Pass a Ball Around the Circle
Why this lesson matters:
This game is a powerful tool for teaching one of the most essential human skills: how to connect and attune to another person. In this seemingly simple ball-passing exercise students develop their sensory-motor, social-emotional,and musical skills. Student first see a brief 'puppet show' showing the activity done effectivley and done in a disregulated manner. As students pass the ball, attend to the quality of the physical connection. They learn to feel if the other person has control of the ball. They must sense the other person and then respond to them.
Benefits of the Exercise
- Reduction of Anxiety: Successfully participating in this exercise helps lower anxiety levels and makes students feel safer in their connections with peers.
- Development of Key Skills: The teamwork involved in this activity promotes communication, cooperation, and empathy.
- Brain Activation: The physical act of passing and receiving activates brain regions involved in movement and rhythm, and developing a sense of 'how muchness'. It is this ability to sense, continuously evaluate while doing that is central to deep musical development.
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Embodied Learning: student are learning, in an embodied way, about social emotional connection and regulation.
They are learning that they a part of a group.
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There are benefits to being part of a group and their are responcibilities.
Impact of Behavior: students begin to realize that their actions matter; they affect others and influence how they are regarded and treated within the group. In this seemingly simple ball-passing exercise, students develop their sensory-motor, social-emotional, and musical skills. The lesson begins with a brief puppet show that demonstrates the activity both effectively and in a disregulated manner. This sets the stage for students to experience the nuances of connection. As students pass the ball, they must pay attention to the quality of their physical connection. They learn to feel whether the other person has control of the ball and must respond to their partner’s cues. This process not only fosters physical coordination but also enhances their ability to sense and communicate with others.Variation:
Pass a tambourine while making as little sound as possible. This variation adds an additional layer of challenge and mindfulness to the activity, encouraging students to focus on subtlety in their movements and connections.
The deep dive:
I have studied with Barry Sterman PhD. He was a neuro-scientist who flew in the cock pits of Top Gun type fighter pilots, recoreded and studied their brainwaves as they performed precise and highly dangerous maneurs