Teaching With The Body In Mind

Latest Episodes:

TWTBIM_0388 Parking Cars Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

Parking cars for the MN State Fair has Tom thinking about spatial literacy. Skills built in childhood are very useful in adult life!

TWTBIM_0387 Driftwood Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

Watching children playing with driftwood at the beach has Joey thinking about classroom materials. Sometimes it all just feels like so much stuff! How do we balance simplicity and complexity? Tom reflects on intentionally empty bulletin boards. Mike recalls times of relfection while packing up materials at the end of an investigation.

TWTBIM_0386 Physical Literacy, continued Sep 01, 2026

Show notes

Mike continues the conversation about physical literacy. How can we be encouraging and support learning, even if we don't have all the skills ourselves? Mike talks us through the early stages of stilt-walking as an example.

TWTBIM_0385 Physical Literacy Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

Tom's grasping at an idea and needs help making sense of it. His idea is "physical literacy" and how children become literate in how they use their body and interact with the world. We probably don't think about it much and don't provide for it. Mike suggests that we support physical literacy skills up until the time children learn to talk, and then we stop valuing it. Joey wonders if there are physical literacy levels just like there are reading levels. Do some children stall out at less developed levels? Do teachers even notice? Are adults physically literate enough themselves?

TWTBIM_0384 Space Map Aug 18, 2026

Show notes

Mike kicks off a discussion about how much space children need for their bodies and how close (or not) they can be from one another with a look at how third spaces are used at his program. Joey wonders what it would look like if we could map the circumferences of how much space children use around them. Tom argues that children are often quite comfortable playing in very close quarters. Ross points out that it can depend on who is playing nearby. From there, the conversation flows into reading books and studying grasshoppers.

TWTBIM_0383 Rewards and Needs Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

Ross is thinking about motivation and the impact on children's feelings of worth. How does it feel to be asked to do something versus forced to do it? This leads the group into a conversation about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the dreaded "rewarding of bad behavior." Mike points out how things often get muddled because the older language of behaviorism doesn't match our more current language about regulation. If we shift the focus to meeting children's needs, won't children feel more competent (and therefore motivated) if their needs are met?

TWTBIM_0382 Calm Corners Aug 04, 2026

Show notes

Joey is all in on cozy spaces, but "calm corners" have never really worked for her. It turns out Mike, Tom and Ross share her concerns. They discuss the challenges of asking children to regulate all alone and how a pinterest-inspired space can't replace proactive stratgeies and skillfull, nuanced responses to children's needs.

TWTBIM_0381 Gendered Classroom Spaces Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

Tom's thinking about who uses what space in the classroom whether it is gendered. Mike explains gender schema theory. Ross is reminded of the gender-coded ailes at stores like Target. Is this code replicated in classrooms? Joey reflects on her bias against toy dinosaurs and the role of gender in her dislike. Tom sees access to movement as the key to making spaces welcome for children on all genders.

TWTTBIM_0380 Hug Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Tom's been watching the World Cup and thinking about the many different ways people hug. Naturally this leads to a conversation about what children learn about hugging. Is hugging professional? How is it diffrerent for men in the classroom? What if you don't want a hug? What is the role of family culture?

TWTBIM_0379 Joint Ventures and Friendship Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Ross has been taking notes and wants a follow up conversation on the ways that physical play creates an entry point for social relationships. Tom points out how joint ventures in the physical world create openings for friendship—bumping cars, filling big buckets with sand. Joey is reminded of recent statue game where physical play was a path to quickly forming relationships. Mike wonders if physical games are more like choreography than a written script. In the end, do we just need more time for play?

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