Control of Movement

Walking on the Line

Materials: An ellipse, ¾ inch wide, marked on the floor. It should be as large as the space
will allow.

To make an ellipse:
Choose 2 points to be your foci.
Find the center of the two points and mark.
Moving out from the center point, place another point.
With a piece of string, make a “V” Shape with a person holding the end of
the string at each foci and the point of the “b” is the point you selected
outside the midpoint. Be sure the string is taut. Move a piece of chalk
along the inside of the string, until an ellipse is drawn.

Part I: Walking with Natural Steps

Hand drum or other instrument for signals

Part II: Equilibrium Exercises

Large Tray
4 small baskets filled with grain
Flags from the geography material, extra U.S. flags
Several towers of blocks
A sphere on a spoon
4 small glasses with colored water
A bell
Object on a string
Object on the head (soft bean bag)
Empty basket on head – then something in the basket
Object on the head and something in both hands.

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 Control of Movement
Walking on the Line

Purposes: To become aware of what you can do with your body

To develop conscious control of movement
To explore movement as human expression

Age: From the time the child enters the Children’s House until they leave.

Presentation:

Part I. Walking with Natural Steps (Preliminary Movements)

Set-up:

If necessary, move furniture to prepare the room. Take off shoes and socks and put
them neatly in the appointed place.

If you do these preliminary exercises well and don’t rush them, you will be setting clear
expectations and the children’s work with the line will go much more smoothly. Do not
move ahead until the previous stage has been mastered.

This is a series of exercises that build in complexity over a period of time. Each step
introduces a new signal that will be used for Walking on the Line. You will build skill
slowly, doing many repetitions at any one particular level until the group is ready to go
to the next level. What we do as adults in an hour in class will probably take several
months with children before you will complete the sequence.

1. Coming to the line:

● “When you hear this signal (ie: 1-beat on drum), put you toes on the line and face
towards the center.”
● Play a game with the children using the signal: Hop inside the line, give the
signal, Go for a walk, give signal, Take a step backwards, give signal, etc. This
should take no more than 3-5 min.
● Go as fast or as slow as the group allows.

● When the class can do this consistently, introduce the next signal.

2. Making space:
● “When you hear this signal, you are going to make space.” (ie: 2-beats on drum)

● Model how to stretch your hands to the side without touching your neighbor. If
you are touching the person next to you, move to bigger space.

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 Control of Movement
Walking on the Line

● Play a game as in previous exercise incorporating the signals for coming to the
line and for making space.
● When class can respond consistently to these 2 signals, proceed to the next step.

3. Turn and prepare to walk. (rubbing sound, flourish)

● Introduce the new signal (ie: rubbing the drum) and let the children know that
when the hear this signal they should turn and face the line.
● If not all of the children turn in the same direction, ask them: ”Do you see the
other students eyes?” Provide assistance as necessary.
● Play a game incorporating all 3 signals until they can come to the line, make
space and turn.

4. Walking to the beat of the drum

● Use the signals to call the children to the line, make space and turn. Now tell
the children when they hear the beat of the drum, they should walk on the line to
the beat. When the beat stops, they will stop.
● Make a game of walking on the line. Tell the children “We are going to follow
the line (better than walking “on” it). Offer points of interest while they are
walking, such as walk with your whole body, hold your chin up, relax your
arms, we are very still”. Model the natural heartbeat to walk to. Have the
children stop when the sound stops and turn to face the inside.

When they are doing this consistently without too much clumping, move on to next
level.

5. Walking with Changing Rhythms

● This time, before you initiate walking beat, let the children know that you may
change the beat and they should change their steps to follow the beat. Be sure
when they are going faster, that they continue using walking steps.
● Start with the natural beat, speed up, back to natural, slow down, back to
natural. Always end with natural rhythm, for it brings the child back to the
calm.
At this point, you have two options for proceeding: Equilibrium exercises or
Rhythm exercises.

Part II: Equilibrium Exercises

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 Control of Movement
Walking on the Line

NOTE: All of the equilibrium exercises are done walking heel-to-toe and without music.

1. Walking Heel to Toe with No Object. Children need lots of practice with this step.
● Announce the demonstration of a new way to walk on the line.

● Model walking heel-to-toe.

● Using same signals for coming to line, turning, etc., make a game of walking
heel-to-toe. Guide the children to keep their abdominals tight to prevent
wobbling.
● Challenge the child to keep their chin up.

● Let arms go up, if necessary, for balance.

2. Changing the Center of Balance (Follow the Leader)

● Have the children come to the line. Explain that you are going to change how
they put their hands, and they are to “follow the leader”, when you change your
hands, then they can change theirs.
● Children start walking with hands at side. Put them up in the air, on your hips, on
your shoulders, etc. Keep it interesting and fun. End with hands at side.
● Give a stop command if the group gets bunched up and have them go the other
way.
● Stay away from the idea of grouping the children by abilities: the “little ones”
and “big ones”.

When they are successful with this level, they are ready for objects.

3. Walking Heel to Toe with Objects

● The children will do the basic walking heel-toe, but this time you hand objects
to children as they pass by. Not all children will be carrying objects. You can
adjust challenge to each child’s abilities.
● The tray with objects should be in an accessible place so that children can
choose to do this individually as well.

The following objects are in order of difficulty:

1. One basket
2. Two baskets
3. One flag

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 Control of Movement
Walking on the Line

4. Two flags
5. A tower of two blocks, holding only the bottom block
6. One sphere on a spoon
7. One glass of water
8. Two glasses of water
9. One bell
10. Two bells
11. An object on a string
12. A bean bag on the head
13. An object on the head and something in both hands.

Part III: Rhythm Exercises

Many of the following activities are best facilitated in a wide open space, such as outside, in
the gym or even in the classroom, but can be done on the line.

● These are informal activities that are done with groups of children. With the rhythm
exercises, movement is always combined with music. As these may be new ways to
move for the children, the guide models the appropriate movements to the children as
an introduction.

● When you combine walking with music, you will always start with walking music, or
music with an unmarked walking rhythm. Elise Brown Barnett and Sanford Jones
both have compiled commercial collections of music that serve this purpose. The
music can be matched to the following movements: galloping, running, marching,
processional and skipping. You can put together your own CD with music to match
these rhythms.

● Flight of the Bumble Bee is a good example for running, Sousa marches are great for
marches. In the classroom, you will only have music for walking available for the
children to choose individually. Those individual choices should be equilibrium
exercises.

● When you are working with a group and you are changing the movement and the
music, it is wise to always alternate fast rhythms with the walking rhythm to center
the energy in the child.

Other Explorations of Movement

● In addition to the rhythm exercises, the guide may initiate activities related to body
movement. How can I move my body through space? What can my body do? How can
my shoulders move? My knees? Play games with the children, giving verbal direction.

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 Control of Movement
Walking on the Line

The guide demonstrates a given movement and the children imitate, working
kinesthetically (position different parts of the body). This is conducted with the same
spirit that choreographers work with dancers. You can model stretches, bends, twists,
circles, lifts, how to collapse, spinning, swinging, swaying and shaking. Explore how
you make these movements. Sharp, fluid, quick, slow. Explore how to move – curved,
straight, on the spot, through space, big movements, small movements, forward,
backward, and sideways. Moving up high, moving down low. These activities are
presented as games: follow-the-leader, jack-be-nimble, ribbons and scarves, etc.

● If you have done rhythm and movement in isolation with children, when they are older
you can put on a piece of music and ask the children to move however the music makes
them feel. This is the beginnings of music as human expression.

● Part of outdoor environment should be open space for movement. Examples of

movements that are done only outside are: kickballs, jump ropes, Frisbee, basketball,
how to throw a ball, how to catch a ball. Do these lessons with a small group. We want
to present basic movement skills during the Sensitive Period for Movement.

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