Mindfulness in Story Time

Good Morning Sun!  Hello Sun!  

Sun salutation!  The very best way to begin our YOGA for 2 program is to greet the warm sun that grows our food and feeds us and brings us beautiful flowers and health and happiness.  This is a mindful movement program, with stories, songs and a craft.  It is an hour of calm.  It is magnificent. 

The very best things I've done for improving my skills over 28 years in children's services include: workshops with Jim Trelease, author of The Read Aloud Handbook, Mother Goose on the Loose training with Betsey Diamont Cohen, Every Child Ready to Read (ECRR) training, and becoming certified to teach Preschool Yoga.  These are career changing, almost life changing ways of looking into the world of child development and early literacy.  

The yoga training has returned me to my roots of Early Childhood Education. I thrive on understanding infant, toddler, child, tween, teen development.  Learning about the developing brain, the word gap, the impact of reading aloud, the need for creativity, understanding compassion, finding calm, conversational reading - the how and why and when of all of this - is exactly what makes me tick.  

Okay, enough about me and back to Yoga for 2 and sun salutations.  When the sun does not cooperate and the rain pours down here in Connecticut -our solution to greet the sun each morning:  paint your own sunshines and take them home.  Works for me!  Works for my little friends.  And painting is very calming, especially with our yoga music.  Win, win!  I provide paper and give both child and parent,(caregiver), brushes to work together.  We do this after yoga and we are very focused.  

Here are the parts of our ever-growing flannel story of the sun coming up in the morning.  We are being mindful of the beautiful world that surrounds us.

We do star stretches with our big and little bodies and the children are invited to place a star on the flannel board when they've stretched long strong legs and arms and backs!  Self-esteem builder right here.

Our library has books to help our families in their search for mindful parenting, and finding age-appropriate techniques for self-regulating little ones.  This is a big, busy, wild, world and we need to find our calm and teach our children well ...to locate their inner calm. 

This is our world and this is something I can do, I can offer... with the support of my amazing library.  I do believe that this is a step in helping to raise healthy children.  We care for the emotional, psychological, and physical child. We do that in our library where we introduce story and song and movement.  My little library strives to be an important part of our very global village raising beautiful children.  Amen.

Umpqua Community College in Oregon lost beautiful children yesterday.  We need to do more.

Thanks for reading Piper Loves the Library.  (( hugs to the world ))

Our first post on this program is here - click if you'd like to learn more.  

  

Yoga for 2

Bringing Yoga to Preschool Story Time!

Two words: mindful parenting

Mindful parenting is the driving force for bringing yoga to story time. 

The world around us is big and fast and full. Levels of anxiety and stress have skyrocketed. In order to work successfully with an ever-changing group of patrons, libraries provide training for their staff.  Thankfully the entire country is becoming more educated in the field of mental health. In children's services we continue to be concerned about screen time and all things that children are sensing in their environment.  

How can I help?  Mindful parenting.  How can I do that?  Mindfulness in movement, bring the calm, thoughtful, grateful, peaceful way.  Yoga for 2.  (preschool child with an adult)

I found an on-line program to become certified to present preschool yoga.  This was outstanding for me.  I needed to learn a child's approach to yoga poses and then add my flannel stories to create something unique. I did a tremendous amount of reading on the subject of yoga for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and elementary level children.  I am all about child development - it's my world

Many children do not recognize when their bodies or minds are stressed.  Learning to provide opportunities to draw your child's awareness away from the overwhelming chaotic world is a valuable skill.  Hopefully something we are all developing with deep breathing, mindful movement, nature and a calm space in the library on Thursday mornings.  

Truth be told I was extremely nervous when the program began this week.  Thank heavens for a gracious group of children and adults. I brought in a little bit of nature from my garden. (my garden always calms me)

The bell chimes for Mountain Pose and the "Magic Mist" is for everyone's feet.  Yes!  We have mindful feet...I love it

The program began with a few familiar songs and props because I needed a quick assessment on just what words and motions the children knew.   We did a flannel story about Turtles awakening before the sun comes up...and they slowly stretch and walk one way and then the other until the sun rises and they stand to greet her.  Good morning sun!  This is our very modified sun salutation - we all welcomed the sun!

We practiced our yoga poses becoming quiet mountains, barking dogs, neighing horses, mooing cows, meowing cats and roaring lions!

  

We used our scarves for breathing exercises and later collected pom poms with our toes.  We had wonderfully calming music for child's pose and happy baby!

I shared a detailed, very mindful, flannel story of going for a nature walk on a beautiful day with the warm sun on my arms and feeling the breeze on my face.  I felt happy.  I discovered three little caterpillars that day with little tiny legs and they wiggled when they walked!  And of course we went into butterfly pose for the end of the story.  

I had a wonderful time in this program. It was a full house - yoga mat to yoga mat across the room! We asked families to bring their own mat or a towel.  FYI: I purchased 6 mats just in case and they were all used.  Mindful planning!

The meaning of mindfulness for my program is this: the ability to attend to the present moment with curiosity and no judgement.  I clearly see this as a skill, a life skill, that promotes well being, concentration, resilience, empathy and self-regulation.

Flannel Friday is a creative, supportive place to explore and try new ideas in children's services.  For information please visit the official blog

Thanks for visiting Piper Loves the Library   ~ Namaste ~