COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Introduction  5 only 2.6% of observation intervals. During over 85% of intervals, children were engaged in either very light activity or sedentary behaviors” (2008, 443). Considered together, these factors provide cause for concern regarding chil- dren’s fitness levels. Statistics indicate that 40 percent of five- to eight-year-olds show at least one heart disease risk factor, including hypertension and obesity. The latter, which is on the rise, particularly among children, has been linked to television viewing (Bar-Or et al. 1998). A Canadian study determined that the blood vessels of obese children have a stiffness normally seen in much older adults who have cardiovascular disease (Science Daily 2010). Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that American children born in the year 2000 face a one-in-three chance of developing type 2 diabetes, previously known as adult-onset diabetes because it was rarely seen in children (2008). A developmentally appropriate movement curriculum, such as Preschoolers & Kindergartners, can give children the practice and instruction necessary to refine their movement skills and expand their movement vocabularies. More- over, with Preschoolers & Kindergartners, the children have the opportunity to frequently experience success, which makes movement pleasurable for them. Thus they are more likely to become (and stay!) physically fit. Social/Emotional Development Marianne Frostig, in her classic book Movement Education: Theory and Prac- tice, says, Movement education can help a child to adjust socially and emotionally because it can provide him with successful experiences and permit interrela- tionships with other children in groups and with a partner. Movement educa- tion requires that a child be aware of others in [activities] in which he shares space . . . ; he has to take turns and to cooperate. He thus develops social awareness and achieves satisfaction through peer relationships and group play. (1970, 26) This book provides opportunities for successful experiences, and it permits interrelationships with other children. Even before the children are asked to COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL