Hello Readers!
This
week I want to talk about movement breaks and their valuable role in the
classroom. In my district, we are lucky enough to have a Student Support
Specialist who helps teachers and students make schooldays successful. During a
recent professional development day, our specialist shared with us the benefits
of taking whole class mindful moments. She demonstrated yoga poses, breathing
exercises, and suggested programs that can easily be applied in the classroom.
One of the strategies
she talked about was GoNoodle. I was already
familiar with the website, but I always thought it was for getting the wiggles
and energy out. To my surprise, the site has expanded and now has activities sorted
by energy level. After learning about the new options, I use the website for
both raising the energy level and lowering the energy level depending on the
goal I am trying to achieve. My personal favorites have become the “Get Chill”
and “Get Focused” videos. They are perfect for after recess and lunch. My
students benefit from having the opportunity to bring their energy level from a
whopping 10 down to a more classroom appropriate level of a 4 or 5.
Another method I have
been experimenting with are “Yoga and Mindfulness Practices for Children Card
Deck.” There are more than fifty different movement activities that can be
performed in the classroom to make children more aware of themselves. I love
the fact that the cards use a five step method and that there are options for
both out of seat and in seat activities. My students are big fans of the yoga
poses. Mountain pose and Warrior are two of the common positions we practice. I
have found these activities easy to incorporate into our daily routine and very
beneficial in getting students to calm their bodies so they can focus on their
breathing and the way their body is reacting to different stimuli.
Beyond the benefits
for the students and their learning, I too have experienced personal perks. I
find that the afternoon is the most challenging part of the day. The students
are generally in an after lunch slump and they begin to either shut down or
ramp up. While the students are performing the yoga poses or following along
with the GoNoodle video, I participate right alongside them. After the
activity, I feel calmer and regain control of my actions and reactions. It
really does help me to refocus and have a more successful afternoon. Who can
argue with results like this?
Until Next Time,
~A
Hello,
ReplyDeleteAwesome insight! I too use Gonoodle.com in the classroom. I have found that my students love this site as well. I was surprised when just the other day I clicked on "explore" and the line up of different strategies popped up. I didn't know there were that many calming videos on there either. My students beg for me to do go noodle breaks. Our first character fully transformed the other day and part of their morning work was to color our champ. I particularly like the "Brainersize" videos for after recess, it gives the students a focus that calms their bodies. The kids love the "run the red carpet" video and "kitty high five".
I have also heard of the yoga cards and my principal has sent many of our teachers to PD days about them. I will definitely be looking into purchasing those for my class. I particularly like the mental vacation aspect of some of the cards. Where the students shut their eyes and imagine the place that is being described on the card.
Hi Angela! I use GoNoodle in my first grade class as well, and I can't begin to tell you how much it helps. I have quite a few "movers and shakers" in my class, and I honestly can say I see such a difference in their attention and demeanor as well as their attitude towards doing school work, when we take these "brain breaks". They are so important, especially for the younger learners. I have also used yoga cards when I taught PreKindergarten- but they were not the same ones as the link you posted- I'll have to check those ones out for my students now. But when I was teaching PreKindergarten, I would do the yoga moves with my students to model the pose for them, but by a few weeks later they were asking me to just say the name of the pose and not to show them. Thanks for sharing the link to the yoga cards you mentioned!!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela,
ReplyDeleteI love your techniques. I have students perform movement breaks in my middle school English class if they are having a hard time focusing. I also find the end of the day is hard for them. They don't have recess anymore and they struggle to get their bodies under control. After doing the movement they tend to settle down and participate in the lesson more. I love your post and will look into using GoNoodle and the movement cards. Thank you for the information.
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of GoNoodle before; it sounds amazing! I also use movement breaks but mainly to keep their energy up. I like how your school focuses on mindfulness and refocusing their attention. After lunch and recess I usually have students sit with the lights out while I read aloud. I find this also really helps them to calm down after expelling all of that energy and refocus on the story. We usually have science in the afternoons which includes a lot of hands on investigations, so that helps too! I can't wait to check out this site and start using it in my classroom!
Angela,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything you said here! I too have been trying to implement mindfulness techniques in my classroom and think that the benefits are endless. We use GoNoodle in my school too. Some teachers have used the calming videos, although I think that most use the videos as a movement break to get the children to get out their wiggles as you said. There is one GoNoodle that I used last year in one of the fourth grade classes. It consisted of a minute of deep breathing as the students close their eyes and pretend like they are on a journey. When they open their eyes, they arrive at a new state and learn about some fun facts. Every time they begin the GoNoodle, their breathing takes them on a journey to a new state, until they have reached every state. I also like the Yoga cards. I have wanted to experiment with yoga in the class but have not felt confident yet in doing so. These cards are something I could look into!
I am hearing so much about this!
ReplyDelete