What is Pivot to Play®?

Have you ever wondered exactly what Pivot to Play® might be?  It is a good question.

Pivot to Play® grew out of Pop, Hop & Rock™ a big-body physical play program designed to help schools get kids moving for the purpose of improved learning and behavior.  For more than 20 years, Pop, Hop & Rock™ has been developing and leading programming in schools in Richmond, Virginia.  As the business grew, as the team grew, more schools began asking for training to support the use of movement and play in and out of the classroom.   The more frequently it happened, the more it became clear, Richmond should share this!

So Pivot to Play™ was born.  Pivot to Play™ helps any school, anywhere, get kids moving for improved learning and behavior.  Too often in our current culture, we discount the immense value of movement to a child’s development and ultimate success.  Sadly our culture has become one that spends more time in sedentary behaviors than active ones, but that is not how the body and brain were designed to develop and learn.

“In order for a child to thrive, his brain needs his body to move.” – Preston Blackburn

In fact, sedentary behaviors that have children sitting upright and still (think desk time and screen time) prevent the brain from fully understanding what the body is doing and how the brain can use the body to learn, whether it is to explore or put pencil to paper and write (think communicate.)  Worse, if the body doesn’t move (a lot) then the brain will make it move anyway in order to feed that developmental need.  And what does that look like?  It can look like garden variety bad behavior or worse, bring on a diagnosis.

What are the options with Pivot to Play®?  

Pivot to Play® Coaches are highly skilled and well versed in the body-brain connection that leads to classroom success.  These coaches are building a business like Pop, Hop & Rock™ in their own community, bringing change and support to their school systems.  They are trained to lead specific games that hone strengths and skills that are weaker in kids today than they should be, weaknesses the frequently lead to classroom struggles.  They are trained to spot weaknesses, apply games and activities to hone and strengthen those weaknesses and guide children in practicing skills, both physical and social-emotional, that are needed when they leave a session and return to the classroom.  They have passed two levels of intense course work and demonstrated an ability to safely and effectively lead fun, productive programs.

Schools that have leaned into Pivot to Play® for consulting and training understand the vital importance of big body physical play and the impact it can have on engagement, leading to less frustration for both teachers and students alike.  These schools have tapped into the Pivot to Play® resources that put movement and learning together, whether it is in or out of the classroom, in transitions or waiting.  They understand why more desk time does not lead to advancement while more moving means more advancement frequently with less effort and frustration.

When schools put the pieces together, magic happens.   Check out what it sounds like after a school has turned to Pivot to Play® for guidance.