The purpose of this BLOG is to develop a site where anyone using the body or movement in their work in violence prevention and developing peace can share their approaches.  My approach, published as Disarming the Playground; Violence Prevention through Movement and Pro-Social Skills (books and training DVDs) uses theories from the field of Dance/Movement Therapy to develop an embodied approach to creating peaceful schools and communities.  I know that there are people from all over the United States and in several other countries that have purchased my curriculum and made their own adjustments.  I would love to hear about successes and problems in using this curriculum as well as hearing about other embodied approaches.

Information about the Disarming the Playground Curriculum

In this day and age, children are bombarded with violence via media and video games. School shootings in our country have many parents and children living in fear. Clearly, our children need to learn a new repertoire for dealing with confrontation of one’s own aggressive impulses as well as learning to respect others if we ever hope to gain peace in the world.

Violence Prevention through Movement is a comprehensive curriculum that utilizes the body and mind as equal partners in developing the skills necessary for creating a safe world. A two-book set, complemented by two training DVD’s, teaches protective and proactive behaviors tailored for aggressors, targets, and witnesses of aggression.

The curriculum includes proximity to others – the development of awareness and respect for cultural differences, movement strategies for dealing with conflicts, social skills (attunement, self-settling, safe expression of feelings), response to dangerous situations, etc. Since most violence involves losing control of one’s emotions or body through movement, it makes sense that learning to stop violence should also happen through movement.

If you are interested in learning about purchasing this curriculum, go to http://www.hancockcenter.net and click on the link to