In this chapter the theory and the practice of Vygotsky's (1987) work on concept formation will be further discussed. The content areas of arts and health, wellbeing and physical education will be used to illustrate the importance of conceptual knowledge in the early childhood curriculum.

On the face of it, this sounds like an unusual combination, but as we hope this chapter shows, much of the concept formation associated with these domains of knowledge involves the interrelationship of cognitive abilities and psychomotor skills. For the purposes of simplicity only, the arts in this discussion include the visual arts, dance and music. The focus is on concept formation that involves developing physical abilities, such as drawing, painting, playing a musical instrument, singing, dancing, and playing on the jungle gym, playing ball games and other games with rules.

HEALTH, WELLBEING AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

If we think about concept formation for physical activity, we probably see how this subject area too can be thought about in terms of cultural-historical theory, as many aspects of children's everyday knowledge about these things from the home setting can be integrated with research on health, wellbeing and physical activity.

In this area of children's knowledge, learning how to be healthy, maintain a strong sense of their own identity and remain physically active are essential skills for a lifelong sense of wellbeing. Helping children to grow up fit, healthy and physically capable is a fundamental aim of most teachers, and regular physical activity is mandated in most curricula.