–6 years old because this is a sensitive period/golden age; childhood is the period
with the highest level of activity throughout life, so innovation is needed to optimize and
facilitate early childhood physical activity. One alternative is through goal-oriented play
activity for children aged 5–6 years. This is because the ages of 5–6 years are the best
time to stimulate motor development. Our research uses this protocol to propose that
goal-oriented play activity in early childhood can optimize children’s motor skills. The
remaining sections of this paper are organized as follows: Section 2reviews all materials
and methods, Section 3presents the results, Section 4presents the discussions about this
study and finally Section 5concludes the findings with some direction for future work.
2. Materials and Methods
The research was approved by the ethical committee of the University of Yogyakarta
(Ethics No: T/12/UN34.21/PT/2021). Forty participants were recruited from the children
of Yayasan Ratih Kesuma Playgroup, consisting of 20 boys and 20 girls. The sample size
was determined using an estimate of 30 individuals based on Cohen’s formulation [
28
] to
achieve a power of 0.8, significance criterion
α
= 0.05, an effect size of 0.25 (large), and was
within a large sample size population (population proportion = 0.5). Participants in this
research were normal children aged 4.5–5 years old. The training study was needed because
it helps to accelerate motor development. Motor skills play an important role in everyday
life; therefore, the development of motor skills is one aspect of children’s development
that must be optimized. The training study (goal-oriented play activity) data collection
obtained permission from the school principal and all parents. Moreover, the activity was
fun and safe. The game included six items. One game item lasted seven min, and each
child had two chances. Thus, 7 min
×
2 (two chances)
×
6 game
items = 84 min/day
. This
took place over 12 weeks, but on only 3 days per week, so the total was 36 days. The total
duration was 84 min ×36 = 3024 min/50.4 h.
This training study program was carried out from 3 February to 3 April 2020 starting
at 3:00 p.m. so it did not interfere with class hours. The training study was carried out in
the community sports park, and the supervisor was the researcher himself assisted by the
school principal. The researcher was assisted by two assistants when collecting the data.
References indicating that the training study method of this program has a significant effect
on improving motor skills are: (1) Wasenius et al. [
29
], who explained the effect of a physical
activity training study on pre-schoolers’ fundamental motor skills; (2) Veldman, Jones,
and Okely [
30
], who explained the efficacy of a gross motor skill training study in young
children in an updated systematic review; and (3) Indah Lestari and Tri Ratnaningsih
explained the effects of a modified game on the development of gross motor skills in
pre-schoolers. Table 1explains how each activity in the training study was performed [
31
].
Table 1. The training study.
No Activity/Training Description
1 Walking on balance beam Starting point as POS 1, after finish run to POS 2
2 Moving sticks This is POS 2, after finish run to POS 3
3 Jumping goalposts This is POS 3, after finish run to POS 4
4 Throwing balls This is POS 4, after finish run to POS 5
5 Arranging blocks This is POS 5, the finishing point
To illustrate, Figure 1below is an outline of the details of the pre- and post-data
collection procedures and what units of measurement were used.

Children 2021,8, 994 5 of 11
Children 2021, 8, x FOR PEER REVIEW 5 of 11
To illustrate, Figure 1 below is an outline of the details of the pre- and post-data col-
lection procedures and what units of measurement were used.
Figure 1. Pre- and post-data collection procedures.
Below is the list of references for why such a measurement was used, what the sig-
nificance of the measurement was in relation to fine motor skills improvement, and how
it related.
1. Adpriyadi (2016). “Improving gross motor skills through the hopscotch traditional
game for children of group B at TK Tunas Gading Yogyakarta in the 2015/2016 aca-
demic year” [32].
2. Gümüşdağ, H. (2019). “Effect of pre-school play on motor development in children”
[33].
3. Moghaddaszadeh, A., and Belcastro, A. N. (2021). “Guided active play promotes
physical activity and improves fundamental motor skills for school-aged children”
[34].
4. Khasanah and Sutapa (2018). “Development of teaching model through circuit game
to increasing children’s gross motor ability” [35].
This measurement was carried out because it was in accordance with the elements
that define motor skills, namely, the elements of speed, leg power, arm power, and bal-
ance of coordination between eyes and hands. This measurement was very appropriate
for the rating of motor skills because the elements of motor skills are speed, power, bal-
ance and coordination, and the skills increase after training. Because there is an increase
in the elements or parts, there will be an overall increase. Below are the instruments/equip-
ment used when data were collected:
1. To run, the necessary tools were a running track and a stopwatch.
2. The long jump took place without prior running (prefix), and the tool required was
a yardstick.
3. The ball was thrown as far as possible, and the tools required were a tennis ball and
yardstick.
4. The coordination test required arranging the cans into a triangle shape from highest
to lowest, 5 then 4, then 3, 2, 1; the tools needed were used cans and a stopwatch.
5. The tools needed for balance were a walkway beam and a stopwatch.
Pre-Training:
1. 25-metre run (Second)
2. Walking on a balance
beam (Second)
3. Throwing the ball
(meter)
4. Locomotor jump test
(cm)
5. Arranging cans
(5,4,3,2,1 in second)
6. Bouncing the ball (How
many they can catch for
20 times bouncing
balls)
Training:
1. Walking on balance
beam
2. Moving sticks
3. Jumping goalposts
4. Throwing balls
5. Arranging blocks
Post-Training:
1. 25-metre run (Second)
2. Walking on a balance
beam (Second)
3. Throwing the ball
(meter)
4. Locomotor jump test
(cm)
5. Arranging cans
(5,4,3,2,1 in second)
6. Bouncing the ball (How
many they can catch for
20 times bouncing balls)
Figure 1. Pre- and post-data collection procedures.
Below is the list of references for why such a measurement was used, what the
significance of the measurement was in relation to fine motor skills improvement, and how
it related.
1.
Adpriyadi (2016). “Improving gross motor skills through the hopscotch traditional
game for children of group B at TK Tunas Gading Yogyakarta in the 2015/2016
academic year” [32].
2.
Gümü¸sda˘g, H. (2019). “Effect of pre-school play on motor development in children” [
33
].
3.
Moghaddaszadeh, A., and Belcastro, A. N. (2021). “Guided active play promotes phys-
ical activity and improves fundamental motor skills for school-aged children” [34].
4.
Khasanah and Sutapa (2018). “Development of teaching model through circuit game
to increasing children’s gross motor ability” [35].
This measurement was carried out because it was in accordance with the elements
that define motor skills, namely, the elements of speed, leg power, arm power, and balance
of coordination between eyes and hands. This measurement was very appropriate for
the rating of motor skills because the elements of motor skills are speed, power, balance
and coordination, and the skills increase after training. Because there is an increase in the
elements or parts, there will be an overall increase. Below are the instruments/equipment
used when data were collected:
1. To run, the necessary tools were a running track and a stopwatch.
2.
The long jump took place without prior running (prefix), and the tool required was
a yardstick.
3.
The ball was thrown as far as possible, and the tools required were a tennis ball
and yardstick.
4.
The coordination test required arranging the cans into a triangle shape from highest
to lowest, 5 then 4, then 3, 2, 1; the tools needed were used cans and a stopwatch.
5. The tools needed for balance were a walkway beam and a stopwatch.
6.
The coordination exercise required throwing and catching the ball, and the tools
needed were a tennis ball and a stopwatch.
Before the training program took place, the children were instructed about the activi-
ties to be carried out, namely, playing to improve their motor skills, but because of their
nature the children often asked questions. The children were informed about the results of

Children 2021,8, 994 6 of 11
this data collection, and they were also told that their motor skills had improved, which
made them happy.
The research involved 40 participants consisting of 20 boys and 20 girls aged 4.5 to
5 years. Participants were presented with goal-oriented play tasks moving from post 1 to 5
and comprised of walking on a balance beam, moving sticks, jumping goalposts, throwing
balls, and arranging blocks. Movement from post 1 to 5 was carried out by running. This
training was performed 3 times a week for 12 weeks. The data were collected using the
25 m run for the speed test, walking on a balance beam for the balance test, throwing the
ball as far as possible to measure explosive arm force, the locomotor jump test to measure
explosive limb power, arranging cans for eye–hand coordination, and bouncing the ball to
measure eye–arm coordination.
The data were assessed for normality using Kolmogorov–Smirnov Z and Shapiro–Wilk
tests. The results indicated that data for throwing the ball and bouncing the ball were
consistently significant at p< 0.05 for both the pre- and post-training study measures. Items
for the 25 m run, walking on a balance beam, locomotor jump test, and can arranging were
normally distributed with p> 0.05 for the pre-test but not normally distributed in post-test
for the 25 m run and balance beam. Paired t tests were used for normally distributed data
and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used for data that were not normally distributed.
Pre- and post-data were compared for improvements following the 12-week training study
program, and the significance level was set at p< 0.05 at a 95% confidence interval.
3. Results
The results showed that there were differences between pre- and post-training in the
elements of motor ability in early childhood with a significance level of p< 0.05. For each
component of motoric ability, there were differences in the 25 m run, locomotor jump, ball
throws, can arrangement, and ball bounce. The 25 m run measured speed, the locomotor
jump measured explosive power, ball throw as far as possible measured the arm’s explosive
force, can arrangement measured eye and hand coordination, walking on a balance beam
measured balance, and ball bounce measured the eye–hand coordination.
From Table 2below, we see that all participants increased their ability between pre-training
and post-training. Tables 3–5summarizes the results of the pre and
post-training improvements.
Table 2. Demographic profiles of participants.
Demography Boy Girl Combined
Sample size N= 20 N= 20 N= 40
Age (years) 5.96(0.39) 5.83(0.38) 5.9(0.39)
Height (cm) 113.75(1.40) 112.33(2.04) 113(1.87)
Weight (kg) 20.24(0.82) 19.23(1.39) 19.73(1.24)
BMI 15.64(0.67) 15.24(1.15) 15.44(0.95)
Table 3. Descriptive data per training.
Training Type Pre-Training Values Post-Training Values
25 m run (s) 9.71(1.76) 4.98(1.03)
Throw the ball (m) * 2.76(0.98) * 5.90(1.72)
Locomotor jump (cm) 46.80(7.60) 78.28(13.10)
Can arrangement (s) 11.14 (1.62) 7.18(1.01)
Balance beam walk (s) 9.83(1.49) 6.89(0.85)
Throwing and catching the
ball (count/20 times) * 11.0(4.0) * 16.5(2.75)
S: second; m: meter. All values are in mean (standard deviation) unless otherwise stated. * Indicates the values
are given in median (interquartile range).

Children 2021,8, 994 7 of 11
Table 4.
Paired ttest between pre- and post-training study of 25 m run, locomotor jump, can arrangement, and balance
beam walk.
Training Study Mean (Standard Deviation) 95% Confidence Interval Significance Level
(pValue)
Lower Limit Upper Limit
25 m run (second) 4.74(1.68) 4.20 5.27 0.000
Locomotor jump (cm) −31.47(12.61) −35.61 −27.44 0.000
Can arrangement (second) 3.96(1.39) 3.52 4.41 0.000
Balance beam walk (second) 2.94(1.45) 2.47 3.40 0.000
Table 5.
Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for pre- and post-training study of throwing the ball and of throwing and catching
the ball.
Training Study Mean Rank 95% Confidence Interval Significance Level
(pValue)
Lower Limit Upper Limit
Throw the ball (meter) 39 0.000 0.000 0.000
Throwing and catching the ball
(count/20 times) 20.50 0.000 0.000 0.000
4. Discussion
During childhood and at pre-school age, movement is an integral part of children’s
lives. In the first six years of life, children discover themselves and the world through
movement and capture their surroundings through their body and their sensations [
36
].
Thus, especially in that period of human life, the study of a child’s motor performance can
significantly contribute to the full understanding of his/her entire personality [
37
]. Such a
study is considered essential to the better preparation of children in the field of learning and
for preventing the development of motor disorders associated with a sedentary life and lack
of motor skill training during the period of growth and development [
38
]. Additionally,
the sound assessment of a child’s motor development level is directly associated with the
planning of developmentally adequate movement programs.
One of the most significant early childhood movement training programs involves
goal-oriented play activities. This form of play involves repeating activities related to
a specific skill set over a series of training durations. Playing usually involves physical
activities that are considered fun, in accordance with the nature of children to move in
various ways during play. Play that is perceived to be “fun” tends to engage and motivate
children to perform repetitive motions or activities while adhering to the routine over a
much more prolonged period of duration. Children do not feel that doing the same activity
is training their muscles to improve their motor skills. Conversely, the lack of physical
activity can lead to the decrease in their motor skills [39].
In this study, goal-oriented play consisted of a series of activities comprised of walking
on a balance beam, moving sticks, jumping goalposts, throwing balls, and arranging blocks.
The results of this research showed that there were significant differences (p< 0.05) before
and after the training was given. This showed that goal-oriented play can improve motor
skills in early childhood for children aged 4–6 years old. This was in accordance with
Altinkök’s [
40
] research that showed that goal-oriented play can develop motor elements
such as strength, durability, agility, speed, balance, and coordination. Goal-oriented play
can develop multilateral skills, helping to build basic abilities. Basic movement, such as
walking on the balance beam, moving sticks, jumping goalposts, throwing balls, and
arranging blocks, is a part of children’s educational and learning experiences that can
be implemented easily in day care or preschool. The skills learned in this period will
be permanent and will provide the basis for new skills [
41
]. Early childhood motor skill
training can prove beneficial for physical literacy into adulthood, as these aspects contribute
to forming independent adulthood [42].

Children 2021,8, 994 8 of 11
This age bracket (4–6 years old) is considered the golden age to improve children’s
gross and fine motor skills, so this is the right time to maximize their motor
development [43]
.
Active play is characterized by repetitive muscle movement, which increases strength,
speed, agility, and muscle flexibility. Its effect is the improvement in children’s motor
abilities. The six elements are the 25 m run, walking on a balance beam, throwing the
ball, the locomotor jump test, arranging cans, and bouncing the ball, which are aspects
that, when included in continuous training, improve the child’s motor skills. With these
six elements, if given in training or carried out continuously, muscle adaptation occurs,
increasing muscle ability in children.
The muscles that are given training will have thickened myelin, so there will be
an increase in muscle endurance. Muscles will experience increased ability and myelin
thickening, if given training for at least 12 weeks with a training frequency of at least
three times a week. This program is the shortest compared to other programs but has a
significant effect. Implementing a similar training method, based on larger scales (i.e., a
larger number of children and with multi-site programs) has the potential to maximize
their motor ability. This avenue will lead to direct and indirect improvement in children’s
motor skills, which can eventually translate into talent creation. Talent identification
is crucial during early childhood to maximize duration availability for honing fine and
gross motor skills as early as possible. After training in these six elements, children’s
motor abilities will increase; of course, with the increase in motor abilities, the children
will become more agile, stronger, and quicker to act and have better coordination. Play
with a sensorimotor approach requires children to learn to use tools that are adapted to
the surrounding conditions, so that active muscles carrying out motion are stimulated.
The development of motor skills for children is very important because motor ability is
the foundation of daily life. Motor ability involves the ability of the body muscles to
perform activities such as walking, running, and jumping [
44
]. Lopes et al. [
45
] argued that
children’s motor skill development incorporates many body systems, including sensory,
musculoskeletal, cardiorespiratory, and neurological systems.
Motor ability is necessary for movement. For a person to move effectively and
efficiently, he or she must possess physical abilities such as strength, agility, speed, flexibility,
coordination, and balance. Cohen et al. [
46
] stated that participation in physical activity is
vital for enhancing children’s physical, social, cognitive, and psychological development.
Higher levels of physical activity in children are associated with improved fitness (both
cardiorespiratory fitness and muscular strength), enhanced bone health, and reduced
body fat. Similarly, Pahlevanian and Ahmadizadeh [
47
] affirmed that motor skills play an
important role in children’s learning and improve the growth of other important learning
skills such as educational and social cognition. Meanwhile, Fallah, Nourbakhsh, and
Bagherty [
48
] reported that physical movement is one of the most important aspects
of human life, and motor skills allow children to gain greater control over their living
environment. Systematic physical activity training can improve motor skills, resulting in
changes in a person’s physical performance and endurance. Regular physical activity can
also help improve quality of life by reducing risks from the onset of secondary diseases
(i.e., diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, heart diseases) that are associated with a sedentary
lifestyle [
49
]. Additionally, motor skill competence was strongly associated with physical
activity levels in children within this age group but may differ between genders according
to the intensity of physical activities performed [
50
]. Regular muscle activity improves
blood circulation so that the substances needed by the nervous system and muscles will be
delivered. The impact of fulfilled nutrients on the nervous system and muscles makes a
person fitter, by increasing speed, endurance, balance, and coordination, which contribute
to motor ability.
For future research, it will be necessary to develop research into increased multi-
ple intelligence consisting of mathematical logic, language, intrapersonal, interpersonal,
art/music, spatial, kinaesthetic, and spiritual abilities through goal-oriented play activities

Children 2021,8, 994 9 of 11
in early childhood. By developing and implementing this research, we hope to optimally
improve children’s motor development.
However, there are some limitations in this research. First, this method is only applica-
ble to normal children in the day-care environment with routine monitoring after the school
schedule; this method has not been tried with the older children who already attend school.
Second, this method had an impact because it involved mentors. This method has not
been tried with self-regulated training, such as home-based training, to see if it will have
the same effective impact. Lastly, this method focused only on psychomotor behaviour or
neuromuscular behaviour, and it cannot measure the impact on cardiovascular, strength
duration, and endurance abilities.
5. Conclusions
Goal-oriented play activity is fun for children because it makes them eager to repeat
the same activity, and many benefits are gained through active play. The muscles’ ability
to move will increase, and since they are stimulated, the child’s motor ability will also
increase. Goal-oriented play is divided into five posts, namely, walking on the balance
beam, moving sticks, locomotor jumping, throwing balls, and arranging blocks and can
improve the motor skills in early childhood.
All six training exercises in the 12-week training program provided significant im-
provements in the motor skills areas of children aged 4.5–6 years. The level of improvement
in motor skills during early childhood may benefit from goal-oriented active play and
increased motor ability.
Author Contributions:
P.S. did the study design, data collection and statistical analysis. K.W.P.
did the statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, and fund collection. M.M.R. did the statistical
analysis and study design. S.K.S.A. did the data collection and funds collection. M.K. did the data
collection, manuscript preparation, and funds collection. All authors have read and agreed to the
published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement:
The research was approved by the ethical committee of the
University of Yogyakarta (Ethics No: T/12/UN34.21/PT/2021). Participants were recruited from the
children of the Yayasan Ratih Kesuma Playgroup with the total number of children being 40, 20 boys
and 20 girls.
Acknowledgments:
This research is supported by Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia, and the
University of Malaya, Malaysia.
Conflicts of Interest:
We know of no conflict of interest associated with this publication, and there
has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome.
As corresponding author, I confirm that the manuscript has been read and approved for submission
by all the named authors.
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