After teaching yoga at a public school, I was asked to integrate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) into my school’s curriculum. I was excited for the challenge and interested in how the children would interact with the lessons. After planning my...
When I taught 4th grade, common refrains in the classroom were, “Pay attention!” and, “Focus on what you’re doing!” And then it hit me – of course the kids’ attention was scattered everywhere. With 20 other kids fidgeting and making noise, shenanigans in the hallway,...
A Hoberman Sphere: lights up children and adults’ eyes alike is a great teacher’s assistant catches your student’s attention (especially when nothing else can) shows how our lungs expand and contract (and showing always works better than telling, doesn’t it?) was...
Yoga classes do not need props, but boy are they fun! There are so many props to choose from that it is hard to narrow down my favorite. After teaching for a few years, I have a better idea of which I tend to use the most and why it is my favorite. Maybe that will...
While yoga is often celebrated as a non-competitive activity, there are certainly times that groups and teams need to be formed in order to play a game or complete a task. As you would guess, this process sometimes leads to hurt feelings and frustration of being "left...
When you hear a bell ringing, you are listening to energy making a journey. -Sarah Schain Sound is an important part of the human experience. Just think about how music makes you feel! Songs, their melodies and rhythm, their patterns and harmonies can make us get up...
My very first job out of college was teaching science and remedial math in a middle school in inner-city Denver. Many of my students were not English-speakers. Several were children of migrant farm workers that only attended this school during the planting and/or...
How often have you asked a child what they did that day, only to hear the answer, “I don’t know” or "Nothing"? This is something I have often come across in teaching kids. After class, they run to put their shoes on and line up for a stamp or sticker. When I say,...
According to Dr. Roger Sperry, 1981 Nobel prize winner for brain research, “90% of the stimulation and nutrition to the brain is generated by the movement of the spine.” If this is the case, why in the world are we making kids sit still to learn? To that end, I’ve...
The first time your child rolls out her mat in a yoga class, she is exposed to many new words, which shouldn’t be surprising, really. The practice of yoga is from ancient times, for many of us it is from a foreign culture, and utilizes an unfamiliar language...
We've all been there. Lying in the dark, desperately trying to go to sleep, but growing more agitated and alert instead. It's bad enough when adults suffer from insomnia, but when kids do? Then the whole family suffers the consequences. Avoid that with a few bedtime...
*Today's blog article was written by Whitney, a third year student at Elon University and lifelong yogi's kid* My mom has practiced yoga for as long as I can remember. When my brother and I were very young, my parents would sneak off to yoga class, leaving us in the...
As a former special education teacher in Florida for over sixteen years, I worked side by side with many occupational therapists (OT). When a student receives occupational therapy as part of their Individual Education Plan (IEP) the OT will work with them on improving...
On the first day of my second year teaching high school French, I knew that my sixth period was going to need some serious magic to get them to calm down. The bell rang for class to begin, and I looked around at 35 boys (yes, 35 BOYS) who were bigger than me, all...
Imagine this job description: Large institution looking for workers able to stay focused and still for long periods of time. Proper penmanship, reading skills and math knowledge are required, as are excellent listening skills and the ability to work well in a group of...
Watch at your leisure!
Watch at your leisure!
