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 our children’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. 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? Yes! Evidence supports this approach with simple, impactful actions.
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 their full potential. As Dr. Martha Eddy, film expert 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.
Thank you for supporting The Moving Child Films project. Let’s inspire change and help children and adults thrive!
How to access the films:
You can watch the films by streaming or downloading a copy for personal or institutional use:
- Personal Use: For individual learning or small in person family or colleague gatherings of up to 12 people. (If others you know outside that scope would benefit from the films, please share this page so they can access them directly.
- Institutional Use License: Required for colleges, universities, libraries, organizations, or private professional training programs showing or sharing the films with their community. We help you easily set this up! See link below.
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 (include an Affiliate Program link).
- Host a live or online screening and/or organize a workshop or talk with the films’ creator Hana Kamea Kemble.
- Share this website with your colleagues, families, and local communities. www.themovementarc.com
Become an Affiliate
You can easily join our Moving Child Films/Movement Arc Affiliate Team by clicking here. This involves signing up, receiving a personalized online link, and then sharing that link with your communities through social media, your newsletter or emailing contacts. When people then use that link to purchase any Moving Child Films or courses, you will earn a commission.
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. Get all three of The Moving Child Films in one bundle!
(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. Get all three of The Moving Child Films in one bundle!
(1hr 20min)
The Moving Child III: Developmental Movement in the First Year
Demonstrates infant developmental movement stages in the first year of life. Featuring Bonnie Bainbridge-Cohen, Susan Aposhyan, Dr. Martha Eddy, Mariko Tanabe, Maryska Bigos, Dr. Annie Brook and others. Get all three of The Moving Child Films in one bundle!
(1hr)
Movement matters.
By moving, children learn to play, communicate, express feelings, heal from adverse experiences, 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 self-connected feelingful movement, in order to successfully cope with different environments and challenges at different ages. By exploring dynamic movement, a child learns to switch easily from accelerating to decelerating, expanding and condensing in space, voluming loud to quiet, moving from angry to happy, up to down, tense to relaxed, side to side and all other movement potential and polarities, supporting self-regulation. Dance is particularly helpful 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 dynamically from early infancy onward. Infants are also being placed in contraptions that restrict movement development. Lack of integrated developmental movement can contribute to 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! Our films offer new awareness, tools and understanding.
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 their own health as well as their availability to and connection with their children. 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.
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 12 people, as we can also offer you support for that process, possibly help you advertise a screening event through our website or social media and provide you with graphics.
Online Screenings
Online screening can be hosted by us or by your own organization via a Facebook Live Event or other modes of live event hosting. You can charge a ticket price or suggest a donation amount for a screening that can if you want also include some kind of movement workshop. 50% of after cost revenue will come back to The Moving Child Films and you will keep 50%. We suggest a donation or ticket price of $15-20 per screening.
Live Screenings
You are welcome to host a live screening event with our permission in writing. Same details apply, let us know what support we can offer by contacting us using our Contact Form above.
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 contact us to discuss! Fees will be adjusted for non-profits.
Schedule of Upcoming Screenings:
Having taken a few years off live screening tours during Covid, we are now back in the saddle and raring to go!
March-April 2025 will see a screening tour of the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island, BC. Get in touch if you live in these areas!
Past Screenings
- Calgary, ALTA 2024: Marie-Claire O’Donogue hosted 3 screenings.
- Europe 2018: We gave screenings in Spain, Germany and Italy, showing the film with subtitles in French, Spanish, Italian. Stops included the International Educational Kinesiology Conference.
- Mass, USA 2018: Annual Body-Mind Centering Conference.
- Vancouver BC, 2018: at Another Space studio.
- Seattle, WA, 2017: Nurturing Pathways hosted.
- Austin and San Antonio,TX, 2017: Beverly Bajema hosted and we screened at the American Dance Therapy Conference.
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 educators and 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 (the work of Moving Child Film expert voice 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
