Yoga for Kids

One thing we really work on, at Cascade View, is Mindfulness.  We are learning how the brain works, gaining insights into our own minds and behaviors, and learning to slow down and be aware of our thoughts and actions.  Doesn't that sound amazing?

We use the Mind Up curriculum to frame this work, but the work goes far beyond the 15 main lessons which are the framework of Mind Up.

One of the things our kindergartners LOVE to do is Yoga.  I love doing yoga too, but I'm not a yoga instructor and I would only be able to lead them in a few quick stretches.  Fortunately, we've discovered Cosmic Kids Yoga!

The yoga instructor takes the current popular stories or themes and turns them into active yoga adventures. She is truly amazing and the adventures really captivate the kids.  The videos can be found on You Tube.  One thing I especially loved about today's adventure was when she said, "See something in your mind before you take action."  This is something we've been working on in class.  We try to focus on this each day.  Even as we are about to line up in the classroom, we ask kids to close their eyes and visualize (they should know this word by now) how they are going to move to the next place.

Being mindful isn't just about a few lessons here and there, we really try to incorporate mindful practices throughout the day.  We'll be sharing more throughout the year on the blog.

Happy yoga-ing! Or should I say, namaste?

Harvest Party

We had such a great time at our harvest party!  We opened up both of the kindergarten classrooms and had many stations set up for kids to choose from.  The kids have gotten used to being able to go back and forth between classroom because they are allowed to do this during Center Time on Fridays.  We love giving them the opportunity to self-select the places they would like to work and also be able to interact with kids from both classes.

Thank you to all of the parents who were able to send supplies or help out during our party!  We really appreciate your support.  At Cascade View, we realize that we are not only in the business of educating children, but we are also charged with the task of making memories!  We weren't able to get pictures of all of the stations, but here are a few.

All of the kids loved the cookie decorating station!  We don't have many food-treats in the classroom, so this was extra special.

We made pumpkin bookmarks with our thumbprints.

Straws are the perfect thing to use for necklaces.  Some students stuck with a pattern, while others simply focused on the small motor task of threading straw pieces onto the yarn.

Beaded bracelets on pipe cleaners have quickly become a favorite fine motor station!

Again, sometimes patterns are used and other times threading beads is the bigger challenge.  Side note... If you work with pipe cleaners at home, nail clippers are perfect for cutting these.

The kids did some sponge painting onto construction paper.  We'll cut these out and they will brighten up the room with their rich fall colors.

Thanks again for helping out!  We had a fantastic day!  I think we all can agree that Halloween should be moved, permanently, to a weekend.  The kids were pretty tired on November 1st, but we were glad they had so much fun on the 31st!  

Happy Harvest!