Educational Motor Skills Game for Preschoolers: A Freestyle Swimming Learning Model

Abstract

Study purpose. Freestyle swimming instruction for early childhood students in Palopo City still employs conventional approaches that do not align with children’s developmental characteristics, leading to psychological barriers such as fear of water (aquaphobia) and low learning motivation. This study aims to: (1) develop a play-based motor skills educational game model for teaching freestyle swimming to young children in Palopo City; (2) test the model’s feasibility through expert validation; and (3) evaluate the model’s effectiveness in improving children’s aquatic motor skills.

Materials and methods. This study employed the Research and Development (R&D) method using the ADDIE development model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation). The research subjects were 30 children aged 4–6 years from three Early Childhood Education (ECE) institutions in Palopo City. The instruments used were an expert validation form, an aquatic motor skills observation sheet, and an interview guide.

Results. The expert validation results showed an average score of 4.31 (86.1%) in the “Highly Acceptable” category. Field test results indicated an increase in aquatic motor skills scores from 48.9% (pretest) to 71.6% (posttest), representing a 22.7 percentage point increase.

Conclusions. The six educational games developed proved effective in improving children’s water adaptation, movement coordination, and self-confidence. This model makes a tangible contribution to the development of play-based physical education for early childhood.