Study aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the changes in gross motor skills in children participating and not participating in a project of extracurricular physical education classes in primary schools called “From fun to sport”.
Material and methods: Thirty-one children in the first grade of primary school participated in the study (16 boys and 15 girls). A pedagogical quasi-experiment was applied. Children from the experimental group participated in an additional 45-minute lesson. To assess gross motor skills the TGMD-2 (Test of Gross Motor Development-2) was used.
Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in the level of gross motor skills between children attending extracurricular physical education classes and those who did not participate in such activities (GMDQ: Δ boys = 11.86, p = 0.032; Δ girls = 13.1, p = 0.036).
Conclusion: The experiment revealed large effects of additional activities of the project on increase of children’s motor skills level. Additional time should be included in physical education for the development of gross motor skills in physical education classes at the initial stage of school education.
