I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL): Trainers

I Am Moving, I Am Learning (IMIL) Promo Video: Part 2

Linda Carson: Everybody benefits from it when teachers are joyful in their work, and I think they feel that when they do the IMIL activities. One of the things we do a lot of is music. We use it for physical activity, but we also use it for early literacy, language, vocabulary words, encouraging that interaction, that quality interaction that Head Start is just so great at anyway. But can we do that around the music and the lyrics? I have found that teachers really resonate with that as well.

Manisha Tare: They really get to feel the benefits. I think that the experiential part of this is really such a huge piece. Yes, you get your binder and you get all that tools and you get all the music, but you have this experience in your body and that's what you're bringing back.

Kerry McKenzie: To have these tools, they incorporate them in unique ways that I didn't even think of. When I go there to observe lunch, I'm like, "Oh, well that's a cool way to introduce that fruit or vegetable." Or when I'm there to do an activity with them, that the children start acting out the song in a different way that I never thought of. I'm like, "I love this," because they're using their imagination.

Patty Kimbrell: I am last. No one sees what I see on the [Inaudible]. It might be the poof of a stormy thundercloud.

Courtney Elder: IMIL is one of those things that you have to experience for yourself. It's not a curriculum, it's a set of strategies. So now it's no longer just sitting down, let's talk about fruits and vegetables. It's like no, we can be moving, talking about fruits and vegetables, elevating our heart rate, working on our mental health, everything, all in one.

And it's really exciting because it's really adaptable, it's customizable, and then we have the rock star Choosy. His name stands for Choose Healthy Options Often and Start Young, so he's a great role model and a champion that we can use him and his voice to really share these messages to the families and the children. Linda: We used to talk about early learning. Very play-based, very experiential, very hands-on, and interactive.

Having I Am Moving, I Am Learning demonstrate that you can bring in all of your curricular information, using opportunities for engagement, active learning – active learning.

[Music]