Supporting Schools with Purposeful Play Is Our Jam!
Our specialty is supporting schools in getting kids active with the goal of helping them build social, emotional, behavioral and cognitive skills. By simply moving their bodies, children are better able to sit still, listen, focus, learn and make friends. It is also through movement, physical activity and big body play that children build confidence on the playground, classroom and life.
The Pivot to Play™ Movement Challenge
Our goal is to help you find ways to build movement into your day with as little effort as possible. This is a template to get kids moving whether they are young preschoolers, older preschoolers, or elementary-aged kids. The template is based on older preschoolers but you can easily scaffold up or down for the other groups. What do you get? A short instructional video, tips and tricks to finding time to sneak physicality into your day in and out of the classroom and 14 games and activities for older preschoolers/younger elementary aged kids and 6 games for younger preschoolers. Learn more about the video, workbook, assessments, games and more here.
Movement Helps Kids Sit Still
How can it be that movement helps kids sit still? What can you do during the school day to help them get active? How can you be sure you are doing enough? This workbook and audit will help you hone in on where the weaknesses lie (and with whom) and how to analyze and then leverage your schedule to fold in more activity. With ideas to get kids moving in the classroom as well as a lesson plan with 6 games, you can hit the ground running to success immediately! Learn more or get yours here.
AAA Play
Skills like the ability to attend, follow age-appropriate directions, self-regulation and self-control are vital to classroom success. Without the ability to calm the body and mind, reading and writing are not available. We have to be able to sit still and focus to learn. So when self-regulation and self-control are hard, it is frustrating not just for teachers and parents, but for kids too. And it makes learning harder than it needs to be. With a short video overview of 3 of the vital Pivot to Play™ Strengths and Skills and their connection to learning, a downloadable guide to spotting weaknesses and building vestibular and proprioceptive strengths and 6 activities to help you immediately! Learn more or get yours here.
Yoga Cards and Demo
Yoga is a fantastic way to incorporate a lot of big-body physical strengths and skills kids need to find stillness in their bodies and brains. At Pivot to Play™, we like to help kids explore what their bodies are capable of, and how they balance, twist, and move by incorporating yoga poses into our play. Included: downloadable cards, lesson plans and a tutorial on poses. Learn more or get yours here.
More Yoga Fun
Yoga is a great way to incorporate big body physical play into the day without taking up a great deal of space. In this quick lesson, you will gain access to two of our favorite ways to incorporate yoga into our play with two lesson plans for super fun games he Pivot to Play™ Strengths and Skills System with our Pivot to Play™ Power Bar so you know exactly what strengths and skills are being targeted (hint: 17 of 18!), downloads of the Pivot to Play™ Yoga Bingo Cards and the Pivot to Play™ Partner Yoga Cards, as well as a video tutorial to guide you through the execution of yoga poses if they are unfamiliar. Learn more or get yours here.
If Broccoli Were a Cookie Cookbook
If Broccoli Were a Cookie is a collection of fun recipes pulled from our Snack & Roll™ program and includes delicious messiness, counting, tasting, comparing and even some palate expansion. This collection of recipes has been successfully replicated with hundreds of picky preschoolers and given the double thumbs up. Using math, language, science, and social studies, we share our tips and tricks to engage young minds and small hands in the art of cooking. Get your copy here.
Body Awareness: A Perceptual Motor Skill FREE
This video training takes a look at the role body awareness plays in school. Get ready for some great takeaways including clues to weaknesses and games and activities to build body awareness. Includes 5 games and lots of ideas to help you get started. Get your FREE Body Awareness Guide here.
Design Your Day: Add Moving Minutes FREE
Stumped on how to sneak in some big-body play? Our timeline is a critical thinking tool to help you design your day with the maximum results. If you are a visual learner, this might be the ticket! Downloadables, including a lesson plan with 5 games to put to work immediately. Learn more or get yours here.
” [Pivot to Play] was everything we were hoping it would be! After attending Preston’s session at the NAEYC, I knew it was the perfect compliment to our existing early childhood curriculum. Our teaching staff immediately fell in love with the simple, developmentally appropriate and FUN activities and the kids truly look forward to playing the games. The activities are easy to scaffold based on the unique group of needs of the class and were an instant hit with our Toddlers, Pre-K and School Age friends.” – Leah Lisowski, Riverview Children’s Center, Pittsburgh PA
“I am so excited! I love this curriculum!” – Charlene J. Teacher, Verona, PA
“We see an incredible difference in our students after a [Pivot to Play™] class. They are more focused and do a much better job of listening and following directions.” – Julia Warren, Celebrate RVA
“[Pivot to Play™] makes learning fun and active. The children are able to work on their listening skills without realizing it. They also get to practice working as a team to accomplish a goal and relying on their friends to help them.” – Erin Brown, Youth Life Foundation
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