YoKids

YoKids is a yoga program for elementary children. During the 2007-2008 school year, Lily Goodale from YoKids presented a 3-hour teacher training program that enables teachers to use yoga in the classroom on a daily basis.  Yoga has been proven to provide increased attention span, self-control, motor skill performance, muscular fitness and posture for young children. Our teachers now use YoKids yoga with students in their classrooms on a regular basis. This is especially helpful on those very cold or wet days when kids are unable to go outside for physical activity.

The YoKids Teacher Training at Lunt was funded through a Let's Go! grant.

Advanced Teacher Training

During the summer of 2008, two of our classroom teachers, Laura Merrill and Suzi Tierney, traveled to the Kripalu Yoga Center in Western Massachussets to attend an intense, comprehensive yoga teacher training program. Laura and Suzi completed the training and are now certified Level 1 Creative Kids yoga teachers. They came back to school in the fall and quickly began teaching Lunt staff and students the new yoga techniques and creative movement strategies they learned at the Kripalu Center. They also introduced Lunt students and staff to a great yoga music CD for kids called "Dance for the Sun" by Kira Wiley. Now our entire school begins every Monday with a song from that CD, "Sun Salutation" (broadcast over the intercom), and its accompanying yoga poses. It's a great way to start the week!

Laura Merrill's and Suzi Tierney's teacher training at the Kripalu Center was partially funded through a grant from Let's Go!

Yoga Dots

Laura Merrill and Suzi Tierney also brought some Yoga Dots back from the Kripalu Center. Yoga Dots are colorful, foam rubber, circular mats that children can use to stay centered, focused and safe while practicing yoga. They are a great alternate to full-size yoga mats when space is a problem. Thanks to a generous grant from the Falmouth Education Foundation, Lunt was able to purchase Yoga Dots for many classrooms.

SmartMoves™: Body Puzzles for the Mind

SmartMoves™ is a tool designed to improve students' focus, attention, and memory.  The DVD leads students through a series of increasingly complicated body movements that function as a kind of calisthenics for the brain.  The movements are combined with gentle, relaxing music, which results in more relaxed students as well.  Lunt’s Occupational Therapist, Cindy Asherman, has been using SmartMoves with students throughout the school year, and some of our classroom teachers are now using it with their students.

SmartMoves is a great complement to our yoga activities at Lunt, so the Wellness Team was excited to be able to purchase a copy of the DVD with funds from a Let’s Go! grant.  SmartMoves is a wonderful addition to Lunt’s Wellness Library, and the kids love it!