Balance Beam

The children are starting to explore the big balance beam. They begin by walking across it, seeing how it feels, how much of a challenge it is…

They become comfortable and try new ways of using it. When two children meet in the middle, they have to figure out what to do. There is both social and physical problem solving.

In the final photo above, Livia holds out her arms to show how that helps her to balance. Josie and Kesler found various ways of going across, one of which was walking backwards.

We set up this balance beam after viewing Tom Bedard’s website. Tom constructs opportunities for children to take risks, including a balance beam similar to ours. He offers these thought-provoking “value statements”:

• Children need to be able to control their bodies. 

• Children ask questions and make statements non-verbally with their bodies.

• Children use their bodies as thinking tools to explore and make sense of the world.

• There are body-based modes of knowing and reasoning.

• Action experience alters reasoning in a range of contexts.

• There is a role for movement in cognition.

• There are times when children cannot do what you ask.

• Biology and the need to move trump social expectations.