The Emotion Motion Podcast takes listeners on a journey through storytelling designed to engage children, their families and their teachers in movement and creative expression. The podcast is an invitation for both children and their families to get up, move, play, sing, and interact with stories that help children develop their emotional vocabulary, recognize their feelings and learn emotional management strategies to support their wellbeing.

The story revolves around the character’s development and how they learn to navigate the new social-emotional challenges of learning at home, making new friends and losing loved ones among other challenges.

The Emotion Motion Podcasts follows the underwater adventures of Megan the Mermaid and her friends and family after a shipwreck pollutes their reef and completely changes their day-to-day lives. Megan the Mermaid and her ocean friends explore new ways to interact with one another, play, have fun and stay connected in this new and unexpected situation where everyone is forced to stay at home. 

Each episode is designed as an opportunity for children to practice crucial skills in their emotional development such as empathy, self-awareness, emotional regulation and mindfulness.

The Emotion Motion Podcast is part of the Move This World Audio Network, which provides screen-free opportunities for learning and playing. And Move This World is the leading provider of social emotional learning (SEL) multimedia experiences for PreK-12 students, educators, and families.

Move This World programs are grounded in creative arts therapy and positive psychology and are evidence-based and designed for seamless delivery of multimedia experiences that spark movement, connection, and social emotional development. 

Our children need opportunities to get up, move, and play. And they don’t need a screen to do that!

Kids are now spending more time at home than ever before. With working parents and online classes, screen time has been at an all-time high. When it comes to screen time, parents’ top concerns focus on ensuring children are getting the physical activity and socialization they need to support their development.

Our children need opportunities to get up, move, and play – and they don’t need a screen to do that! And The Emotion Motion Podcast is designed to deliver these exact opportunities.

The Woman Behind The Emotion Motion Podcast

Sara Potler LaHayne is the visionary Founder of Move This World, an organization built around the conviction that our children are the future, and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. A Fulbright Scholar, a professional dancer, and an award-winning social entrepreneur, Sara has dedicated her life to the emotional wellbeing of children and adults alike.

There isn’t one single solution, but unless we collectively decide to prioritize the social and emotional wellbeing of our children, we have no chance of helping and healing our schools and our communities. Sara has dedicated her life to that very mission.

On the website, people are invited to join the social and emotional education revolution: If we can’t manage our emotions or have empathy for those experiencing hard times, then nothing else matters. We are nothing without healthy relationships, starting with the one we have with ourselves.

How It All Began

The story begins in 2007, when Sara first embarked on her journey as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia. There she discovered that teachers tried to teach students empathy and conflict resolution through textbooks. Unsurprisingly, students did not connect with the textbook explanations about these topics.

But then, one day during break, Sara noticed the students in a parking lot dancing to music playing from a boombox. She saw how passionate and inspired they were through their laughter and movement. That was her A-ha! moment. 

She worked with the school’s faculty to develop a program that was rooted in what the students already loved – music and dance – and incorporated the same social, emotional and civic skills described in their textbooks. In partnership with her Fulbright research team, professional educators and creative arts therapists, Sara developed and implemented the very first Move This World social emotional learning curriculum.

Move The World has impacted over 3.5 million students across 45 states and 9 countries to date.

Where You Can Listen To The Emotion Motion Podcast

You can find all the episodes of The Emotion Motion Podcast on Spotify, Stitcher, Apple Music and on the Emotion Motion Podcast Website

The Emotion Motion Podcast has just launched its 3rd Season and new episodes are airing weekly.