Teaching With The Body In Mind

Latest Episodes:

TWTBIM_0327 Something Magical About Pretend Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

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 Children's Power, Identity and Agency Through Play

TWTBIM_0327 Anti-Phobic Power of Play (Encore Epsiode) Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

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 Thrilling Experiences.")

TWTBIM_0326 Normal and Necessary Mar 18, 2025

Show notes

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 their worries. Ross wonders if the antidote is based in realism and the understanding that children's play is normal and necessary.

TWTBIM_0325 Unintended Culture Mar 11, 2025

Show notes

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.)

TWTBIM_0324 Attunement Revisited Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

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 Attunement

TWTBIM_0171 Judgement Blocks Attunement

TWTBIM_0323 Do As I Say Feb 25, 2025

Show notes

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.

TWTBIM_0322 Big Worlds, Small Play Feb 18, 2025

Show notes

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.

TWBIM_0321 Unintended Challenges Feb 11, 2025

Show notes

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 always turn benign areas into something challenging because challenge is were joy comes from.

TWTBIM_0320 What About Four Year Old Boys? Feb 04, 2025

Show notes

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.

TWTBIM_0319 The Body Has a Language of Its Own Jan 28, 2025

Show notes

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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