Mover Monday | A Sudden Display of Vulnerability

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! This week's Mover Monday features three great PeaceMovers and their classroom experiences. Take a snapshot look into three different classrooms spread out across the east coast! Enjoy!   

PeaceMover Paula Olson has a successful Share Out with her third and fourth graders at Center City PCS, Shaw Campus! 

Before the Share Out, my students came to me very nervous to perform in front of their peers and families. A normally seemingly overconfident group, I was taken aback by their sudden display of vulnerability. My students normally take any opportunity in class to "rush their youth" by expressing actualities or opinions beyond their years. This reminded me that indeed they were all still children, going through periods in which they question their self-confidence. It also reminded me why I choose to do this, reinforcing the importance of Move This World and the need to foster this sense of self-efficacy and self-esteem in children while creating opportunities for kids to be kids.  Before the performance began, I was able to speak to my students and encourage them to be confident in themselves. They decided they were able to do their speaking parts, and they ended up performing amazingly. I was really proud of the students and ended the semester on a great note.

PeaceMover Alejandra Paucar reflects on her experiences working with seventh and eighth graders at New World Prep Charter School in New York.

The boys were really killing it today with the dances! We were going over the hub dances and after a while of running those dances, they asked if we could do some free-style dancing. When I put on a favorite song, they all got in a circle and started to take turns dancing. Some of the boys were incredible, and all boys were confident in their abilities. All of them cheered on and laughed with each other, regardless of skill level. It was a really great session. 

PeaceMover Tim Webster finds a way to make an impact on his students' everyday actions. Check out these kindergarteners and first graders of Staten Island Community Charter School applying MTW concepts beyond their MTW sessions!  

Several weeks ago I introduced a "time-out" gesture as a way for one student to stop another from talking to him or her at an inappropriate time.  It is a way of saying, "I'm not ignoring you, but let's talk later." The teacher of this class said the students were using the gesture last week during their state testing.  It's nice to hear that what we do is branching out beyond our sessions.

Mover Monday | Making Music

Hey MTDubberz! Here at Move This World we think on our feet, adjust to unforeseen obstacles, get creative, and make our own music! Today's Mover Monday features an anecdote from PeaceMover, Komal Thakkar. Read about how Komal gracefully overcame the hurdles she faced in the classroom!

The night before my third session, I made sure to have my curriculum printed out and all of my activities planned. I had packed everything I needed and was ready to tackle the day's lessons as soon as I got into my classrooms. Halfway through my first and second grade classroom, my speakers stopped working in the middle our activity. I quickly tried to address the problem, but once I realized my speakers weren't going to cooperate, I unplugged them and hoped my laptop would work. Unfortunately, the sound stopped working on my laptop too. 

While some kids inquired about why the music went out and I lost the attention of others, panic mode kicked in. I still had thirty minutes left, and we were supposed to play freeze dance as a reward if they behaved well. I switched gears to do another activity and get their attention back, all the while trying to figure out what to do. My singing voice isn't exactly American Idol status, so that definitely wasn't an option. I decided to put dance education to good use, after all, this is a movement based program. I asked them how they would like to create their own rhythm, and when they all agreed, I led them in a series of rhythmic exercises. We stomped our feet, snapped our fingers, and clapped our hands to different patterns in order to create various sounds to make music of our own using movement. A technical difficulty turned into a pretty successful session!

Mover Monday | Different Kind of Education

Happy Monday, MTDubberz! Today's post is going to be a short one for all of you on the go! When asked "Why do you Move This World?" here's what Katie McFarland, our U.S. Programs Manager, had to say!

"I move this world because I believe in a different kind of education, where learning is dynamic, participant-centric, and physical!"

Why do you Move This World, MTDubberz? What is your perfect educational environment? Leave your answers in the comments! And don't forget, you can be the first to know about blog updates by clicking "Join this site" on our sidebar! Have a great day and a great week!