Yoga for Special Needs

Yoga for Special Needs

 

Teaching yoga for special needs can be a rewarding experience. But I have found that each class is as unique as the population you are teaching.  Here are some great tips to use as you work any fitness class with individuals with special needs.

First of all, I knew that I needed to be aware of the class I was teaching.  One season it was filled with Special Olympics clients so I needed to do stretches and strengthening for the various sports. Another had a heavy autistic population so I knew I needed to have students do yoga games with the purpose of teaching social skills and interacting with one another. Another season it was stress relief since many of my participants suffered from anxiety and fear.   I would always start class with an introduction of the class, a brief answer and question session about each person’s week, and sometimes things we were grateful for.

 

I found that I needed to vary directions to the class I was teaching, from showing steps in simple form and cueing with both visual, kinesthetic, and verbal to having the participants repeat the directions and taking turns with each person having a turn being a co-teacher or demonstrator.  Yoga for a special needs group is typically not quiet and you do a lot more talking than with other classes you might teach.  Music is still the same but I try to find tunes that are pleasant to the group.  I find that like any class, it is helpful for review moves learned the previous week. But there is nothing wrong with trying something new or having more than required for the class but having more activities than you have scheduled time for.   If someone or persons particularly liked some tunes, I would find similar tunes for the following week.

 

Next, using a visual schedule proved helpful for both me, my staff, and students.  They knew what was happening and it kept me on track.   Also, I had an inspirational poem that was geared to something I wanted them to think and ponder during the week.  During a few seasons, I gave fun homework such as dressing thematically, colors, or bringing something inspirational to class or a prop for the exercise.  I always ended my class with a poem that was either themed, season related, or thought provoking. When someone we knew was struggling, I would encourage at the end to stop and pause with good thoughts or prayers for that particular individual.  I would also take time to ask that person about that particular need the following week.   Also, due to my Christian beliefs, I chose not to give the Namaste (my god salutes your god in me)  ending but instead gave the glory of the practice to my fellow teachers and students.  Many times they applauded my staff.  It brought instant connection with all participants.

 

Lastly, remember to have fun.  The great thing about working with a special population, you will rarely hear a complaint and they are your biggest supporters when you make a mistake.  By learning to accept everyone as they are, you are not only teaching them to be free to try new things but being prepared for the challenges of life.

 

 

Indoor Activity! Indoor Fun and Learning!

Indoor Activity!  Indoor Fun and Learning!

I have had the opportunity this year to have a fairly large classroom. And I have found that kids like activity in their learning.  Presently, I have various sports equipment that I bought either at the Dollar Tree, Five Below, or on Amazon.  Here is some of the equipment I have used in my classroom.

Soccer and Hockey:

You can buy inexpensive balls at the Dollar Tree or your local grocery store, and they can come in a variety of colors.  For a soccer goal, you can pick up a goalie from Five Below that doubles as a hockey goalie as well.  A few years ago, I bought a hockey stick and pucks from Dollar Tree but you can also make your own sticks using large fly swatters from the Dollar Tree or grab one inexpensively from Amazon.

Baseball:

You can get both bats and balls at the Dollar Store or Five Below.  Use light balls, so if they knock into anything, you can be assured things will not be broken.  For a batting tee or baseball target, you can get them at Five Below.   Also, you can get gloves there but I recommend using the students’ hands since the balls are fairly light and painless.  For bases, they also sell them there or you can use rubber dots.  I double my exercise dots as bases so you can use them for two purposes.  They can be bought either on Amazon or at Lakeshore Learning.

Track:

You can get an agility ladder at Five Below or on Amazon and hurdles at Five Below.  I buy cones at both places and you can easily make obstacles using the equipment you already have such as chairs, large books, or desks.  Masking tape is a great tool, as long as you take it off the carpet or flooring quickly after you use it, so it will not stick.  Other obstacle track items include buckets from KFC or just cups from the lunchroom.

I have played many games using these ordinary and inexpensive tools in teaching various subjects as

Math: addition, subtraction and skip counting, using the stability ladder going forward or backward.

Reading: Have students step on, jump, or jog to identify sight words or vocabulary.  This is also great to review science, social studies, vocabulary, or spelling words as well.    You can skip, hop, or tiptoe to the medial, initial, or final sound in a word or move kinesthetically to syllables, prefixes, or suffixes.

Language Arts:  Have an obstacle course locating the correct noun, verb, or adjective in a sentence. Or have kids make fitness sentences and add activities to each word that is found in a sport.  All nouns can be identified with a baseball throw, a hockey strike with a verb, and soccer move with an adjective.

Spelling: ABC order can be easily identified by putting words in order on the ladder, choosing the correct letter or word by using an aerobic activity to go to that word.

So get into the game and make your classroom a kinesthetic learning environment.  You and your students will be glad you did. 

My experience with Flexible Seating.

My experience with Flexible Seating.

As I was making my list of goals for the new school year I decided on a challenging goal and that was to expand my flexible seating in my classroom.  I had disks, yoga mats, and stability balls in the past but this year I decided to really expand my vision.  Over the year the children really looked forward to the opportunity to learn on their own terms.  I also began to go beyond my own comfort level and think outside the box in what could help my students achieve more in their thinking and learning.  Flexible seating is another tool for every progressive teacher that should be in their pocket of tools for teaching and reaching students.

Most people think of flexible seating as a free for all but in my case you start with  parameters though needed to be specifically and directly addressed.  That included rules and boundaries for the seating.  I also had to keep in mind that I needed to stay within the rules of my school and how the students would react when they went to other classrooms since I only had them for a short time each day.  First of all I had a rule chart of using the seating.  There was a list of days that each child would utilize the equipment per their needs and specific times for when they would be utilized. This helped eliminate arguing and frankly it helped them become more independent because instead of me deciding who would get what they knew what to get independently each day. Because life is not always about being comfortable and there are times we need to sit in a desk and concentrate I also kept my seating as a privilege and also taught my students that there are times we need to sit and focus as students in a regular classroom.   Using this philosophy I also treated my classroom as a community and had them help with the clean up of the seating.   The responsibility for putting them away was on the students.  For some groups I found that rules were not as necessary as common sense and others that could not handle the seating as well.  I needed to make adjustments in my thinking and also realize within the rules for example of basic safety that sometimes they used the equipment slightly different than their original intended use.  An example of this was when one child used the disk and wobble seat and her grades improved dramatically in her classroom.  Students could also focus sometimes more lying in the prone position on the stability ball All equipment required two feet but I was pretty flexible if the student sat, or was prone on the ball as long as they were working and not disturbing others.  

Some of the equipment I used was stability balls with a pool noodle in a circle tapped together with electric tape, disks that would be on the smooth or spiky sides, the teachers chair since I used my desk as a storage space and I was rarely there, yoga mats to sit and do work, throw towels, Snuggies, pillows to do independent work and pillows from small to large to lounge with during work periods. My OT also allowed me to borrow a wobble seat

  I also had picnic chairs that could be folded and moved to various parts of the room, a small vinyl carpet, foam squares that were in the shape of the alphabet or squares that could be changed to various formations.  I also had beanbags but rarely were a choice this year. The wobble seat was a big hit in many classrooms and I saw first hand how some kids could benefit from them and how others it really was a distraction instead of help.  They did double nicely if  someone was not feeling well and with an old blanket or pillow from home provided a sick area for those children whose parents did not come to pick up their child after they were diagnosed ill.  Equipment could be easily cleaned with a wash or Clorox wipes.  

You can make your own bouncy bands using therapy bands from therapy centers.  Often they will donate a dozen for your class.  Also I have rubber dots.  They are great for arranging for seating, playing games and sitting.  Last I have found that when students take leadership for their flexible seating under your rules it can make all the difference.  I would of never considered using the teacher chair ( which I never use) for flexible seating.  Letting kids take turns on the chair can be used a reward that does not cost anything.  

Flexible seating does not have to be expensive.  I have equipment from things at home, items from Five Below, Amazon and also garage sales.  Sometimes people give up things and they end of in the teachers’ lounge.  The key is to think outside the box to the needs if your room.

As someone myself who is easily distracted and having boundless energy myself I also found benefit from flexible seating.  I was able to get at the kids level without losing my position as the lead teacher in the room.  My students were able to focus longer and even off topics proved to bring my students and I closer.  It was a win win situation.  

Last I suggest you stalk on social media to get other ideas.  Teachers Pay Teachers, Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest have tons of ideas for buying, implementing, arranging flexible seating.  As a teacher myself I would consider it a high compliment to replicate what I am doing in your classroom.   

Next year I will have a lower functioning group.  I will instead of rolling everything out immediately to slowly bring each part of the equipment.  In the past I had enough for each student to have their own and this year I started the seating at the beginning of the year. Some years you will use it easily and some you might have to put it completely away.  But I have found with proper education you can use it at least as a part of your learning.

For the past four years I have had Flexible Seating in my room.  It has been a great experience as a whole and I hope through my success will help others get on board to using it in their classroom too.  

When you don’t know what to do just breathe!

When you don’t know what to do just breathe!

Everyday we are bombarded by so much stimuli.  As a classroom teacher, singer and personal trainer I have noticed that life gets so busy I forget to breathe.  Breathing helps our muscles relax. You’ll find it’s difficult to maintain a lot of physical tension when you are breathing properly .  When you regularly practice deep breathing the following things happen.   Oxygen delivery improves every system in the body. Your blood pressure lowers.  Endorphins are released  which improves feelings of well-being and provides pain-relief.  Detoxification improves and  cleanses the body and allows it to direct its energy to more productive functions. Here are some breathing techniques I have implemented in my own classroom and with myself in stressful everyday situations.

478

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 7 and slowly let out for 8.

Darth Vader

Breather in through nose and out with mouth making Darth Vader noises.

Bubble Breathing

Take 3 shallow breaths with one long in and out breath

Candles

Pretend you are making a breath before blowing out candles.  Put your fingers together as you inhale and out as you blow out the candles.

Bunnies

Take light quick breaths in quick succession

Bear

1,23 in and out and growl as you let it out.

Elephant

Take a deep breath as you let it put your neck and head down and reach out your hands to the floor.

Bumble

Bee  Nose and fingers in ears and make bee sound

Alternating Nose Breathing

Put your fingers on your  side of your nose and hold as you breathe in.  Take one finger and let it out and then in again.  Hold and then alternate your breathing and fingers.

5 Finger Breathing

Count as you take in breaths and out.

I have found that when you incorporate deep breathing into the ordinary and extra ordinary events in your life amazing things happen.  Remember to

focus on every part of your body as you breathe in and out.  For those in pain focus on that part and see how the breath eases your pain.  I also pray for that concern or what is troubling me as well.  When you deep breath your way to peace amazing things happen not only for yourself but all those around you as you teach them another way to respond to the world. 

Beginning Sports Program for Preschoolers

 _{Beginning Sports Program for Preschoolers}

_{It is a challenge to prepare for a preschool fitness program with young children.  Parents have various expectations that are realistic to have fun but unrealistic thinking that this one class will prepare them for a particular sport or skill.  However, I have found that even a hectic program for preschool students with special needs and their siblings can be effective if the following protocols are followed.}

_{Preparation:  Trainers or teachers need to have all the equipment ready.  That means that  the teachers need to get to the program early and make sure you are prepared for all the activities.  Having a skeleton plan is helpful, not only for you but also all of your staff that works with you.  I typically have a lanyard with a list of activities but I also explain that I may or may not go in that particular order of activities.}

_{Teach Rules, Structure, and Expectations  Early:  From the first time you meet with both your staff and students, have a spot that they must go to and sit for just a few minutes.  Take procedures early and often––and praise for a quick response to correct choices.  When teaching directions for a skill, use as few words as possible.  Also, engage learning with kinesthetic and verbal cues and have them repeat them visually, verbally, and hands on with you.    I took turns with capable children to help teach the activity or game to the other children.  I would also do a lot of repeating with each student to make sure that they understood the directions and what was going on in that particular activity.}

_{Alternative Plans:  Sometimes, the best-laid plans can go wrong.  For example, I conducted a program and the children who would have enhanced the program were not there.  I quickly accessed that my plans were not going to work with my group so I made adjustments to the plans and activities.  Having more than what you need is best when working with little ones.}

_{Condensing and Getting the Bang for your Buck:  As much as possible, use the same equipment for various activities.  For example, use dots for beginning sitting positions, obstacles courses, and markers for standing in line and drills.    Let the kids use their imagination and don’t be afraid if they use the equipment for something other than the desired purpose.  As long as they are safe and having fun, parents are pretty content with that.}

_{Have Fun and Laugh a Lot:  Children should bring joy, not frustration to a program.  Remember, they are only little ones and many of them are in the program to learn social skills and working with others.  Parents are generally happy when they see even glimpses of their children following the rules and participating in activities that have a resemblance to particular sports.}

_{Show Appropriate Behavior Visually:  I like to show good behavior not only with verbal praise but visually with blocks showing the amount of good behavior, charts, and punch cards that the students can manipulate to show the amount of time that they made good choices.  Many times, I would transition each activity to keep kids on task every five minutes for a forty-five minute session.}

_{Praise the Children, Staff, and the Parents:  When you see a child making good choices or following directions, give them a high five and verbal praise. And get excited!  Staff needs to be told that they are doing a good job, using initiative to suggest alternate activities and hard work.  Parents, particularly those with children with special needs, need kudos too if their child is improving, no matter how little it may be.  I have learned that you can always find something positive in any student.  Thank the parent for any suggestions, help, and attention.  Accept praise from parents as gold.  With a special needs program, you can never shower staff  enough with genuine praise.  Your staff will make your program successful.}