With the autumnal weather advancing, the urge to hibernate emerges. And the colder temperatures provide us with plenty of excuses to forego that walk. Those with canine friends must steel their resolve, their pets’ needs overriding thoughts of lounging.

Yet we know that we need to move if we want to build and maintain our strength, improve coordination, and support brain health. We know that being active enhances cognitive functions like focus and memory, aids emotional regulation, and boosts social skills through interaction.

And, despite the weather, children need to move. Being active allows them to explore, reduce stress, and develop confidence. One just has to remember the sheer exhilaration when those training wheels came off, when one first made it all the way across the monkey bars, or when one finally found the courage to brave that impossibly high slippery dip.

Even in the earliest stages of development, we recognise that before little ones talk, they use movement to communicate. Babies convey their needs by moving. If a baby is sated, they turn their heads away from the breast or bottle. If they are happy to see us, or need comforting, they extend their arms to be held.

We know that active children are active learners, and research affirms that there are strong connections between physical activity and learning, as well as a strong correlation between movement and wellbeing, independence, and social functioning.

Dr Montessori wrote at length about the importance of movement. Her philosophy has movement and purposeful activity at its core. She emphasises that what is in the hand is in the heart, and that it is through movement that children absorb knowledge.

Montessori lessons incorporate movement. She advocated education out of doors, exploring the natural environment, caring for plants and animals as mastery of movement progresses from and through the gross motor movements to the fine motor movements.

The early Practical Life exercises provide many opportunities for children to refine and perfect their fine motor skills. They reinforce the hand that will be needed to hold the pen to write and draw, to cut, to dress oneself with growing confidence.

“There is no bad weather, only the wrong clothing” is a popular Scandinavian proverb, one that was popularised by well-known British hiker Alfred Wainwright in his 1973 book, Coast to Coast. Common in Denmark and Norway, this mantra emphasises preparation over complaining, and that rain or cold merely present us with an opportunity to make better clothing choices.

So, what will your family do to keep active as the days get shorter and colder?