Abstract
Goal of this project is to investigate the practice of motor activity of children 18 months -3 y old in organized contexts. To this aim we analysed the daily activities of 156 children in six nurseries of the Val di Sole e Val di Non in Trentino Alto Adige, Italy. Educators gave great importance to motor activities that they considered relevant for: socialization, motor development, hand eye coordination, balance, manuality, sensory development. Activities were categorized into 23 items: manipulation-based games, painting and musical activities and symbolic games are the most common forms of “motor activities” performed in Italian nurseries. Most of the activities were in the form of semistructural play. Fifty % of the nurseries has space specifically dedicated to motor activity. Despite what declared in the questionnaire, no motor objectives were established by the educators and conditions to practice the abilities perceived as important were not specifically programmed. The data underscore the difference between what is perceived as relevant and what is performed by educators and suggest that the major limitation for adequate motor activity levels in nurseries is lack of specific education by teachers.