Heavy Work in Early Childhood Education
Building regulation, readiness, and resilience through the body
Heavy work is one of the most powerful, and often misunderstood, supports we can offer young children. It refers to activities that engage large muscle groups through pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, digging, climbing, and resistance-based movement. These actions provide deep proprioceptive input that helps children feel organised in their bodies and ready to engage in learning.
Rather than being an “extra,” heavy work is a core element of inclusive, responsive environments.
Heavy work supports the proprioceptive system.
The proprioceptive system that tells children where their body is in space and how it moves. When this system is supported, children are better able to regulate emotions, manage impulses, and sustain attention.
For many children, especially those who are sensory-seeking, highly active, or easily dysregulated, heavy work:
- Grounds the body
- Calms the nervous system
- Improves focus and emotional control
- Reduces the need for unsafe or disruptive movement
When children receive enough deep muscle input, we often see fewer behavioural escalations, not because behaviour is being controlled, but because the body’s needs are being met.
Heavy work through play-based learning
The most effective heavy work doesn’t look like therapy, it looks like play.
Sand play, water play, block construction, gardening, loose parts, and outdoor movement naturally embed resistance and effort. Digging, carrying buckets, lifting planks, pushing wheelbarrows, or building large structures all provide deep muscle input while remaining child-led and meaningful.
This type of play supports:
- Persistence and problem-solving
- Frustration tolerance
- Body awareness and coordination
- Executive function skills such as planning and impulse control
Children aren’t just “burning energy” they are building the foundations for learning and behaviour.
Heavy work and inclusive practice
For children with additional needs, trauma backgrounds, or sensory processing differences, heavy work is often essential, not optional. It provides a non-verbal, non-punitive way to support regulation and participation.
Importantly, heavy work should be:
- Embedded across the day
- Available proactively (not only after behaviour escalates)
- Offered to all children, not singled out
When heavy work is normalised within the environment, children don’t need to seek sensory input through unsafe or disruptive behaviours.
Embedding heavy work into daily routines
Heavy work is most effective when it lives inside everyday moments, not as a separate program.
Think:
- Carrying chairs, baskets, or resources
- Helping move furniture safely
- Digging, raking, sweeping, or gardening
- Pushing carts, wagons, or trolleys
- Setting up and packing away environments
These experiences build responsibility, competence, and confidence, while quietly supporting regulation.
The educator’s role
The role of the educator is not to control behaviour, but to design environments that support regulation. When heavy work is intentionally planned, observed, and reflected on, it becomes a powerful teaching tool.
This means:
- Noticing which children seek heavy work
- Planning environments with resistance built in
- Valuing movement as learning
- Seeing behaviour as communication, not defiance
Heavy work reminds us that learning starts in the body, when the body feels safe and supported, learning follows.
Final reflection
Heavy work is not about managing children. It’s about understanding them.
Reflective question:
Where could your environment do more of the regulating — so children don’t have to?
If you are interested in some Heavy Work resources, you can find our newest FREE resources on our website. Recourses - STEPPING STONES professional development for ECE's
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Article written by SSPD founder and creator, Janine Kelly.