THEME: “CONNECTION AND COURAGE”

WE ARE STRONGER TOGETHER

Welcome to your wellbeing programme. This month focuses on building connection and courage in times of challenge and transition, just like we are experiencing now. We were unexpectedly launched into sudden changes and shifts in many areas of our lives, and were expected to just get on with it! This has been trying even at the best of times, and has been made especially hard not being able to see friends or relatives to help calm our nerves.

Children have also been going through a lot at this time, with missing friends, not having their normal school routine, and maybe not fully understanding what has happened to their everyday if they are very young. We want to help support children and teachers as we slowly transition back into the new school year. This programme is here to help foster connection and courage in your classroom, and to provide that all important reassurance we need.

Alongside this, creating a nurturing space is important in helping the little ones feel more at ease with this transition, so we suggest ways you can introduce simple practices into your classroom routine to help with creating a calm, comforting, and safe space.

You are the positive role model here, and babies can learn so much simply from observing you doing a pose, and taking a moment to be still and breathe. Every experience of this is building their foundations to help them grow happy healthy brains!

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GUIDED MEDITATION

Watch the short explainer video by Jen, that describes how to settle in with a meditation.

“WORRY BALLOON” meditation

Time: 6.5 minutes

When to practice: As often as you need

For the next few minutes you will be led through a guided meditation. All you have to do is to listen to the words. Try to stay still and relaxed in the body and mind if you can, but don’t worry if you wiggle or your mind gets a little busy at times. Know you can come back to the words, to the body, and to the breath.

Find a nice comfortable laying down position. Take any pillows or blankets that might make you feel more comfortable (Maybe turn down the lights too!) Make sure you are warm and cosy, and once you’ve made final wriggles and shuffles, then begin to close the eyes. If it helps maybe place a jumper or scarf over your eyes so less light comes through.

So are you ready? Is your body floppy? Let’s begin!

Simply click on the video and settle in. We are here for you, for them.

BREATHING EXERCISE: three Om’s

to help foster connection and BRING calm into your classroom

Chanting the sound “Om” is, in essence, the sound of the universe. It is the vibrational frequency found in all things throughout nature, so naturally to the ears of a baby, it can be such a soothing sound to hear.

As this is the first programme for the new school year, it is a nice time to introduce this as part of your daily routine in the classroom. Maybe to help settle into day, or when you are going to begin a bit of peaceful time in the classroom.

Find a nice comfortable seat in a circle with your infant either sat on your lap, beside you, or maybe laying down and, if safe to do so, allow your eyes to close, or gaze to lower. You can either hold hands with your little one, or bring your hands to prayer at your heart. Begin to take your first breath, into the nose, drawing a deep long slow breath into the lungs and into the diaphragm and let it out through the mouth with the sound “Ommmm.” Repeat this three times.

Watch the “Three Om’s” video below for guidance from Jen!

A STORY FOR COURAGE

yoga poses and movement

SNUGGLE POSE

Have a moment of stillness together. Remind yourself that everything is going to be ok. You can give each other a hug around their back and maybe a little back rub! You can also share a kind word about each other too.

NEAT AND TIDY POSE

This is a really simple pose you can start to introduce as part of circle time or whenever feels right. If the little ones can’t sit on their own, they can either lay on their back or front, or sit on a teacher’s lap. Find your comfortable seated position, cross legged, and sit up nice and tall. Sit for a moment in stillness together and focus on grounding into the earth that supports you below. You can do your Three Om's breath here too!

CALM CLOUD POSE

Dim the lights low, (option to put on “How to be a Cloud” song. Get a blanket for each child (where possible), and lay them on their backs. You can imagine you are laying on a soft, fluffy, peaceful cloud, all of you laying together in stillness and softness with calm gentle breath. Now you can go over to each child and and waft the blanket over them like the calming feel of the wind two or three times, before softly resting the blanket over them.

MONKEY POSE

Let’s let out our inner sillies! Take your feet nice and wide, and bend a little in the knees. Let’s bring our fists to our chest and start to beat them just like a monkey! Can you make the sound of a monkey too? Now swing your arms low and start to sway them from side to side relaxing the whole of the upper body, arms, and neck. Feel silly like a monkey by making funny sounds and pretending you are swinging from tree to tree! Come to stillness, breathe in and slowly bring yourself back up to standing.

MANTRA FOR BRAVERY

“I am brave, I am courageous, I am safe.” Follow along with Jen for this mantra that will help build courage and resilience. This is a lovely mantra you can do with your classroom before an activity, or before nap time to help build resilience and bring calm.

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES

CALMING music

We have offered these music selections, to use during any of your activities and/or quiet time. It’s even lovely music to have in the background while you’re doing schoolwork with the little ones, reading, before nap time, and any time you want to bring a sense of calm of comfort into the classroom.