Integrated Movement at Concord Hill School

If you’ve ever walked through Concord Hill School and wondered, “Is something falling down up there?”—rest assured, all is well. At Concord Hill the thuds, shuffles, and bursts of laughter are not chaos. They’re the sound of learning–exactly how research and experience show young brains learn best: in motion. At Concord Hill, movement isn’t a pause from learning –it’s a core instructional strategy that is part of how learning happens. When the ceiling shakes, it’s because students are actively resetting their bodies and minds so they can focus, remember, manage their emotions, and engage together. By getting blood flowing and engaging the senses that support balance and body awareness, movement helps children feel calm, organized, and ready to learn, improving attention, memory, and emotional regulation. For our youngest learners, especially, this approach is a high-impact investment that pays dividends in student focus, stamina, engagement, and academic growth.

Much of the movement woven into our learning is intentionally designed to include crossing the midline—the imaginary line that divides the body into left and right halves. When children touch a right hand to a left knee, twist across their bodies, crawl, clap in patterns, or dance with purpose, they are doing far more than “getting the wiggles out.” These cross-body movements strengthen communication between both sides of the brain, a foundational skill that supports reading, writing, math, and problem-solving. Over time, this kind of integrated movement builds coordination, the ability to use both sides of the body together, and executive functioning–skills that are essential for success in an age 3-grade 3 learning environment.

In practice, integrated movement at Concord Hill might look like a burst of joyful dancing, animal walks down the hallway, yoga poses that challenge balance, or rhythmic cross-body patterns woven into lessons. It feels more like play than practice, but learning is happening the entire time. The energy is real. The joy is visible. And the engagement runs deep. So when the ceiling shakes at Concord Hill School, we see it as a positive leading indicator. It means our students are regulating their bodies, connecting their brains, and building the skills they need to think deeply and learn well. Movement isn’t an add-on here—it’s part of how learning gets done.