The Moving Child Films I, II and III
Supporting children's natural desire and imperative to move dynamically and expressively.
The Moving Child Films aim to support children’s physical, emotional, social, and mental development by educating adults about the vital role dynamic movement plays in a child’s well-being. These films are rich with inspiring success stories, practical case studies, and examples of age-appropriate movement engagement for children and families.
Why does movement matter?
Movement impacts every aspect of a child’s development. These unique educational documentaries explore the why and how of dynamic movement and its critical role in healthy development. They offer best practices for supporting sensorimotor development and secure attachment from the very beginning of life. The films also address concerning trends: children today are increasingly experiencing delays in motor skills, emotional dysregulation, learning disabilities, neurodivergence, childhood obesity, and overall well-being. Could understanding dynamic movement development and introducing age-appropriate movement engagement help? The answer is a resounding yes! Evidence supports this approach, offering simple yet impactful actions to take.
What you’ll learn:
The Moving Child Films feature insights from diverse child development experts and showcase innovative ideas from parents, educators, and movement therapists. These models and practices are making a real difference in helping kids get “unstuck” and back on track toward health, well-being, and their full potential. As Dr. Martha Eddy aptly states, “This is a gaping hole in most people’s knowledge.”
These films are invaluable resources for anyone involved in children’s care or development, including parents, caregivers, teachers, early childhood educators, pediatric doctors, therapists, and more.
How to access the films:
You can stream or purchase the films for personal or institutional use:
- Institutional Use License: Required for colleges, universities, libraries, organizations, or private professional training programs. We can help you set this up!
- Personal Use: For individual learning or small gatherings of up to 12 people. If others would benefit from the films, please share this page so they can access them directly.
Ways to help spread the word:
Together, we can create change. Share these films with caregivers, educators, and others in your community!
- Post on social media or include in newsletters (join our Affiliate Program to earn a percentage of screening revenue).
- Host a live or online screening and/or organize a workshop or talk with filmmaker Hana.
- Share with your colleagues, families, and local communities.
Become an Affiliate
Thank you for supporting The Moving Child Films project. Let’s inspire change and help children thrive!
The Moving Child I: Supporting Early Development through Movement
Educates about the importance of dynamic movement in child development (age 0-7) from the perspective of bonding, social & emotional development, brain growth and physical health.
(59 minutes)
The Moving Child II: Dance Therapy in Action
Meet ten diverse Board Certified Dance/Movement Therapists who demonstrate the art and science of Dance/Movement Therapy with children with diverse needs in a variety of settings.
(1hr 20min)
The Moving Child III: Developmental Movement in the First Year
Featuring Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen, Susan Aposhyan, Martha Eddy, Mariko Tanabe, Maryska Bigos, Annie Brook and others.
(1hr)
Movement matters.
By moving, children learn to communicate, express feelings, heal trauma, make friends, and thrive in the world. How a child moves indicates their developmental stage and communicates their needs. Healthy neurology, shaped by important early sensory and movement experiences in relationship with caregivers, is what supports a child in all learning and developmental tasks. This neurology is significantly shaped by movement and touch in our early years.
Children need to move, but HOW?
Children must learn to move dynamically, with full bodied, three-dimensional feelingful movement, to be able to cope with different environments and challenges at different ages. By exploring dynamic movement, a child learns to switch easily from accelerating to decelerating, big to small, loud to quiet, angry to happy, up to down, tense to relaxed, side to side and all other movement potential. This is a part of their ability to self-regulate. Dance is particularly helpful for self-regulation and for a multitude of physical, emotional, cognitive and social learning.
Kids are getting “stuck.”
Statistics show that not only are children not moving enough, they are not moving in the ways they need to move from early infancy onward, dynamically. Research indicates that this contributes to an increase in rates of coordination disorders, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, sensory disorders and emotional disturbance in children. Though these issues may be visible, many are not easy for caregivers to identify. Lots of kids are getting “stuck,” but they need not stay that way!
The presence and movement of adults matters!
The first Moving Child Film: Supporting Early Development through Movement is not just about the moving child’s early development, it’s also about adults in Western culture reclaiming their connection with their own body and movement as a resource for parenting and teaching and how that impacts children. We can help get ourselves and our kids “unstuck”! Everyone has a birthright to movement. As we accept the invitation from children to move with them, and to revive dynamic expressive movement in our families, we reclaim the relationship between our body and our full humanity, and in doing so our children will thrive.
Drawing on the knowledge of…
The Moving Child Films draw on interviews with experts in developmental movement, psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, neurology, psychiatry, dance/movement therapy, and cognitive science, including Dr. Carla Hannaford, Dr. Annie Brook, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Susan Loman, Myrna Martin, Dr. Martha Eddy, Kalila Homann and Dr. Bruce Perry, among others. The films also features diverse parents and children inspired to do things differently and discover new ideas!
Screenings and Keynotes
We are delighted to support screenings of The Moving Child Films I, II or III in and for diverse communities! We ask you to please contact us for permission to screen the films for audiences larger than 10 people.
Online Screenings:
Online screening can be hosted by The Moving Child or by your own organization via a Facebook Live Event or other modes of live event hosting. Donations can be accepted through the “Donate” button on this page, suggested donation is $10 for the 2 hour workshop that includes the screening. Or if you are hosting an online screening, then you can just send an Etransfer to us.
Community Screenings:
We have been supporting a “by suggested donation” admission fee of $10.00-20.00 for screenings of up to 20 people and ask that 50% of income be returned to The Moving Child Films to support our efforts to make more films. We can provide purchase cards for Electronic Downloads of the films for those who wish to purchase one or more of the films post screening or people can be directed to our website store. Please contact us for more information.
Institutions (such as universities, libraries, community centres) need to pay an institutional subscription rate of $275.00 PER FILM, or $750 for all three films as a trilogy. Visit our store. This five year licensing agreement allows your students or library patrons access to streaming each film, whether from your own University portal or direct through Vimeo. Please inquire at themovingchild@gmail.com for more information and to set up a license agreement with us.
Keynotes
Hana Kamea Kemble is happy to deliver a Keynote address to organizations small or large. This can include viewing all or portions of any of the three Moving Child Films, with question and answer periods to follow. It can also include the practice of movement activities and hands-on learning. Hana has presented in the past for preschool teacher associations, education conferences, schools, therapists, counseling training programs, and parent groups. Please email themovingchild@gmail.com
Schedule of 2024 Upcoming Screenings:
Calgary, Alberta: IN PERSON screenings, events hosted by Canopy Studios (and clinician Marie-Claire O’Donoghue)
- The Moving Child I: Supporting Early Development through Movement on March 22, 2024
- The Moving Child II: Dance Therapy in Action on April 19, 2024
- The Moving Child III: Developmental Movement in the First Year of Life on May 17, 2024
Past Screenings:
(due to Covid 19 2020 til 2022 our planned in person films tour schedule had to be cancelled, we look forward to picking things up again in 2024-2025; please invite us to your community!)
Thursday, January 20th, 2022 7-9pm Pacific Standard Time
This film screening introduced the 1hr long film The Moving Child Film I: Supporting Early Development Through Movement, as well as a post-film discussion with Q and A with the film’s creator/director/producer Hana Kamea Kemble, including movement experientials led by Hana.
Europe tour: Summer 2018
Moving Child Film producer/director Hana gave screenings in Spain, Germany and Italy, showing the film with subtitles in French, Spanish, Italian. Stops included Barcelona and Zaragoza, Spain. Tuscania and Perugia, Italy. And at the International Educational Kinesiology Conference in Germany. The film The Moving Child I well well-received by these audiences.
Austin,TX
Oct 29, 2017: Presented at Beverly Bajema’s studio for local movement practitioners.
San Antonio, Texas
American Dance Therapy Association Conference
November 5th, 2017 7-9:30pm (conference lasts four days)
Details/register: www.adta.org
Resources
Below we share some of our favourite movement development, movement education and movement therapy websites, offering rich information and links to help you find a variety of movement therapy practitioners.
- The American Dance Therapy Association: www.adta.org
- The School for Body-Mind Centering (Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen, founder): www.bodymindcentering.com
- BMC Infant Developmental Movement Educator trainings: www.bmc-klc.com/program/idme
- Amajoy: www.Amajoy.net (features the Neurodevelopmental Movement Chart viewed in the film)
- Amazing Babies resources (Beverly Stokes): www.amazingbabiesmoving.com
A few other sites of interest to parents, educators and therapists:
- Anne Green Gilbert’s Brain Dance: www.creativedance.org
Brain Gym - International: www.braingym.org
- Rhythmic Movement reflex integration program: www.rhythmicmovement.org
- Anat Baniel Method: www.anatbanielmethod.com
