I turn around as I hear “it’s flooooor time” and I walk over to grab a yoga mat. As I do so, I see five other students (ages 5 – 17yrs old) accept the informal invitation.

Is this a scheduled activity? Nope.

An adult-led activity? Nope.

Is this limited to 30 minutes per day? Also, no.

This may look trivial to many reading this; however, it is profound to me.

Why? I think it is primarily because it exists in such contrast to what we’ve come to expect about schooling and childhood: movement is often adult-led, scheduled, and limited to short periods of time or as something withheld for “bad behaviors”. At The Circle School, young humans are trusted to know when and how they want to move their bodies.

Often initiated by 5- or 6-year-olds, “floor time” is an organic invitation to come together and move your body as you see fit. Sometimes, and for a time, a leader emerges, modeling meditative, acrobatic, or otherwise playful moves. No one is too old nor too young to be invited and included. No move is “wrong”, any more than one move is “right”. We get to experience a move, our move, and the powerful absence of someone deciding what constitutes a good move, a productive move, an appropriate move, or a successful move.

As each of us feels complete, we grab our mat and return it to its home. Within 10 minutes or 2 hours, all mats are put away and there’s no evidence of floor time, but the experience always stays with me.  Many of my favorite experiences at school are initiated by, led by, and owned by humans who are a fraction of my age.

Kathryn Belcher

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