In the daily life of a classroom, you, teachers, are often on the front line facing a multitude of challenges. Among the most complex to manage, behavioral issues hold a prominent place. A student who does not listen, who fidgets, who disturbs their classmates, or who withdraws into themselves… These situations are not only exhausting for you, but they are also, and above all, the symptom of a malaise or difficulty that the child cannot express otherwise.
At DYNSEO, we design tools to support children’s learning and well-being. We firmly believe that technology, when conceived with a pedagogical and human approach, can become a valuable ally. It is in this spirit that we developed our applications, notably the duo COCO THINKS and COCO MOVES (https://www.dynseo.com/version-coco/). We strongly believe that to calm the mind, one must also listen to the body. This article explores how COCO MOVES can serve as an outlet and a tool for emotional regulation for students with behavioral issues, in connection with a better understanding of their fundamental needs.
Before trying to “correct” a behavior, it seems essential to attempt to decode it. A child’s behavior is a form of language, often the only one they have when words fail them to express frustration, anxiety, or sensory overload.
Behavior as the Visible Part of the Iceberg
Imagine an iceberg. The restless or oppositional behavior you observe in class is just the tip that is visible. Beneath the surface lies a much larger mass of invisible causes: cognitive overload, an unidentified learning difficulty, performance anxiety, hypersensitivity, or simply an unfulfilled physiological need for movement. Addressing only the symptom (the restlessness) without questioning its source is often doomed to failure. It’s like trying to melt the tip of the iceberg with a hairdryer while ignoring the immense mass of ice that lies beneath.
The Biological Imperative of Movement
The traditional school framework, which values stillness and silent concentration, sometimes comes into direct conflict with the very nature of the child. The body needs to move for the brain to function optimally. Physical activity helps oxygenate the brain, release neurotransmitters essential for attention and memory (such as dopamine and norepinephrine), and regulate the nervous system. For a child whose “internal engine” is running at full speed, sitting still for long periods can be a real ordeal, generating tension that ultimately expresses itself in an explosive and disorderly manner.
The Often Overlooked Link with DYS Disorders
We frequently observe that behavioral issues can be a direct consequence of specific learning disorders, the famous “DYS disorders” (dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD…). A dyspraxic student, for whom every writing gesture requires a colossal effort, may end up adopting avoidance or fidgeting behavior to mask their difficulty. A dyslexic student, constantly facing failure in reading, may develop low self-esteem and express their frustration through provocation. The constant effort to compensate for their disorder generates immense cognitive fatigue, leaving little resources available for behavioral control. Identifying these underlying disorders is therefore a crucial step, and this is precisely the goal of our training dedicated to primary school teachers.
COCO MOVES: A Structured Outlet to Channel Energy
In response to this need for movement, our answer is not to suppress it, but to provide a framework. COCO MOVES was designed as an intelligent pressure relief valve, allowing energy to be released in a positive, playful, and beneficial way for learning.
What is COCO MOVES?
COCO MOVES is an application that offers short and fun physical activities designed to be performed in class or at home. The child must replicate yoga postures, animal movements, and simple sequences, guided by our little character, Coco. It is not about competitive sports, but rather an invitation to reconnect with their body, to become aware of their movements, and to expend energy joyfully. The interface is simple, colorful, and engaging, transforming what could be a constraint into a true moment of play.
Transforming a Potential “Crisis” into an Active “Break”
One of the main advantages of COCO MOVES is its preventive approach. Instead of waiting for tension to rise and restlessness to become unmanageable, you can offer a short 5-minute session as an “active break.” It is a way to acknowledge the child’s need and provide them with a tool to respond appropriately. It is a way to say to them: “I see that your body needs to move. Let’s take a little break with Coco, and then we can get back to work more calmly.” This proactive approach radically changes the dynamic: the teacher is no longer the one who punishes movement, but the one who allows and guides it.
From Disorderly Movement to Intentional Movement
The restlessness experienced in class is often disorderly, involuntary, and a source of distraction for everyone. The activities of COCO MOVES, on the contrary, propose intentional and purposeful movement. The child must concentrate to imitate a posture, follow a rhythm, coordinate their gestures. This focus on the body has an almost meditative effect: it anchors the child in the present moment and diverts their attention from sources of stress or cognitive overload. It is no longer about “fidgeting,” but about “completing a motor challenge.” This nuance is fundamental, as it restores to the child a sense of control and competence.
Emotional Regulation through the Body: A Neuroscientific Approach
Beyond the purely “outlet” aspect, the movement as proposed by COCO MOVES plays a direct and scientifically proven role in the regulation of emotions. It is a true key to helping children better manage their inner world.
The Biochemical Impact of Physical Activity
When a child moves, their body releases endorphins, often referred to as “happiness hormones.” These substances have an analgesic effect and provide a sense of well-being. Simultaneously, physical exercise helps regulate cortisol levels, the stress hormone. A child overwhelmed by anxiety or frustration is literally flooded with cortisol. A session of COCO MOVES acts as a biochemical “cleaning,” allowing this stress level to decrease and bringing the child back to a more stable emotional state conducive to reflection.
Reconnecting Body and Mind for Better Self-Awareness
Behavioral issues are often linked to a difficulty in identifying and naming one’s own emotions. The child feels “bad,” but does not know how to say whether they are angry, sad, or anxious. The exercises of COCO MOVES, particularly those inspired by yoga or mindfulness, invite the child to pay attention to their bodily sensations. “How do I feel when I stretch like a cat? Does my heart beat fast after jumping like a frog?” This bodily introspection is the first step towards emotional intelligence. By learning to listen to their body, the child gradually learns to recognize the warning signs of an emotional rise and can thus better anticipate it.
Building Self-Confidence through Small Victories
For a student who feels academically unsuccessful, each day can be a succession of challenges perceived as insurmountable. Behavioral issues then become a defense strategy to protect a fragile self-esteem. The advantage of the motor challenges of COCO MOVES is that they are accessible and provide an immediate sense of achievement. Successfully holding a posture, chaining a few movements, imitating an animal—these are all small victories that nourish the feeling of competence. This surge of confidence can then transfer to other areas. The child who says, “I succeeded in the tree exercise” is more likely to think, “Maybe I can try to do this math exercise.”
Integration in Class: Concrete Strategies for Teachers
We know that your time is precious and that any new resource must be able to integrate easily into your routine. Here’s how we envision the use of our tools for maximum impact.
Collective Use: An Active Break for All
The simplest way is to integrate COCO MOVES as a ritual for the whole class. For example, after a long period of seated work, or just before an activity requiring great concentration.
- At the beginning of the day: to wake up bodies and minds.
- After recess: to channel energy and facilitate a return to calm.
- In the mid-afternoon: to combat attention decline.
By involving the whole group, you normalize the need for movement and avoid stigmatizing the most restless students. It becomes a moment of cohesion and shared well-being.
Individual Use: A Personalized Calm-Down Tool
For students you feel are particularly tense or on the verge of a “crisis,” COCO MOVES can be offered as an individual resource. You can set up a small “calm and movement” corner in the classroom, with a tablet and headphones. When a child shows signs of restlessness, you can offer them, not as a punishment but as help: “I see that it’s difficult for you to stay seated. Would you like to take 5 minutes to do a challenge with Coco in the calm corner?” This empowers the child in managing their own emotions and internal state.
The Winning Duo: COCO MOVES then COCO THINKS
Our two applications have been designed to work in synergy. One does not go without the other, as they address two fundamental and complementary needs of the brain for learning. After a session of COCO MOVES, the child is calmer, more oxygenated, and more cognitively available. It is the ideal moment to offer them an activity from our application COCO THINKS, which stimulates functions such as memory, logic, or attention in a playful way. The body has been calmed, and the mind is now ready to be stimulated.
Going Further: Training to Better Identify and Support
A tool, no matter how relevant, can only unleash its full potential if used by a professional who understands the mechanisms at play. That’s why, alongside our applications, we have developed a training offer for you, the teachers.
Our Training: “Identifying and Supporting DYS Disorders in Primary School”
This training (https://www.dynseo.com/courses/identifier-et-accompagner-les-troubles-dys-a-lecole-primaire/) has been designed to give you the keys to understanding and the practical tools to support students with special educational needs. We cover in detail:
- Early Detection: Learning to recognize the warning signs of various DYS disorders, which often hide behind academic difficulties or behavioral issues.
- Understanding the Mechanisms: Understanding what happens in the brain of a dyslexic, dyspraxic, or ADHD child to better adapt your pedagogy.
- Adaptation Strategies: Discovering concrete adjustments (visual, auditory, material) to implement in your classroom to facilitate their learning and reduce their cognitive load.
From Behavior Management to Supporting Needs
By training, you change your perspective. You no longer see a “difficult student,” but a “student in difficulty” who needs a differentiated approach. This understanding changes everything. It allows you to adopt a calmer, more empathetic posture and to implement actions that address the root of the problem rather than its symptoms. The use of tools like COCO MOVES then makes perfect sense: it is no longer just a “trick” to calm a student, but an integral component of a comprehensive and caring support strategy.
In conclusion, we are convinced that behavioral issues in the classroom are not a fatality. They are a call, a signal that we must learn to listen to. By offering the body structured and positive outlets like COCO MOVES, we allow the mind to calm down and become available again for what is essential: to learn, discover, and grow. By equipping you, teachers, with the necessary knowledge to understand the invisible challenges of some of your students, we empower you to transform a potentially conflictual classroom environment into an inclusive ecosystem where every child, with their strengths and weaknesses, can find their place and thrive. This is the mission that drives us every day at DYNSEO.
The article “Behavioral Issues: COCO MOVES as an Outlet and Emotional Regulation” explores how physical activity can serve as a means of expression and emotion management for those suffering from behavioral issues. A related article that could enrich this discussion is the exclusive interview of the Colisée residence in Vaxy. This article highlights the innovative approaches adopted by care facilities to improve the emotional and physical well-being of their residents, which can offer interesting perspectives on the use of programs like COCO MOVES in similar contexts.