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 coordinate with another person. 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, setting the stage for students to experience the nuances of connection. As students pass the ball, they learn to attend to the quality of their physical connection. They must feel if the other person has control of the ball, sensing their partner, and responding accordingly. This process not only fosters physical coordination but also enhances their ability to sense and communicate with others.
Benefits of the Exercise
- Reduced Anxiety: Successfully participating in this exercise helps lower anxiety levels, fostering a sense of safety and security in connections with peers.
- Development of Key Skills: The teamwork involved in this activity promotes essential skills such as communication, cooperation, and empathy.
- Brain Activation: The physical act of passing and receiving activates brain regions involved in movement, rhythm, and the development of 'how muchness' – the ability to continuously sense and evaluate actions, which is central to deep musical development.
- Embodied Social-Emotional Learning: Students learn experientially about social-emotional connection and self-regulation. They grasp their role within a group, understanding both the benefits and responsibilities of group membership.
- Understanding Impact of Behavior: Students begin to realize that their actions matter, directly affecting others and influencing how they are perceived and treated within the group.
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
The concept of precise, real-time responsiveness, crucial in this exercise, is echoed in advanced neuroscientific research. I have studied with Barry Sterman PhD, a pioneering neuroscientist who recorded and studied the brainwaves of Top Gun fighter pilots as they performed precise and highly dangerous maneuvers. His work illuminated the brain's capacity for continuous sensing and subtle adjustment – a skill mirrored in the 'how muchness' developed through this ball-passing activity.