September 18, 2026
Oliver was crying upon entry into the building. Oliver attends school three days a week and each time I have entered the toddler classroom a teacher is holding him to soothe him. I have been arriving early as my son starts school before my teaching appointment. It has been my role in the new school year to check in with the toddlers to see how Oliver and Sara are doing. Oliver and Sara have needed additional support and comfort as they have started the transition from womb, to home, to school.
Yesterday, I walked my son to class and could hear Oliver crying down the hallway. I walked back and talked to the lead teacher and offered my support. She was holding Oliver and encouraged her that I could hold him and take him for a walk. Now this was not an ordinary walk, this was a march. After I held Oliver in my arms, I offered a gentle rhythm of walking. I remembered the way my mother in law, Alice would shuffle with my daughter as if she was dancing and marching all in the same. This was a common rhythm in the Borborbor dance of the Volta Region of Ghana. The moment the step pattern changed from a rigid walk to a glide, the crying stopped.
Oliver and I proceeded to take a “sensory” walk around the school. I quietly counted 1, 2, 3, 4 as we shuffled. It felt more like a dance and was calming and regulating to me as well. We simply took a tour of the school and talked about everything that we saw. We looked at pictures on the wall and identified various bugs such as ladybugs and bees. We looked at the bulletin board with the teachers and went through each teachers name and class. We took a step outside and identified the various leaves and different parts and components of the play structure.
In between the shuffle, Oliver started to clap his hands intermittently. He attached the clap to the 1, 2, 3, 4 at various points as if he was connected to the beats per minute. The tears in his eyes ceased for quite some time now, There were no drums, no bouncy songs or bright twirling fabrics. Just a heartbeat and two feet and two hands.
Note: All names changed for anonymity.
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