It had taken months but I had finally gotten into a good rhythm of being a stay at home mom of two kids during a pandemic. For a few months I felt like I was getting quality time with both kiddos, staying on top of managing the household, and consistently sending out a newsletter. I was laser focused.
And then the weather changed. Summer came rushing in and with it a world of new possible (safe) activities for our days. Outdoor music class! Beach days! The pool! ALL THE PLAYGROUNDS!!!
I started packing heavy snacks for the day because we couldn’t make it home in time for lunch after our morning adventures. There was no time for clean up at home because it was always time for us to leave. We went from having no plans ever to having so many choices every day. The house was a mess. It felt impossible to hop on my computer to get anything done.
I went from laser focused on one thing at a time to a swirling whirling dervish of multiple focuses happening all the time.
Too many balls in the air. Not enough arms to catch them.
For a while, I let the multi-focus of summer fun pull me completely off balance. “It’s summer!” I thought. “We’re having so much fun!” I thought.
Well, we were having fun when we were out and about, but the lead up and wind down from every activity was leaving me wiped out. Then we went on our summer vacation. Regular life was paused/abandoned for days with fewer responsibilities (you can’t Marie Kondo the house if you’re not at home). The transitions to and from activities were smoother because everything was right there. No packing up every day. No unpacking every day. It was a good way to reset. To pause. To shift focus.
Now that I’m back, I feel ready to create a new rhythm that includes more daily activity and more organization. And a big part of why I feel so empowered to do this is my experience with concept-based dance.
Do you see what I wrote? Balance. Rhythm. Focus. These are all concepts that we deal with every day and when we practice them while dancing it increases our awareness of how to use them to create a more centered life.
This is especially helpful with kids. My mentor once told a story about a family who had learned about Focus in dance class and then went home and the parent was able to say “You’re running all over the house right now with multi-focus. It’s time to leave so I need you to have single focus and put your shoes on.” And the kid got it. Brilliant.
So today I’m sharing an activity to help introduce and explore the concept of focus. I hope it helps the kids in your life (whether at home or in the classroom) feel better able to enjoy and experience multi-focus and more empowered to ground themselves for activities that require single focus.
Balls, Balls, Balls!
Who you need: People who want to dance! This activity can be done at home with caregivers and kids at home or a playdate, or in a dance/music/school/library classroom. This activity can be done with dancers of all ages and abilities.
What you need: BALLS! (5’’ playground balls work great!) Ideally at least twice as many balls as participants.
What to do:
In this activity, dancers will alternate between using single focus by paying attention to ONE ball and multi-focus by paying attention to lots of balls all at once. There are opportunities to dance solo, with a partner, and as a group.
1. Single Focus: each dancer gets ONE ball to move with. Dancers can move however they wish, choosing to hold the ball while dancing OR manipulate the ball as they dance. Call out what you see dancers doing AND suggestions for new ideas.
Examples while holding the ball: run, jump, gallop, spin, grapevine, waltz, crawl, twist, reach, wiggle, swing
Examples while manipulating the ball: roll, bounce, toss, sit on, tap, squeeze
2. Multi-focus: Have everyone roll the balls as quickly as possible, looking for balls coming toward them and for places to roll them away. Once everyone gets the hang of moving the balls, add more movement. How can you dance in between each ball roll? How can you make rolling the ball part of your dance?
Extension: for more advanced/mature dancers, after you spend some time rolling with multi-focus, have them call out a person’s name and make eye contact before rolling the ball to that person. This will have them toggling between multi-focus (all the balls in the room) and single focus (someone rolling the ball to them/rolling the ball to someone else).
3. Single Focus: Find one ball and grab a partner. Practice dancing together with both people holding the ball. (Dancers can hold the ball with their hands or other body parts such as between shoulders, backs, knees, head, feet.) Then dance while moving the ball back and forth between each person.
Extension: Do this same activity but with small groups (3-6 people). This places a challenging constraint on the movement. How do you move when so many people have to remain in contact with the ball? How do you move when you’re never sure when the ball will come to you?
4. Combination: Split the dancers into two groups. Group A is in charge of moving the balls around as much as possible like in the earlier multi-focus exploration. Each dancer in Group B must follow and dance with/over/around one ball. Then have the groups switch roles. (If you are playing at home, you can have one person roll several balls and the other person dance. It’s more exercise for the ball roller, but can be done!)
BONUS! What to read: I love using book tie-ins for activities. The Ball Bounced by Nancy Tafuri is a great, short picture book that can help you introduce the concept of focus before you do this activity. Unfortunately this book is out of print, but hopefully your local library will have it!
Song recommendation: Child’s Play - Instrumental by Mike Marshall, Edgar Meyer, Bela Fleck
How has dance helped you with focus in your (or your kid's) day-to-day life? Let me know in the comments below! And if you found this post useful, I’d be so grateful if you shared it with someone else you think would love these ideas.
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