Children's Yoga

Dear Friends,

     At Gill St. Bernard's school, I have the very good fortune of teaching Children's Yoga as part of our after school program.  Yoga is very beneficial for our students as learners and as developing people too.  We know that yoga helps to develop resilience, the ability to feel a sense of calm, concentration, focus and strength.  Many of my students are not new to yoga as they do it at home, at camp and even at birthday parties.

In each lesson, I incorporate several types of yoga.  This includes: children’s yoga, laughter yoga, restorative yoga and exercises from the Brain Gym (TM) curriculum. My goal for the children is to have fun and to help strengthen mind, body, spirit and learning too!  We focus on and celebrate mindfulness, imagination, resilience, joy, intelligence, and our global connection!  In our class we also use beginner yoga poses, Brain Gym (TM) Exercises, simple breathwork, progressive relaxation, positive affirmations, and visualizations too.

Below is a list of helpful resources that can give you some more information about the different types of yoga as well as some interesting articles. 

 

Best wishes to you for a great day!
Kimberly Borin

P.S. Happy Halloween!

• Celebrate Life-Long Learning Blog Posts about Mindfulness: http://celebratelifelonglearning.blogspot.com/2012/09/mindfulness-resources.html
• Celebrate Life-Long Learning Blog Posts About The Benefits of Relaxation for Children: http://celebratelifelonglearning.blogspot.com/search/label/Relaxation%20Skills
• Yoga Journal:  www.yogajournal.com
• Karma Kids Yoga: www.karmakidsyoga.com
• Brain Gym: http://www.braingym.org
• Brain Based Learning: http://www.jensenlearning.com
• Laughter Yoga: www.laughteryoga.org
• Restorative Yoga: http://www.restorativeyogateachers.com
• An Article from Yoga Journal About Yoga for Parents and Children: http://www.yogajournal.com/lifestyle/2561
• An Article in the New York Times About Laughter Yoga: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/21/stretch-laughter-yoga-serious-benefits

Professional Development

Dear Friends,

I recently had the good fortune of the attending the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools (NJAIS) fall conference.  The conference was filled to the brim with speakers that bring us to the cutting edge of the issues in education.  In this conference I was reminded of the power of music, mindfulness, play, and learning to become an entrepreneur.

The conference was captivating and reminded us to celebrate the whole child and at the same time prepare them for a future that they must create.  Below I have listed some of the links for the speakers if you are interested in learning more abou their presentations.  I encourage you to even take a few moments to view the topics.  I promise, they will enhance what you know about the joy of learning.

Sincerely,
Kimberly Borin

The Power of Music in Learning
Mrs. Tricia Tunstall: http://www.triciatunstall.com/
An article about her new book, Changing Lives: Gustavo Dudamel, El Sistema, and the Transformative Power of Music: http://artsfwd.org/recent-reads-changing-lives-gustavo-dudamel-el-sistema-and-the-transformative-power-of-music/

The Power of Mindfulness in Education
The Hawn Foundation, MindUp Curriculum: http://www.thehawnfoundation.org/curriculum

The Importance of Play
An article on the importance of play and learning: http://www.helpguide.org/life/creative_play_fun_games.htm

Educating Entrepreneurial Students
Dr. Yong Zhao’s Website: http://zhaolearning.com
Dr. Yong Zhao’s new book, World Class Learners, Educating Creative and Entreprenurial Students:  http://zhaolearning.com/2012/05/25/my-new-book-world-class-learners-educating-creative-and-entrepreneurial-students/
Dr. Yong Zhao’s Blog: http://zhaolearning.com/category/blog/

Top Ten Ideas for Strengthening Resilience

Top Ten Ideas to Strengthen Resilience:

1.  Be Still - Take time, listen to your heart, be aware of what you need.
2.  Dream Big - Take time to dream big, spend time sculpting the vision you have for your life.
3.  Build A Community - Build a team of people to help you, support you, and cheer you on.  Choose people who believe in your dreams!
4.  Use Your Voice - Express yourself in your own way, ask for help, be an advocate for yourself.
5.  Find Peace - Find the relaxation strategies that you need and that work for you. Take the time you need to find your own center and allow your decisions to come from that place of grounding.
6.  Trust the Process - Trust all of the small and big victories and how everything is unfolding.  Trusting the process doesn't allow us to deny our responsibility but it does allow us to surrender and let go as things happen.
7.  Undersize Your Goals - Dream big but also create small doable goals along the way.  Achieving small goals is a great way to feel successful towards your larger dreams.
8.  Follow Through - Be accountable to yourself and your goals.  Take action and take responsibility.
9.  Affirm Your Gifts - Trust that your gifts and strengths matter in the world.  Trust that all of the things you do, from taking a deep breath, to starting a non-profit make a positive difference locally and globally too.
10. Be Flexible and Creative - Along the way, the journey changes, the goals change, and our abilities change too.  Allow yourself to be creative, think outside the box and be a part of the dynamic journey of life.

Digital Citizenship

Dear Friends,

As we move forward in this digital age, there is more information available to us about how to interact electronically - to secure a good future for ourselves and for others too.  The technology is advancing quickly and the amount of time our students spend communicating on technology is increasing too.  With increased quantity of communication comes the responsibility to communicate well, with integrity and responsibility.

Here are a few websites that we will be using as we bring the idea of "Digital Citizenship" to our everyday language.  They have informative and easy to access articles and information. I hope you will find them useful.

Thank you for all that you do!
Kimberly Borin

http://www.brainpop.com/technology/computersandinternet/cyberbullying/

http://www.brainpop.com/technology/computersandinternet/digitaletiquette/

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/classroom-curriculum/scope-sequence