Hello educators, childcare providers and Early learning care setting owners
How many times did you pick up on a child feeling anxious last year? How many times did you experience behavior problems, lack of focus or disruptions?
Maybe not many, but with changes Covid-19 have bought and the time the children have spent away from their regular routines, this number is threatening to rise.
Children may be feeling stressed, worried or just unable to trust that it is not all going to go away again. There may be separation anxiety, struggles with social skills or worry around new safety measures that maybe in place (social distancing, hand washing etc).
A study in 2018 showed that one in five primary school children in Ireland experienced general anxiety. 16% of those children had anxiety stemmed from being overwhelmed. This was before this pandemic hit us. We have to be ready for children feeling anxious, children feeling overwhelmed, children experiencing big emotions that they just don't know how to deal with yet.
What can we do to help?
We can introduce Yoga and Mindfulness.
Maybe not many, but with changes Covid-19 have bought and the time the children have spent away from their regular routines, this number is threatening to rise.
Children may be feeling stressed, worried or just unable to trust that it is not all going to go away again. There may be separation anxiety, struggles with social skills or worry around new safety measures that maybe in place (social distancing, hand washing etc).
A study in 2018 showed that one in five primary school children in Ireland experienced general anxiety. 16% of those children had anxiety stemmed from being overwhelmed. This was before this pandemic hit us. We have to be ready for children feeling anxious, children feeling overwhelmed, children experiencing big emotions that they just don't know how to deal with yet.
What can we do to help?
We can introduce Yoga and Mindfulness.
THE BENEFITS OF YOGA AND MINDFULNESS
Introducing yoga and mindfulness in to school, creche or an childcare learning setting has a range of benefits including the following:
I have more benefits of yoga itself on the home page but just wanted to give an idea of how it can benefit in a school/learning environment.
- It can help with grounding the child into the present moment.
- It can help prepare the child for learning.
- It can help to reduce stress, anxiety and tension.
- It can improve self regulation.
- Having an awareness of ones emotions and behaviors means less behavior problems and problems with bullying.
- It can give one a sense of community, connectedness and engagement.
- It can improve attention, focus and memory leading to better academic performance.
- It is like a reset button.
- It is fun and allows space for imagination.
- It is great for physical awareness and knowing ones own body and mind.
- It allows a safe space to explore emotions.
- It is good for physical and emotional wellbeing.
- It can help with the teachers wellbeing just as much.
I have more benefits of yoga itself on the home page but just wanted to give an idea of how it can benefit in a school/learning environment.
How to set up a Yoga class
'First you need to decide whether you are going to set the yoga class up before your children arrive or is it something that they can help with. If you are using mats, I would recommended encouraging them to bring their own or if you are using shared ones, thinking about how you are going to keep them clean. A great recipe for mat cleaner can be found here. Other options could be coloured circles on the ground so that children know where to sit and come back to each time, can also help if needing to social distance still. You could also use chairs.
Start having washing hands as part of the usual set up routine. This can make it fun and have the focus on the fact that we are about to do yoga and less about anything else. I like to sing a song to make sure that we are doing it for long enough and also because the children find it very funny. I will sing happy birthday with a slight variation of the words depending on what day it is. I will sing "Happy Monday to you, Happy Monday to you, Happy Monday to everyone, Happy Monday to you" and then they will sing along with me.
So the space is set up, hands are washed, children are sitting. Now would be a good time to go over your rules. This doesn't have to take too long but it is very important. You can make it more fun and interactive by letting the children help make the rules. One important one to note is that we practice mutual respect at all times. You can add in some from your childcare setting etc too.
Start having washing hands as part of the usual set up routine. This can make it fun and have the focus on the fact that we are about to do yoga and less about anything else. I like to sing a song to make sure that we are doing it for long enough and also because the children find it very funny. I will sing happy birthday with a slight variation of the words depending on what day it is. I will sing "Happy Monday to you, Happy Monday to you, Happy Monday to everyone, Happy Monday to you" and then they will sing along with me.
So the space is set up, hands are washed, children are sitting. Now would be a good time to go over your rules. This doesn't have to take too long but it is very important. You can make it more fun and interactive by letting the children help make the rules. One important one to note is that we practice mutual respect at all times. You can add in some from your childcare setting etc too.
On to the Yoga
I like to break my classes up into five sections. They are as following:
1. Grounding / connecting activity
2. Movement / Yoga Poses
3. Something Fun - Game
4. Mindfulness Activity - Calmer game, art, story
5. Relaxation / breath work.
Below I will give you some examples of these but please use this breakdown as a way to plan more sessions in your classes. I regularly post about different poses, games and mindfulness activities on my social media (Instagram and Facebook)and on the blog. You can also sign up to the email list to receive three Free lesson plans from me at the bottom of this page.
1. Grounding / connecting activity
2. Movement / Yoga Poses
3. Something Fun - Game
4. Mindfulness Activity - Calmer game, art, story
5. Relaxation / breath work.
Below I will give you some examples of these but please use this breakdown as a way to plan more sessions in your classes. I regularly post about different poses, games and mindfulness activities on my social media (Instagram and Facebook)and on the blog. You can also sign up to the email list to receive three Free lesson plans from me at the bottom of this page.
1. Grounding / connecting Activity
Here is a nice grounding exercise for children. Perfect for the start of class or a stand alone mini mindful break. Feel free to memorize the script, use for inspiration or play this to your children.
2. Yoga poses
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Yoga as a form of play rather than a disciplined practice so that children feel a sense of freedom in their physical exploration. It is beneficial to enroll in a yoga teacher training course or to have a yoga teacher come in to assist. Videos can also be used. Otherwise please just keep it simple. Here is a 9 minute sequence you can draw inspiration from.
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3. Game
There are so many great yoga games you can play. We usually love playing ones with partner poses and ones we can do as a group but with social distancing currently on our minds we need to think of what games we can play that encourage connection without physical touch or getting close. Yogi Says (like Simon says) is a wonderful one using different poses. If yogi didn't say and someone does the pose then they need to stand in mountain pose for 5 breaths and then they can join back in. Another fun game is Winked out. You may know this as wink murder, I try to avoid the whole murder and dying in my classes tho so we just have to dramatically fall asleep when the winker, winks at us. If you don't know the game, at the start of the game you select a detective who goes out of the room (or faces a wall). You then select a winker. It is the winkers job to get everyone asleep before the detective can figure out who is the winker. So once selected, the detective comes back to sit in the circle and will guess who the winker is going by what they see and intuition. If they guess incorrectly they send that person to sleep.
4. Mindfulness Activity
This can be in the form of a calmer game, a story, an arts and crafts project, some journaling.
Journaling is a great tool. It could be a nice touch to give each child a journal just for yoga and mindfulness time. I use these alot when focusing on gratitude practice. A fun activity to do around gratitude can be found here: 5 drawing prompts to cultivate gratitude.
Another fun Activity could be getting to know your space. This could be a beneficial one to help calm anxiety about being somewhere different.
Ask the children to look around, could walk around if space and numbers allow. Then ask them to write down (or draw) something that they can see for every colour of the rainbow. You can guide them through each colour, allowing them plenty of time. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green,Blue, Purple, Indigo. You could add others colours as a bonus too.
Journaling is a great tool. It could be a nice touch to give each child a journal just for yoga and mindfulness time. I use these alot when focusing on gratitude practice. A fun activity to do around gratitude can be found here: 5 drawing prompts to cultivate gratitude.
Another fun Activity could be getting to know your space. This could be a beneficial one to help calm anxiety about being somewhere different.
Ask the children to look around, could walk around if space and numbers allow. Then ask them to write down (or draw) something that they can see for every colour of the rainbow. You can guide them through each colour, allowing them plenty of time. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green,Blue, Purple, Indigo. You could add others colours as a bonus too.
5. relaxation / breath work
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I like to bring it back to the breath before we end. A nice simple yet effective practice is 'Tracing Hand Breath' as shown in the video here.
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I then like to finish with a 'Do Nothing Moment'.
Children can lay down, they can roll themselves up in their mat, they can sit. Allowing them to find a place where they can enjoy a few moments of stillness. I like to give the option of closing the eyes or taking a soft gaze. Not all children are going to want to close their eyes and it may not feel like a safe thing to do so I am very careful to allow them the choice.
Sometimes it feels like there is always something that you are supposed to be doing. There are places to go, jobs to be done and everyone seems to be in a hurry. For this moment, there is nothing that you have to do. Nothing you have to achieve. For this moment all you need to do, is breathe. Breathe in, Breath out. Guide a few breaths here and then allow them to have a few moments of silence. This comes with practice, so please drop expectations and just meet them where they are.
Children can lay down, they can roll themselves up in their mat, they can sit. Allowing them to find a place where they can enjoy a few moments of stillness. I like to give the option of closing the eyes or taking a soft gaze. Not all children are going to want to close their eyes and it may not feel like a safe thing to do so I am very careful to allow them the choice.
Sometimes it feels like there is always something that you are supposed to be doing. There are places to go, jobs to be done and everyone seems to be in a hurry. For this moment, there is nothing that you have to do. Nothing you have to achieve. For this moment all you need to do, is breathe. Breathe in, Breath out. Guide a few breaths here and then allow them to have a few moments of silence. This comes with practice, so please drop expectations and just meet them where they are.
well....
Imagine starting each day like that! By allowing 30 to 45 minutes each morning for Yoga and mindfulness you are going to see big improvements in behavior, performance, happiness and even friendships. Yoga is such a beautiful tool. It can also be very beneficial for you yourselves to adopt a practice. Caring for others is a big job. You are amazing for doing it but please set sometime for some self care too. You can find my 7 day self care challenge here.
Book Amazing Me YoGa to come to your Childcare setting
Natasha is available for booking for creches, schools and early learning care settings. Natasha is full of creative ideas, fun games and is very knowledgeable when it comes to different poses, what they are good for and practicing safe alignment. She can work with themes you may be working on in your group, she can work through a yoga schedule or bring a one off workshop/ class. Natasha is certified and has completed a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training with 'My vinyasa Practice' as well as a 95 hour specialized Training for teaching children with Rainbow Yoga. She has a daily yoga and mindfulness practice and is very passionate about sharing classes for health and wellness to others. If you would like to know more or if you have any questions please get in touch here.
For more Lesson Plans or yoga/ mindfulness inspiration
For more lesson plans or yoga and mindfulness ideas and inspiration please check out the Amazing Me Yoga Blog or sign up to the email list to receive some free ABC yoga cards!
****All of these activities including videos are for inspirational purposes only. Amazing Me Yoga and Natasha Bryant take no responsibility to how it is used or any injuries that may occur from misuse. Please ensure you have the right insurance and the right training to be able to offer these activities. ****
