Let me paint a picture for you …
The bell rings and another day in kindergarten is ready to begin. The little ones come running in the door ready to tell stories and very unable to sit still. Papers start flying around in an unorganized manner. Crayons begin to rumble. Bodies start bouncing. The directions of what to do, well those are just flying over these pint sized heads. Welcome to the world of learning how to use the set of mental processes we know as executive functions.
In kindergarten we are just learning how to be in school. At this point, if my students are having difficulties with executive functioning, I’m not too concerned. However, as they continue to grow as students and we see these weaknesses in executive functioning an intervention needs to be put into place. This past year I attended a conference and listened to a speaker who stated “everyone once in a while, kids minds wander. If they look like their not paying attention, let’s face it, they’re not. Their body is in another place and needs to move”. This has stuck with me since that day. Kids are kids. They can’t be expected to sit still and be on task throughout their whole school day without the incorporation of movement. This is where the use of yoga can play such an important role.
Why use yoga?
Yoga seems to be taking over the world of health and exercise. Everywhere you look or listen, someone is talking about or practicing yoga. So why use this form of exercise in the classroom? Yoga in the classroom can be a great benefit to students and enhance the learning environment. The word yoga means to bring together or unite (Kiraly, 2012). More precisely, it means to unite the mind and body. It focuses on physical postures, breathing and concentration. The purpose of this intervention is to keep the children moving, calm and engaged in order to be able to focus and perform at their best academic level. Now, am I a certified yoga instructor? No! And that is the beauty of using yoga in the classroom. It doesn’t have to be perfect, you don’t even have to call it yoga. Through yoga, your students are moving, calming and getting ready to get their mind and body to focus and work together. As long as your activity combines these three acts of moving, calming and engaging, your intervention will be successful.
There are so many different ways and opportunities to use this intervention in your classroom and all findings from studies show that, believe it or not, it works! It is seen that children who have executive functioning weakness often have trouble with focus, attention, organizing, memory, time management, transitions, regulating emotions and dealing with frustration (Gini, 2011). One study I read from Adele Diamond and Kathleen Lee showed that all successful yoga programs involve repeated practice and progressively increase the challenge to executive functions. Therefore, it is important to start using this intervention technique at a young age so that students can begin to self monitor. They will begin to know when a break is needed and a strategy for them to use in order to help them find their focus again. It is also thought that early training in this area may lessen widening achievement gaps later on.
Why do kids love it? How can it help them?
Yoga comes from nature. Where do we usually find kids at their happiest playing? Outside! The poses of yoga are based on elements of nature and animal poses (Kiraly, 2012). What child doesn’t like to pretend to be an animal sometimes? These poses involve shifting and flexibility which can show the children different perspectives. Yoga also teaches children about self regulation (Diamond & Lee, 2011). Yoga can be challenging. Where the mood of yoga is calming it teaches children to deal with challenging situations in a relaxed manner. So even if a pose or movement is difficult, they need to remain calm to figure out how to solve their problem. Yoga can also show children their strengths and weaknesses (Kiraly, 2012).
Barbara Gini, , RYCT states three fantastic ways to use yoga in the classroom. She gives examples of using yoga to improve focus, release stress, and improve social skills here at the follow website.
http://bodylogique.blogspot.com/2011/09/3-easy-ways-to-use-yoga-in-classroom-to.html
Want to know what I think?
I use these techniques, as well as others, in my classroom almost every day. I took a workshop a couple of years back about the use of yoga in the classroom. I learned a lot about the practice and am still continuing to learn more about it. One of my favorite parts of my research was the article that said you don’t have to call it “yoga”, there is not a specific, ‘by the book’ way to use it. I think that this gives teachers the flexibility to know their students and find what moving, calming, focusing activity works best for them. I’ve talked with teachers I work with that also use yoga in their classrooms who praise the intervention. As a kindergarten teacher, I like to call the technique “my miracle”. We have quiet time every day and during this time we do yoga. I find it not only regrouping and calming for them, but for myself as well. It is a very long day for these youngsters and if I don’t give them this time, I lose them for the afternoon, as well as myself.
Some GREAT yoga books for kids!
- The ABC’s of Yoga for Kids by Teresa Anne Power
- Yoga Pretzels: 50 Fun Yoga Activities For Kids & Grownups by Tara Lynda Guber, Leah Kalish, Sophie Fatus
- Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through Story by Sydney Solis
- YogaKids: Educating The Whole Child Through Yoga by Marsha Wenig
Want to learn more? Here are some links we love:
http://www.yoga4classrooms.com/about-yoga-4-classrooms
http://bodylogique.blogspot.com/2011/09/children-yoga-executive-function.html
http://www.fordham.edu/images/academics/education/hagin_consultation_center/zen_ef[1].pdf
References
Diamond, A. & Lee, K. (2011). Interventions shown to aid executive function development in children 4 to 12 years old. Retrieved February 3, 2012, from American Association for the Advancement of Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6045/959.abstract
Gini, B. (2011). Children, Yoga & Executive Function. Retrieved February 5, 2012, from SMArt Kids (Using the Body’s Logic): http://bodylogique.blogspot.com/2011/09/children-yoga-executive-function.html
Kiraly, Z. (2012). The Zen of Executive Functions. Retrieved February 3, 2012 from Fordham University: http://www.fordham.edu/images/academics/education/hagin_consultation_center/zen_ef%5B1%5D.pdfhttp://www.fordham.edu/images/academics/education/hagin_consultation_center/zen_ef%5B1%5D.pdf
McCloskey, G. (2010). The Role of Executive Functions in Childhood Learning and Behavior. Retrieved Feburary 5, 2012, from Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation: http://www.lanlfoundation.org/Docs/George%20McCloskey.pdf
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