Artistic experiences physically, socially organize children's attention, emotion, neurological engagement.

Infusing routines and learning with imagination, movement may transform resistance into joyful connection.

Broaden-and-Build Theory shows how positive emotions foster lasting cognitive and social resources.

When Katie Bernstein was a preschool teacher, the most difficult part of her day was the long walk down the hallway to the playground. Staying quiet past all the classrooms and the front office was simply too much for a group of excited 3-year-olds eager to get outside. The daily transition often became stressful for everyone involved.

Then one day, a veteran teacher transformed the situation entirely.

“Shhhh,” she whispered dramatically to the children. “Do you know about the tigers?”

“You’re in the jungle,” she continued. “There’s a mama tiger and her babies sleeping nearby. We have to tiptoe quietly so we don’t wake them.”

Suddenly, the hallway changed. Smiles spread across the children’s faces as they pantomimed “shhhhh” to one another. In exaggerated tiptoes, children moved silently, carefully, and joyfully down the hall. What had moments earlier required correction and control now emerged naturally through imagination and shared play. The children were no longer simply “behaving.” They were engaged. Focused. Regulated. Connected to a shared experience and common goal.

Pretending together transformed a stressful transition into a joyful moment. And joy expanded what the children were capable of doing.

As educators, artists, researchers, and parents, we have become increasingly interested in these moments of joy—not as extras or rewards attached to learning, but as conditions that help make learning possible in the first place.

When Stress Shuts Down Learning (and Joy Reignites It)

When humans experience intense negative emotions or a stressful regulation challenge (like walking quietly down the hall for a preschooler), the prefrontal........

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