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PODCAST

Teaching With The Body In Mind

Teaching With The Body In Mind

Each week, Mike, Tom, Ross, and Joey reflect on the connection between moving and thinking. The discussions remind us that teachers should be supporting children"s bodies as well as their minds.

education education for kids

All Episodes

21:16

TWTBIM_0337 Constraints That Regulate

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/06/24

Joey leads a conversation about the positive effects of setting constraints when children are overwhelmed. Starting with an example of when children were too enthusiastic about their artistic expressions, the group talks about ways to support children when they are disregulated by their excitement. Tom shares his approach to limiting screen time. Mike supports sore losers in Candyland. Ross talks about consequences involving paper scraps. And everyone has negotiated bad deals with children in good

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19:58

TWTBIM_0336 Run Away and Scream

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/06/17

Mike is fascinated by the way children show their thoughts and feelings about bugs and other interesting (but creepy!) things. Ross sees it as the reverse of the circle of security. Joey recalls a recent encounter with a snapping turtle and Tom is reminded of the time a mouse ran through the classroom.

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22:03

TWTBIM_0335 If You're Not Having Fun

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/06/10

Tom's back and he's ready for some fun. At least he's ready to talk about fun. All this talk of fun brings back Mike's memories of fixing the dryer. Ross argues that a lack of funshuts down pathways to learning. Teachers don't need to be clowns, but it is important to check that fun is present in the work.

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22:33

TWTBIM_0334 Holding Back Can be Kind

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/06/03

Ross wants to talk about the gray areas where we might hold back to build children's capacity for care. When we step back, children can learn how to give the kindness to themselves and each other. Mike shares an experience of toy dumping chaos and a child's power to repair. Joey tells a story of a child who built her sense of agency bit by bit. Mike tries to remember Bandura's elements of agency and everyone likes the metaphor of trees growing stronger in the wind.

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17:33

TWTBIM_0333 Bandaids and Crackers, Part 2

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/05/27

Turns out there was more say about acts of caring. From changing wet shirts to loaning out favorite shoes, we have many opportunities to give children care. We may not be able to meet 100% of children’s needs, but we need to be reliable. Mike points out the important thing: finding your favorite napkin may seem like a small thing, but it’s not trivial. Just ask Mike and Ross how they feel about their favorite cereal spoons.

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21:30

TWTBIM_0332 Bandaids and Crackers

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/05/20

Children’s comments from teacher appreciation week make Joey reflect on what really matters to the children in our care. Our bandaids and crackers let children know that they are safe and we will help if they get hurt or sick. Mike recalls children's questions of "why don't we learn anything at this school?" Care is something we don't talk about a lot, but it is the essential foundation for learning.

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20:48

TWTBIM_0331 Match More, Talk Less

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/05/13

Mike encourages us to pay attention, match children's physical actions and use fewer words. He has found this approach to be especially supportive of children who tend to be very quiet and those who are loud and boisterous. It might require us to slow down a little, which can feel hard in the midst of a busy day. Ross reminds us that it's OK because children are not volcano birds.

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19:12

TWTBIM__(Encore) Backwards Bike

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/04/29

While we're out on our bicycles celebrating spring, we hope you enjoy this conversation. We'll be back with fresh episodes next week. Mike shares a video of the "backwards bike," (watch here) an excellent example of embodied knowledge. You can explain it, but you can't do it until you can feel it. How many experiences do young children have like this each day? They may "know" something, but can't do it yet. How often do educators experience the frustration of trying to implement new skills and yet

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24:50

TWTBIM_0330 Beauty

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/04/22

Tom's been wrestling with the idea of beauty in the classroom. Does it mean markers aligned in rainbow order? Cardboard boxes and duct tape in the sensory table? Is beauty stagnant or dynamic?

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22:37

TWTBIM_0329 Reading and Responding to Energy

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/04/15

How do we read children’s energy? How do we respond in ways that don't interrupt the flow of child led play? Tom recalls joining in to rough and tumble play to help children regulate. Mike's first instinct is also to join in and help "course correct" if needed. Ross acknowledges the influence of the adult's energy level and the context of prior experiences. Mike brings up Anji Play as an example of an approach that looks very hands off, but actually has a lot of adult intentionality.

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20:25

TWTBIM_0328 We Don't Play Like That Anymore

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/04/08

Ross starts to unpack his ideas about ways that play has changed--for children and for teachers. What is the inlfuence of technology? What is the impact of our own play history? There is a subtle worry that children are missing out on experiences in the world and in their own imaginations.

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22:19

TWTBIM_0327 Something Magical About Pretend

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/04/01

Mike shares a glimpse of his new book as he leads a discussion about pretend play. There's something magical about the way children embody their ideas to express themselves and communicate with others. We don't always give children enough credit for the complexity they bring to pretending, from coordinating their movements and vocalizations to express "catness" or sharing knowledge of cultural traditions as they set the table for seder. Check out Mike's new book! Power in Pretend: Supporting Young

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21:52

TWTBIM_0327 Anti-Phobic Power of Play (Encore Epsiode)

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/03/25

It's spring break season. While we're away, we hope you enjoy this encore episode that pairs nicely with last week's conversation about safetyism. Tom invites discussion of the anti-phobic powers of children's risky play. Spoiler alert: adults--and their fears--often get in the way, but there is hope that we can rise above our own phobias and create the conditions for mastery. (Tom was inspired by the article, "Children's Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of

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23:04

TWTBIM_0326 Normal and Necessary

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/03/18

Joey is wrestling with the concept of safetyism and its influence on early childhood practices, including her own. What's on the other end of the continuum? To place it at the opposite end from risky play doesn't feel right because much of what gets shut down in the name of safetyism is just play. Tom notes that safetyism can erode trust and lead to a culture that uses surveillance to monitor caregiving. Mike suggests that the antidote is to let children play and adults talk among themselves about

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22:44

TWTBIM_0325 Unintended Culture

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/03/11

In a follow up to our discussion about unintended challenges, Mike shares research about how children create their own peer culture through unintended use of physical objects. When children observe and follow unwritten physical rules, such as hanging brooms from a basketball hoop, they can be successful at joining into social play. (Thank you to Aaron Neimark for sharing the article and topic inspiration.)

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21:04

TWTBIM_0324 Attunement Revisited

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/03/04

Tom presents descriptions of attunement for discussion. We find surprising parallels between being a teacher in an early childhood classroom and being an indigenous hunter. Both require paying close attention to the environment and sensory experiences. Mike and Ross talk tuning forks and guitar strings. Like tuning instruments, attunement to children is not a fixed state that can be reached, but something that evolves and changes. For newer listeners, you can hear how it all began: TWTBIM_0114

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21:57

TWTBIM_0323 Do As I Say

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/02/25

Ross invites us to reflect on our double standards. Do we raise our voices while asking children not to yell? Sing calm down songs in a tense voice? Are there things that adults are allowed to do, but against the rules for children? When we act with intention, we can do what we say. Mike likes to draw children's block buildings. Joey joins in conversations at snack, and Tom used materials at the writing table alongside children.

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19:10

TWTBIM_0322 Big Worlds, Small Play

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/02/18

There's a lot to unpack in children's small world play: security, control, power, and focus. So get out your dollhouses, figurines, and tiny capes. When we offer children the chance to scale down their play, the world can become so much bigger.

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22:37

TWBIM_0321 Unintended Challenges

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/02/11

Tom leads a conversation about children using things in unintended ways, such as climbing playground shade canopies, piling portable steps into rickety piles, and using drumsticks to fill holes. Mike sees a difference in our perception of what's intended and acceptable use of manufactured materials vs. natural materials. Joey wonders if creativity is ever problematic. Ross talks through approaches to partnering with children as they create their own challenges. Tom reminds us that children will

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31:36

TWTBIM_0320 What About Four Year Old Boys?

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/02/04

Ross addresses a listener question, "what is it with four year old boys?" Why is this group of children most likely to be kicked out of child care and identified by teachers as being challenging? Mike shares research about developmental shifts, bell curves, and hormone levels. If the "problem" is actually a result of typical development, perhaps we need to look to adult perceptions and lack of understanding for the solution. Tom has problems with the whole premise.

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