Teaching With The Body In Mind

Latest Episodes:

TWTBIM_0392 Leave the Kids Alone Nov 03, 2026

Show notes

Maybe it's because he's been listening to too much Pink Floyd, but Ross says it's time to leave the kids alone. He doubles down on team stop helping so that children can feel empowered, trusted, and capable. Mike is reminded of toddlers doing clean up jobs with gym mats. Joey thinks adults are really bad at waiting. Tom believes that children are always looking for challenges.

ENCORE EPISODE: Spooky Stuff Oct 27, 2026

Show notes

As everyone is busy preparing costumes for Ross' favorite holiday, enjoy this episode from way back:

Ross wants to talk about spooky stuff. Being faced with scary things, from monsters to giant potatoes, is a big part of childhood. Fear will pass (like all emotions), but what do children do when they have these feelings and how should adults respond? Originally recorded October 2019

ENCORE EPISODE: The Edge of the Path Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Fall is busy and internet connections are not so good in rural Michigan. Until the group gets a few new episodes recorded, enjoy this one from way back in 2021:

After a visit to the zoo, Tom wants to talk about boundaries. What can be learned about boundaries when children walk on the edge of the path? What gets lost if we only walk in the middle?

TWTBIM_0391 Restless Oct 13, 2026

Show notes

We often see restlessness as a problem, but what if we saw restlessness as a good quality? So many of our spaces for children don't support restlessness and so we've come to see restlessness as a bad thing. Restless children are the ones who discover new things. Restlessness can be a motivator for curiosity—boredom's cousin? The conversation takes a brief detour at the end to consider how children do or don't use pathways.

TWTBIM_0390 Confidence Part 2 Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

Turns out Tom, Ross, and Joey had more to say about children's confidence and how adults often (unintentionally) interrupt its development.

TWBIM_0389 Confidence Sep 29, 2026

Show notes

Ross is thinking about confidence. Does practice in one area translate to gains in confidence overall? Is it a trait that is already there for children or can we help it grow? Tom points out how giving encouragement can help someone be confident. "You got this!" Part of the art of teaching is figuring out what conditions different children need to feel confident to try things. Ross wonders if it's as simple as working alongside one another and keeping things fun. Joey mentions a recent critique she read of how too much adult interference in children's activities increases anxiety. The conversation winds up with a deep dive into the organization of block shelves.

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?