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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

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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24:24

TWTBIM_0319 The Body Has a Language of Its Own

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/01/28

Mike kicks off a conversation about how physical games like rough and tumble play or hide and seek provide entry points to social connection--especially for children who don't share a common language. With each example shared, it becomes more and more evident that the body has a language of its own. Children are fluent in this language and much more capable at using it to connect than adults are. (To hear the episode with Becky Klay that Mike refers to in the opening, click here.)

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21:04

TWTBIM_0318 The Joys of Hide and Seek

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/01/21

Joey's recent experiences with her students playing hide and seek triggers happy memories amoung the group of playing Russian Piglets, Ghost in the Graveyard and Bloody Murder. Playing with the idea of disappearance and separation can provide just the right amount of feeling scared, brave and in control.

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21:21

TWTBIM_0317 Empathy and Perspective Continued

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/01/14

In a continuation of last week's conversation, there's more to discuss around empathy and perspective taking. What does it feel like to know that others perceive you as the "bad" kid? What narratives support children's flawed perspective about other people and how adults help to expand their thinking? The group gets into some thorny issues that connect our experiences in the classroom with children's experiences in the larger world.

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22:13

TWBIM_0316 Perspective Taking and Empathy

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2025/01/07

Perspective taking and empathy are skills that often get lumped together in talking about children's development. Mike argues that they develop separately but often work together. Ross reminds us that babies (who lack perspective taking abilities) show care towards others. Joey wonders how to apply Mike's idea to recent puppy paw conflict in the classroom. Tom recalls a time when his team decided to look for empathy and kindness among the children and found an abundance of it.

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18:20

TWTBIM_0315 Snow! (Encore Episode)

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/12/31

The time is here to share our "Snow!" episode. Tom wants to talk about beautiful, wonderful snow. Children love snow and the myriad opportunities it brings. Adults need to keep their snow-related hassles to themselves and let children have the joy. The discussion includes some practical tips for sledding with young children. (Originally recorded in 2019) Wishing everyone a happy and healthy new year!

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12:09

TWTBIM_0314 Musical Pairings

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/12/24

Just for fun, some suggestions for musical pairings that fit the themes of our conversations.

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22:23

TWTBIM_0313 Conditions for Flow

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/12/17

Tom leads a follow up conversation about creating conditions for flow in the classroom. Mike draws on his days as a drummer to highlight the needs of shared understanding among players and repeated experiences with materials to build mastery. But where is the tipping point between mastery and boredom? Ross introduces the hotplate theory of creativity. Tom emphasizes the need for meaningful choices. Joey highlights schedule predictability and routines as conditions that also support flow.

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23:38

TWTBIM_0312 Flow

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/12/10

Tom reflects on whether children achieve flow states in their play. According to a recent article--that, of course, Tom read--flow occurs when someone has expertise that allows them to release conscious control and go on autopilot. Do children have the expertise required to create flow? Mike argues that children achieve flow in play, which is their area of expertise. The conversation closes with a look at how to avoid interrupting children's flow states with transitions or intrusive questions.

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24:57

TWTBIM_0311 Collective Energy

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/12/03

As a follow up to recent talks about energy levels, Ross invites us to look at the collective energy created by groups of children. It's hard to pinpoint the source of this energy and what makes it shift. Things can quickly turn from joyful noise to chaos. What is the impact of timing, friendships or tensions within the group? Mike cites a perfect example of "collective energy" from his time in the toddler room.

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22:13

TWTBIM_0310 Cave and Treehouse

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/11/26

Mike leads a discussion about environments that support children when they are upset. Some children will need "caves" while others need "treehouses." Tom observes that children can also create their own spaces for regulation within the classroom. Ross wonders, can you have a treehouse in a cave?

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20:18

TWTBIM_0309 Relax

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/11/19

Do children have the right to relax? How do we set the atmosphere to allow for relaxation? Does it work when we tell children, "I need you to relax"? Maybe we all need to learn how to play the ukele so we have something to do while children play.

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23:03

TWTBIM_0308 Real Play

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/11/05

A garden gleaning results in thrilling play experiences in Joey's classroom. If squash and potatoes can be this exciting, what other ways can we include real experiences for children? Tom recalls logs and leaves in the sensory table and Mike shares a story of a piano in the play yard. Ross reminds us that offering real tools and authentic materials provides a chance to build trust with children.

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19:28

TWTBIM_0307 Cute Aggression

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/10/29

Get ready to feel smart as Tom teaches us the science behind cute aggression. How does the urge to squeeze something cute help us stay regulated? Mike is reminded of favorite books that depict this dimorphous emotion--from the Where the Wild Things Are to More, More, More Said the Baby. Mike and Ross show off their brain chemistry knowledge. Perhaps cute aggression also has a role to play in rough and tumble play between friends.

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20:21

TWTBIM_0306 I Don't Want Help

Teaching With The Body In Mind ·

2024/10/22

Depsite our goal to create communities where everyone helps, sometimes offers of help can create conflict in the classrrom. Ross shares a recent example during block clean up. Mike has seen "help" with puzzle assembly lead to similar conflicts. Thinking of ways that we do (and don't) like to receive help in our own work can give some insights. Joey wonders if the word "help" leaves things too open ended sometimes. As we support children in building their skills to do hard things, we need to also pay

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