By Daybreak Craig, LMHC
Licensed Yoga Calm Teacher
I hadn’t deliberate on educating Yoga Calm in a daycare setting. My sister had merely instructed the proprietor of my nephews’ daycare middle about my expertise utilizing it as a counselor. Once I offered the pattern lesson plans the proprietor had requested for, it was like I’d offered a lacking puzzle piece.
The proprietor cherished the concept of sharing mindfulness in a kid-friendly means, educating self-control and incorporating social-emotional actions to handle the standard developmental challenges that come about with preschoolers and toddlers. We timed my lessons for proper after lunch and proper earlier than naptime to assist ease the transition and cement the “CALM” a part of the curriculum.
Yoga and younger kids could seem to be a difficult mixture, however then I consider one thing William Saroyan as soon as wrote: “Whereas we attempt to train our kids all about life, our kids train us what life is all about.”
I used to be reminded of this simply right now in my class with 8 courageous little souls – within the second when one little one instructed me proudly, “Look! I did it! I’m an enormous bridge!”; within the second all 8 stood fully silent and nonetheless for a complete 60 seconds. (Wonderful, proper?!)
How inspiring to see younger minds practising mindfulness and self-control at such a younger age!
Yoga has been proven to offer quite a few physiological and psychological advantages throughout the lifespan, from toddlers to these with a long time of life expertise. We all know kids study greatest inside the second apply and from imitating the fashions we trusted adults present them. Yoga provides them alternatives for each. And thru yoga, they’ll study, as an example, to acknowledge power inside themselves, to realize self-control of their our bodies in stillness, expertise help from their neighborhood, to discover ways to be secure inside themselves.
In a nutshell, the children LOVE it as a result of they’ll SUCCEED at it.
Listed below are a few of the sensible methods I take advantage of when working with little kiddos (preschool to age 5):
Assume Small
My present (2017) group has 8 children whole: two 2-year olds, 4 3- and 4-year olds, and two 5-year olds. One has an Autism spectrum prognosis. Typically we apply inside, utilizing circle rugs as their yoga mats (or “islands,” as I name them). Different occasions, we apply outdoors, arranging yoga mats or seashore towels right into a sunflower form.
And simply as our group is small, to start with, our lessons had been fairly brief: quarter-hour. We’re now at about 25 minutes per class. As the children study, their consideration span lengthens.
Props Are Your Pals
I take advantage of lots of props to maintain the children engaged. I’ve additionally realized {that a} delicate stability of latest props to constant props is essential. If I neglect “Hobie,” the respiration sphere, or “Charlie,” the turtle puppet I take advantage of for respiration and anger administration, the children get very upset!
Listed below are the props I most steadily use with the little ones:
- Small spherical rugs or seashore towels.
- Hoberman respiration sphere.
- Windmills, for respiration.
- Chime, for respiration. I additionally use this to problem the children: How lengthy can we keep nonetheless and silent after the chime? (Sixty seconds stays our report.) Who can hear the chime the longest?
- Turtle puppet, for respiration and SEL work.
- Small stuffed animals, for respiration.
- Important oil spray, used as a sensory instrument proper earlier than respiration.
- Quilted mazes with a marble in them, as a visible assist for respiration and mindfulness.
I additionally preserve the Calm down Youngsters e book of guided visualizations at hand to make use of on the finish of every session.
Consistency Is Key
Preschoolers thrive on consistency, predictability, and construction. So all of our lessons are organized alongside CALM-ACTIVE-CALM strains.
We begin with CALM to set the tone – to come back into focus and put together for the circulate of poses deliberate for the ACTIVE part.
I often give a theme to the ACTIVE part. Typically, one of many Yoga Calm rules will function our theme (Energy, Listening, Grounding, Neighborhood, and Stillness). Typically, we’ll use themes such because the seasons of the 12 months or well-known kids’s books.
Usually, we undergo the ACTIVE circulate twice, as the primary time is commonly dedicated to the children getting oriented to the poses. The second time is extra fluid. Then we return to CALM with a guided visualization, which the children equate with “story time.”
Our group at all times ends with the children selecting up their rugs or towels and handing them to me as they depart in a quiet line to nap time.
You’ll be able to obtain a few my class plans right here and right here to see extra particularly how I construction their lessons.
You By no means Know What They Will Take Away
One time, I despatched residence coloring sheets of the yoga poses we did in that session so the children may train their dad and mom by use of the coloring sheet. This additionally helps reinforce that the actions could be performed at residence, in addition to on the middle – that they’ll floor and calm themselves any time they should.
Even the littlest ones get it, as one of many 2-year olds taught me. I actually wasn’t certain if I used to be participating him and even reaching him. Two weeks later, his mother posted a video of her son educating her methods to do each pose we had realized and demonstrating 4 or 5 totally different poses.
You by no means know what they’ll take away.
