I know. A preschool “yoga classroom”. Sounds kind of odd, right? Think of it more like this: a yoga-based classroom for preschoolers. How is it different from other classrooms? How does it help you teach?
First the Benefits
Yoga has so many benefits for children. It can help calm or energize them, help them focus, improve their self-esteem, self-confidence and more! Read our post on the benefits of yoga for children. Yoga can help you in the classroom more than you realize.
Change My Classroom?
When I use “yoga classroom”, I use it more to reframe how you think of your classroom and its dynamics. Try thinking of your classroom as a place where children can use movement to help their mood, help them focus, help them self-regulate. I know sometimes in a preschool or kindergarten classroom, it can become the Wild West in a matter of seconds! By making a few changes — over time –you will be able to tell a big difference in the way your classroom flows and functions.
Use Visuals
Use visuals throughout your classroom. By visuals I mean posters, themed bulletin boards, books etc. Visuals help to reinforce rules and activities in the classroom. When children see a posters that says, “I can do these things to calm my body…” with visuals of those activities, it helps reinforce desired behaviors.
Incorporate movement into your lesson plans EVERY DAY. Yes. EVERY DAY.
The physical component alone can do wonders in the classroom. Children NEED to move. Sometimes, no matter how much we want, children cannot “sit still”. Allowing them to get their wiggles out and express themselves goes a long way. It can help them fidget less when you need their attention. Give them those breaks so they can then be attentive. Circle time can be something that you always hoped for instead of something you may dread on certain days. Try doing yoga DURING circle time. You don’t need an entire empty room. Just a little space between children is all you need. Also, DO YOGA WITH YOUR STUDENTS!!!! I cannot say that enough. You don’t have to be flexible, you don’t have to be graceful, you just have to be willing to try your best (just like the children!).
Have yoga activities available in the classroom and encourage children to use them.
In addition to having visuals in the classroom, try having some yoga-based games and activities. There are countless ideas and products on Pinterest to get your creativity going. Having a yoga-based center in the classroom is always a fun option. You can change out the activity periodically, but having a yoga center would always be an option at center time. Some ideas could be a yoga pose memory game, a set of yoga cards that go along with your theme at the time. Yogalore has countless themed card sets on TeachersPayTeachers and Etsy.
Send yoga activities home when possible.
I know. This is one that isn’t easy. Very soon we will have a way for this to be a breeze (I promise). In the meantime, Pinterest is a great resource for this. Just think. You could be sending home something that reinforces what the children are learning at school. Not only that, but it could also be an activity that involves movement at home that parents and caregivers can do *with* their child!
Implementing these changes may not be that easy at first, but once you do, it becomes a breeze and your job becomes a lot easier. Having a “yoga classroom” will become second nature and you won’t give it another thought.
